The London Cabbie's Quiz Book

I can never resist a quiz book and this one immediately appealed to me as being original and a bit different. It's written by a London cab driver and is based on the 'Knowledge' - the remarkable feat of memorisation required of licensed taxi drivers in the city.

I'm not a Londoner and I don't drive, so I wasn't entirely sure if I'd be able to answer anything. But I soon found I could get at least a few in each quiz, and learn something from the rest. The questions aren't so much about arcane road names or physical routes - so don't worry if you have no sense of direction or no need to visit the capital. Rather they cover the famous places and people of the city - hence at least some of the questions are going to be manageable by anyone through general knowledge. It's a good book for quiz fans who want something a bit more challenging and different. So much has happened in and around London that you'll find things you can work out or know, and as every quizzer knows, the questions you cant' get are the ones you learn from!

It's nicely laid out, with each set of questions based on one of the 'routes' that drivers have to know. There are plenty of facts throughout it as well - both about London and about London cabbies which are interesting and fun. The answers are at the back in standard quiz book format, which does make it harder to read electronically and so I'd recommend the physical book.

This would be a good present for someone who likes quizzes, driving or is a Londoner (or visitor to/fan of the city), or a fun book to have out at Christmas for some family quizzing. Also a good read for quizzers looking for a collection of questions that's a bit different and likely to teach them something new in an entertaining way.

I was given this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I have got to say the format is a little off putting as you have to flip back and forth between pages to see the answer, however the trivia is extremely interesting and even includes the suburbs that most books tend to leave out. As a resident of said suburbs, I appreciate the inclusion! Def a good choice for random and extremely HARD London trivia. How those cab drivers do it I'll never know!

No, this is nothing to do with Fred Housego – the London cabbie who allegedly stunned the nation by winning an erudite general knowledge quiz on TV back in the day when the working class were not allowed to win anything – nor to know anything to start with. This is a stinker of a quiz book, all spinning off The Knowledge, and the multiple tests a black cabbie needs to take to prove they could get you as their passenger from any point A to any point B. Deemed one of the most awkwardly difficult and time-consuming things in the world to want to learn, The Knowledge seems to start on a few standard set routes, before getting harder and harder, demanding you know each and every street corner, every pub name, every differently-coloured post box, and so on. This isn't quite that, but is almost as detailed, and in the finish the way this quiz book is structured does justify being built on such a framework.

Every couple-of-pages-long quiz, we get the map of the relevant area, and the way a Knowledge Girl or Boy (ie a student cabbie) would have to parse the route of interest to their examiner. We then have the questions, all connected with that stretch of travel, and quite often demanding forensic knowledge of London. Even the simple ones – wherefrom the name Piccadilly? - aren't your every day pub quizzer knowledge. Others refer to things you'd only fleetingly see from a taxi window, or need a real tour guide's knowledge to be able to recall. All told this is a fiendishly difficult quiz, where just one or two per set of questions is going quite well. Try to use this as a source of a quick after-dinner contest or two and you'll have to do a lot of editing out the hard stuff on the fly. Still, that level of complexity, and the amount of trivial knowledge it can provide (where can you find the only statue to a Royal mistress in London?) will be perfect for some, and the actual density of the quizzing (none of your half-an-hour-and-you're-done here) makes this a book to seriously consider. A strong four stars.

"Everyone" always says that London cabbies are among the best.  They are expected to know more, it seems to me, than taxi drivers in many other cities, including my own.  Having this perspective, and having been in London cabs, I was intrigued by this title which turned out to be a fun one.


The book has been written and compiled by a London driver so it has authenticity.  Learn about what needs to mastered in The Knowledge and know that it is not easy. 


(Fans note that mystery writer Martha Grimes wrote a novel with the title, The Knowledge.  It alludes to the drivers of London.)


On my last trip to London, I stayed in Kings Cross.  Despite that insider experience, I could not answer most of the questions on the area.  It is clear that I will not become a driver anytime soon.  Nonetheless, I very much enjoyed this diverting read which, in addition to the questions, includes maps, commentary and more.


Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.

This quiz book is perfect for anyone with a thirst for general knowledge of London and its surrounding suburbs. Based on the London Cabbies ‘Knowledge’ test, this quiz book has a good mixture of fairly easy questions to the downright difficult!! Using the routes of the knowledge test, there are pages of questions, not only testing you on what you know but also giving you lots of interesting facts and figures as you go along! Written by a licensed London taxi driver, the book is divided into 4 stages which are based on the stages of the tests an applicant has to sit! Each of these stages have their own set of questions along particular routes. Sounds difficult and complicated? Well, the Knowledge is deemed to be the hardest thing that the applicants have ever done, but hopefully the questions in this book will be more fun and not as difficult – well, not all of them anyway!!

I have to admit, from the questions just on the first page I didn’t get any of them right! I did however have fun checking out the map for each question and seeing if I could work it out from that! Unless you have a bunch of friends who know London really well, I can’t see this being used as a ‘quiz night’ book as some of the questions are quite specific and obscure! I would definitely use it alongside a London A-Z (or street view for the technically minded), a notepad and a pen to work my way through the questions, checking out the maps and learning some interesting trivia along the way. The book is well laid out, with clear sections, bright and colourful pages and the answers tucked away in the back pages so it’s not too easy to cheat!

I love books like this, so I can easily see this taking pride of place on my bookshelf even though I have no intention of ever taking the Knowledge! Thumbs up to the Knowledge Boys and Girls though for undertaking this huge feat, firstly because it takes an immense amount of commitment and learning, and secondly because without you so many people would be wandering aimlessly and lost throughout the streets of London!! If you love trivia, quizzes and more importantly, London, then this is definitely the book for you!!

