Tunnel Visions

Itinerant philosopher Christopher Ross' debut book Tunnel Visions--a deftly observant sideways glance at human nature when in transit or, more often, not--sprung from 16 months working as a Station Assistant for London Underground. Or Platform 6, northbound Victoria Line, at Oxford Circus station, to be precise. A series of notes from the Underground, it provides a placatory centre of calm and rationale in our increasingly eddying lives as Ross, previously a corporate lawyer, oriental carpet smuggler and Japanese soap actor, takes the McJob to find a personal space in which to ruminate. After the surreal procedures of the training school, he is allocated his own patch, of which he grows quickly proprietorial. In a collection of precise tableaux, he neither leans upon nor ignores the inevitable anecdotal luggage that accumulates, but relates it with philosophical detachment and, when necessary, an engaged moral probity. He observes the archetypal gaits of his commuters, sings harmonies with a busking act, witnesses the spit and polish applied for a visit by John Prescott, and a man emerge from a train tunnel after being told at the previous station that it would be quicker to walk. Green grapes, he learns, are more deadly than banana skins, though not as lethal as suicidal "one-unders" (or "track pizza", in unforgiving New York parlance). A captured mosquito turns out to be unknown in Britain, an ugly, beswaddled baby turns out to be a monkey, and a dog on a lead a domesticated fox. Nothing is what it seems, but only if you look.

Like the best travel literature, Tunnel Visions chooses internal rather than external landscapes, and describes them with a steady calm eye. From the autopilot of the Victoria Line trains to the sheep-like, but never sheepish, autopilot of his gaggles of passengers, the wisdom, and man-hours, Ross invests in this woefully under-resourced utility rewards with the best view from the other side of the Tube tracks since John Wain's novel The Smaller Sky, now sadly out-of-print. In the end the pessimism ground Ross down, but the Oxford Circus' loss was literature's gain, with this terrific, humane, utterly original legacy.--David Vincent

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Fantastic mix of memoir, good old story telling and philosophical musing - Rated
This is a short book, broken into brief paragraphs, some of which tell stories of Ross's time on the London Underground, some tell travel tales from around the world and the rest deliver a philosophical thought. These passages are different; they have more words, longer words, more challenging language and more challenging ideas. Reading them is like descending to a lower level, where trains of thought are weighty and travel more slowly. Read on the tube for extra impact.

Great book! - Rated
Fascinating and entertaining from beginning to end. The structure of the book is innovative and ensures that attention never lapses. It is divided into three sections, `Into The Tunnel', `Imbrications' and `Light At The End'. I found Imbrications the most interesting part of the book. Having three children currently being 'educated' in the state system the author's views on contemporary education were very accurate and I would advise any parent to buy this book for these views alone. Many of the Christopher Ross's thoughts were new to me and all encouraged me to fight my own tunnel vision. Life in the Underground was vividly and humorously described and provided a good informal backdrop for some of the serious thoughts and insights contained in the book. I could not recommend this book more highly. If you like this book you will almost certainly enjoy `Salaam Brick Lane, A Year in the New East End' by Tarquin Hall and `Sorcerer's Apprentice' by Tahir Shah.

Beautiful, philosophical, eminently approachable book - Rated
Christopher Ross is astute, perceptive and witty, without laying the latter on too thickly. He invites the reader into the workings of his mind, providing observations and speculations combined with a running commentary on what he witnesses daily and reflections on past experience. The end product is a beautiful, philosophical, eminently approachable book.

interesting. - Rated
This book offers an account of the author's time working for the London underground. On this level alone it is both interesting and informative: the ins and outs of his work as a Station Master are described meticulously, and there is even a compelling desciption of the mad training process all the staff have to endure before starting work. However this is by no means a handbook for tube-lovers; on top of all the technicalities the text is permeated by thoughts and ideas. Dry humour combined with witty anecdotes abound, and there are several excerpts from the author's past recounting his experiences in foreign countries.
This book is arranged by concepts (that is, ideas dealt with one by one, each with its own chapter) and because of this, there are about sixty chapters, and no consistent thread. Nonetheless, this is a style reminiscent of diaries or journals, and so you are not merely reading an account or even a novel, you are being shown an area close to and dear to the author. This is only superficially a book about the tube; really it is the author's self-portrait. Indeed, upon finishing, I realised that though I had learnt much about the tube, I felt I knew more about Christopher Ross.

Life changing - Rated
This book made me see life with new eyes. Witty and profound, it ranks as one of the ten most important books I've ever read. His observations of people while working on the Tube have a resonance extending far beyond the Underground and will stay with me for many years to come. I'd never understood so clearly how we see the big things by concentrating on the small things.