How The City of London Works

Author: William M Davies

Price: £17.95

Edition: 7th Edition (April 2008)

ISBN: 978-1-847-03305-5

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For those commercial lawyers that are either practising in or wishing to practise in areas of law like banking, financial services, commodities, insurance or trade, a thorough understanding of how the City of London (where most of these activities are concentrated) is crucial.  How The City of London Works, written by a financial expert for both lawyers and non-lawyers alike, provides this knowledge in a straight-forward and accessible way.

How The City of London Works has eighteen chapters including: what the City does, banking, insurance. the Stock Exchange, the Capital Market, the Gilt-edged market, the currency market, commodity markets, shipping, what the City is, how the City is controlled and, importantly, a glossary of common phrases.  Each is succinctly written meaning the author's points are quickly and well-made.  There is also a good flow to the text which is substantially aided by the author's background in journalism.  His style ensures the text can be read by those working in this area and those simply with an interest in it.

Being written by a former editor of the Financial Times, How The City of London Works provides an engaging and knowledgeable account of this interesting topic.  The author's expertise permeated throughout the text and is mixed together with a number of diagrams and tables.  Each of these providing an accessible and graphical account of the point being made and dove-tailing superbly with the text.  For example, when explaining what the City of London is, Davies shows the traditional boundaries of the Square Mile and suggests it may be extended towards Canary Wharf.

In these current financial times, more and more people are trying to find out what went wrong.  To do this, many people are trying to understand how the City works.  To my mind, How The City of London Works does (to use a common frame) exactly what it says on the tin and allows everyone who reads it to gain some understanding.  It is a text that I recommend to anyone who wants to know more about the City and its price means it is superb value for money.

Reviewed on 17 May 2009

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