Mancunian metaphor - Rated 
Less a book, more a metaphor for the city: fascinating, studded with gems and potentially useful, but rendered almost completely dysfunctional by an ugly, unworkable, incompetent design. Headers are obscured and names illegible in an extravagance of fonts and effects, while a well-meant but hopelessly executed layout leaves the reader as lost and helpless on the page as a country lass on the darkening streets of the great metropolis.
Astonishingly, this amateurish mess was brought to you by Penguin. I know, I couldn't believe it either.
That said, anyone venturing past the "here be dragons" - and suitably armed to slash through the visual thickets - will find their exertions well rewarded. Well-informed, idiosyncratic and written with a true love for the city, this may yet prove a worthwhile companion for an exploration of Manchester, Victorian and present.
Meanwhile, I'm keeping my copy to thrust at commissioning editors who dare to suggest professional designers are unnecessary...
A compelling compendium - Rated 
For the worlds first industrial city this is a glowing, engaging and readable compendium. If you are a Manc like me you will know where (some) things are and the joy of discovering the others outweighs the need for maps. Has the other reviewer not heard of Google Maps?
Brought the city of my dreams back to life for me excellent. Next stop the London Compendium.
The Manchester Compendium - Rated
A successor to the author's "London COmpendium" and written in the same style. I liked the short histories of buildings and events. I didn't like the absence of (a) maps, (b) a suggested walking tour and (c) an adequate index.
This should be a 'Five', but no photographs/illustrations .... - Rated
I bought this book as an xmas present for my nephew who is a Building Surveyor. My job involves historical buildings and (rather than buy him SOCKS!), I wanted to buy something to expand his world from simply seeing buildings around us, to realising (once built) they acquire a history from links with the people who use them.
I read all the Customer reviews, used the 'Look Inside' function, I even read the excerpt in detail (which looked excellent). My concern was did the book have photographs/illustrations, because having to imagine buildings you are reading about wouldn't be good.
I firstly reviewed the paperback version (at £9+) and someone mentioned the pictures 'were small': I thought this would be ok because it was also intended as a 'walking' book and would otherwise have to be a huge book. However, because the book was a gift, I thought the hardcover version would therefore be a better version. THERE ARE NO PHOTOGRAPHS OR ILLUSTRATIONS IN IT AT ALL!
This is SUCH a shame, because the text in the book is brilliant - as an example: "Balloon Street: in May 1785, James Sadler, an Oxford man made three trips in a balloon from the garden of the Manchester Arms pub, a site now covered by Balloon Street, to the amazement of Mancunians. Sadler made his first ascent two years after the Montgolfier brothers had sent up a balloon in Paris containing a sheep, cockeral and a duck". I could continue quoting this paragraph because the text is SO interesting, but I'd probably get to the end of the book before I stopped - the whole book is like this.
MR GLINERT: your publishers are letting you down SO badly. This should be an amazing book: the text is absolutely WONDERFUL and an inspiring introduction to history for people who otherwise probably wouldn't be interested. Your book should be a 'coffee table' edition illustrated with beautiful photographic views of the sites/buildings you discuss in Manchester. Even the paperback version should have thumbnail views if it doesn't already - without photographs, I'm not sure how people could easily relate to the city on the 'walking tour'. This is a tragedy, because your text so interesting and inspiring, and so well written.
As for my xmas gift, my husband suggested sending it back to Amazon. I love the text so much I'm still going to give it to my nephew, but with an accompanying bottle of wine (or socks!) along with an apology and full explanation of what my gift intended to achieve. I hope my nephews imagination will enable him to make the links between Manchester's buildings and Mr Glinert's wonderful text. As for Penguin publishers, my message is 'get your act together': you have the potential for a beautiful book here which should be one of (if not the) leading books on Manchester's history because it is readable and interesting to anyone.
'Someone!': please produce the version of this book that Mr Glinert's text deserves. And if that happens Mr Glinert, please find a way to let me know ... because I'd buy it :o)
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