Roy Jenkins follows up Churchill with a book of a very different shape; short & semi-autobiographical, but also full of the wit & erudition which make that book such a success. Each of the twelve cities are described with a mixture of architectural interest, topographical insight, & personal anecdote. Jenkins has three British cities: Cardiff, which was the metropolis of his Monmouthshire childhood, Birmingham which he represented in Parliament for 27 years, & Glasgow, which aroused in him an enthusiasm far transcending politics. Further afield there is Paris, Brussels, where he lived for four years as President of the European Commission; Bonn, & Berlin, surveyed from its pre-war splendour, through to its architectural resurgence of the 1990s, Naples & Barcelona. From Lord Jenkins`s over a hundred visits to North America there emerge highly personal recollections of New York & a more objective view of the of Chicago. Dublin, so near to home & yet so distant, makes up the dozen. Twelve Cities is a fascinating & sparkling collection from one of our very finest writers