NEVER underestimate a London cab driver. Their mountain of knowledge about their city is astronomical. Most people wouldn't be able to do it. I know I certainly couldn't. You'd think this book would be filled with cute little pub trivia questions like "what statue is on the corner of X and X", but no. More like "what famous actress lived near this route with her ex-husband after a famous football match in 1954? What was her husband's second cousin's best mate named?" I'm not even kidding. The ability to constantly keep up with London traffic and infrastructure, to be able to essentially traverse through the city blind, is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to learning the Knowledge. Yes, that's Knowledge with a capital K. You have to study profusely for a minimum of four years, and are subjected to dozens of tests over the course of those years to become a London cab driver. It's prestigious. It's phenomenal. I will never be able to hold that kind of information all at once. The London Cabbie's Quiz Book gives you a mere insight into what it takes to drive one of those famous black cabs. Hundreds of questions that could be asked during the multiple examinations. It even includes the answers, if you feel like your friends might enjoy a good quiz night. There's no way to just know the answer - you would have to study, just like a cabbie does. For the lay folk who can't answer a single one, the book is also interlaced with facts and figures about London, just enough to keep it interesting and make you feel inadequate. The only minor critique I have (other than making me feel complete dense even though I have a university degree) is that for casual readers, having the answers at the bottom of the page or even at the end of each chapter would be useful, rather than the end. It would prevent incessant flipping, and make it especially easier for those reading an ebook.

We all know that if you want to know anything at all about London, a cabbie is the person to ask. This book contains questions and trivia that even Londoners will be stumped over. The questions are not for the faint hearted- if you think you know London, you are about to be proved wrong! The book is broken down into a series of “routes” with questions about each street and London borough you would pass through. The questions are a real mix of things like history, celebrity, geography, sightseeing, modern interest and many more. More than anything this book is fun - the format and layout is interesting and the facts are of a different level to your regular “London quiz”. A definite must read for those who love our capital.

The London Cabbie’s Quiz Book is a non-fiction book by writer, jazz musician and London Cabbie, Ian Beetlestone. Many visitors to London will use the services of a black cab at some time during their stay. They may not be aware of the process a London Cabbie goes through to get his licence to drive there, and the wealth of knowledge said cabbie is required to have, but they will be grateful for it, should the need arise, and also because that knowledge will ensure no trip in a London Cab, however short, need be boring.

This quiz book is by no means exhaustive; the London Cabbie needs to know a lot more than is contained herein; but what is provided is a sample of that. The 45 quizzes for each route (eg St John’s Wood Station NW8 to Brompton Oratory SW7) are accompanied by the route marked on a colourful map of that section of the City, with directions given, and nuggets of taxi trivia; readers will be grateful that the answers are provided at the back, along with a handy index.

Examples of questions (some are easy, others decidedly not):
“As you follow the left bend in Grove End Road, why are tourists photographing each other crossing the road just to your right”
“This route took you past the only London Underground station with six successive consonants in its name. What is it called?”
“One of the National Maritime Museum’s most prized exhibits is the coat worn by whom, and where, in 1805?”
“Why, for several months, from December 2017, was the small green at the corner of Highgate West Hill and The Grove awash with floral and written tributes?”

Nuggets include:
“Bilkers are sometimes quite creative – reports a few years ago told of one unfortunate taxi driver who took a group of punters home to separate destinations. When he got to the final address, he discovered, to his great fury and financial misfortune that what he’d been told was a drunken, slumbering female passenger who would pay, was in fact a fully dressed and bewigged mannequin.”
“It’s not as rare as you might expect for passengers engaged in polite conversation to ask their taxi driver what they do for a living – on long, late-night journeys, sometimes more than once.”
An interesting, informative and hugely entertaining read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and White Lion Publishing.

Plot
It’s a book about The Knowledge. The Knowledge is a (series of tests and examinations) aspiring London cabbies take to earn the right to drive a black cab around the streets of London.

This book covers the four stages “The 56s”, “The 28s”, “The 21s” and The Suburbs. It also features, maps, questions, trivial and interesting facts.

Ending – Thumbs up or meh
A definite thumbs up! I thought this book was great!

Book surmised in 5 words or less
The alternative London Tourist Guide.

A keep you up all night read?
Yes if you couldn’t sleep, this would be the perfect book to occupy your mind.

My thoughts
Thank you to Ian Beetlestone, Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion and NetGalley for this temporary ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I didn’t know what to expect from this book but I was pleasantly surprised. I don’t drive and I only manage a trip to London once or twice a year so I have no reason to learn “The Knowledge” but I found this book informative and interesting. The maps are a great addition and mean that hopefully I could make use of some of the taxi routes and walk them noting the trivial and interesting points of reference featured in the book at my leisure on the way.

This is the perfect alternative tourist book about London or a good point of reference for writing those stinkers of a quiz question!

It will also be the perfect gift for any aspiring London cabbie.

What will I take away from this book?
I’ll be packing this in my case next time I have a trip planned to London and my trainers !

The information in this book is astounding! It had me looking for the answers, which are in the back, by the way.
Illustrated maps are included. Anyone who loves London would appreciate this book and the cabbies that carry people around the city.

In the United States, jumping into a cab or an Uber is designed to get from point A to point B. In London, tourists get the chance to get a pretty in-depth history lesson. To get a license to drive a cab in London, training isn't just figuring out local maps and how to get passengers to locations. To get a license, they must pass one of the hardest tests in the world, referred to as "The Knowledge."  Imagine having to memorize 230 route, 40,000 street, AND 20,000 landmarks, place of public interest, and EVERYTHING inside Charing Cross.

Trivia buffs and English History lovers, The London Cabbie's Quiz Book is a delight and a half. Each section includes trivia and some in-depth history that many people living in London don't know.

The London Cabbie's Quiz Book  is available July 28, 20020 from Quarto Books.