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| Do Not Pass Go: From the Old Kent Road to Mayfair | 
 enlarge | Author: Tim Moore
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy Used: £0.01
You Save: £7.98 (100%)
New (23) Collectible (3) from £0.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  44 reviews
Sales Rank: 31136
Media: Paperback
Edition: New edition
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.9
ISBN: 0099433869
Dewey Decimal Number: 910
EAN: 9780099433866
ASIN: 0099433869
Publication Date: October 2, 2003
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Did you know...? March 10, 2008
Although amusingly written I cannot say I found it LOL funny but it is an entertaining and interesting read with plenty of facts thrown in for you to bore anyone who might be unfortunate enough to be in the room with you whilst you're reading it :)
As the synopsis states; armed with a dice, board and his copy of a 1933 London Directory Tim Moore visits each of the places mentioned on the Monopoly board...yes, even the Waterworks and Free Parking!!
Being a 'Leeds lass' the history of John Waddington Ltd who bought "...the Empire and European rights..." in 1935 was also interesting.
As well as discovering what the places on the board were like back in 1935 when they were chosen, as Tim travels the capital we view 'The Reds' etc. through his eyes in the present day (well, 2002). The law connection of 'The Oranges' and the high life of 'The Yellows'...oh and yes...when 'gaol' became 'jail' ~ flippin' yanks!
;-)
 Excellent read. November 26, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This was the first Moore book I read and i must say it was an excellent decision. He makes you laugh out loud at his misadventures, while at the same time he educates you about our capital city.
This is a highly enjoyable trip around the Monopoly board - you'll never look at the board the same way again.
Buy it and then make room on your shelves for all the other Tim Moore books - you'll love them!
A nice balance of facts and humour September 6, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
As I am a huge Bill Bryson fan I approach any other book of the genre with a little nervousness. I was however pleasantly surprised by this effort. Going around London via the Monopoly board is a great framework for a journey and the vast majority of the facts revealed were new as well as interesting. Moore has a quirky, droll, self depricating humour which didn't overpower or overwhelm the journey, the facts or the history. Familiarity with the streets enhanced the reading experience and I saw the streets afresh on visits after finishing the book. Moore himself conveyed and articulated similar sentiments throughout and came over as being genuinely interested and excited by the whole adventure. I hope he writes further Monopoly based travelogues based around all the other boards out there in the world.
enjoyable read August 9, 2007
I found this hilarious book a perfect balance of travel, anecdote and dry wit with so many comic ideas I was bowled over. So funny and I will never view my Monopoly set in the same light again.Takes a bit of getting into but I found it worth the effort.
 Interesting, well-researched, original, yet tedious and pointless all at the same time September 25, 2006
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
This is the second Tim Moore book I have read, having previously read French Revolutions which details Moore's efforts to cycle the Tour de France. This time Moore's challenge to himself is to visit every square on the London Monopoly board and get someone at each location to roll the dice to tell him where to go next. Along the way a detailed history of each square ensues.
There's something unusual about Moore's writing at times - maybe it's the detailed research and the obvious effort he puts into writing every chapter, maybe it's the rather english eccentricity that you know could not happen anywhere else in the world. Somehow the book has an appeal which keeps the reader interesting although it's not really throughout the whole book. Sadly at the same time, parts of the book are mindless drivel and really a waste of trees that have been knocked down to print this on to. Certain bizarre aspects of London become a fixation for Moore in this book and remain throughout (this was similar in French Revolutions).
I suppose Moore's a bit like Bill Bryson but on a mission, although he is without the Anglo-American nuances to fall back on when he runs out of things to say and when you're describing Monopoly that seems to happen a lot. This is a game which most people have probably played as a child and the chance to read a book and look back on the game is great - learning all sorts of things such as which roads do not actually exist? Of all the stations in London why did Marylebone get picked as one of the four? Who created the game and why? But putting this information into a book which is readable, interesting and enjoyable is a tough task... It would be harsh to say Moore's failed but it's not an award winning book in my view.
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