Capital issue
Books about the City suffer the dis- advantage attributed to the Oxford school of philosophy — the questions stay the same, but the answers change. By far the best accounts for the general reader are William Clarke's Inside the City, and Capit- al City by Hamish McRae and Frances Cairncross. Capital City was the earlier, written a dozen years ago in the heady days of the fringe banking boom. The map on its endpapers had a red blot for the offices of Slater Walker (who were they, Daddy?). It went slightlyout of date, and sadly out of print. Now comes a new and rewritten version (Methuen, £8.95). Does it depict a different City? One that is more profes- sional, it seems, but somehow less fun than it was when the authors were making their pioneer sallies, in search of the markets for cannabis and dried blood, or simply the' City's best lunches (towards the east end of Lombard Street). There will be no lack of excitement now, as the revolution in the securities markets sweeps the City. But all too soon the examiners will be looking for a new set of answers.
Christopher Fildes
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