Roy Jenkins follows up Churchill with a book of a very different shape; short and semi-autobiographical, but also full of the wit and erudition which made that book such a success.

Each of the twelve cities are described with a mixture of architectural interest, topographical insight, and personal anecdote. Jenkins has three British cities: Cardiff, Birmingham and Glasgow. Further afield there is Paris, Brussels, Bonn, Berlin, Naples and Barcelona. From Lord Jenkins' over a hundred visits to North America there emerge highly personal recollections of New York and Chicago. Dublin, so near to home and yet so distant, makes up the dozen.

Twelve Cities is a fascinating and sparkling collection from one of our very finest writers.