Interest and research into urban history has substantially increased in recent years, and it would appear that scarcely a topic remains untouched. A huge range of subjects have been examined covering issues in broad topics such as politics, policies, culture and economics. Moreover, it might be assumed difficult to find a topic that is not only fresh but is also attractive to both researcher and reader. However, both of these books manage to achieve both these things.

Elected mayors have brought interest in the subject of their historical role back into the public eye. The general decline in the significance of the role in post-war Britain may account for the fact that, despite the huge amount of research into the nineteenth and, to a lesser extent, the twentieth centuries, there is surprisingly little research into this subject. In Britain the role has simply been dismissed as ceremonial. Yet this is too simplistic. Heads of the Local State: Mayors, Provosts and Burgomasters since 1800 offers the first real effort to redress the balance. As such it is an important contribution to our understanding of urban power. The book offers a comparative analysis across time and between a range of very different nations and political systems. This type of study is not easy to draw together: there is a danger that the countries, time span and structures are so different that making comparisons is difficult. The volume looks at the local heads of state across Britain and Ireland, France, Belgium in the war, contemporary Italy, communist and post-communist Russia, Nazi and post-war Germany and the USA. Yet John Garrard successfully pulls together three dominant themes, highlighting three key areas which add to our understanding of the value of local heads of state and which demonstrate the continuing importance of the role. First, mayoral power is defined according to structural changes forged by party, centre and people. This was underlined by McElligot's study of the German mayoralty across the twentieth century and Ross’ study of mayors in Russia. The mayor in both these countries, and in France during the early years of the Third Republic, was important in creating a link between the regimes and the people, in legitimizing the system, whether it be democracy or dictatorship. Second, although the importance of mayoralty across Britain has been dismissed as ceremonial, this is, in itself, an important role. The mayor's role is still seen to be of value because it was a part of civic culture, civic pride and identity. This was important in forging a public sense of unity within communities. However, as Knox shows in his study of Northern Ireland, civic ceremonies around the role of the mayor can also be used to highlight conflict both within the urban arena and across the region. Third, in some countries, especially the USA, the office of the mayor has actual executive power. Lloyd, Norris and Vicino's study of the mayor in American local government shows that mayoral efficacy, their power and authority was not only determined by legislation and economic factors but also by the personality and skill of the individual. Indeed, skill and personality were important features in shaping the effectiveness of the role in several countries.

Personality, political and economic structure, together with an ever-changing cultural context, also aids our understanding of corruption in British urban politics and society. Political events over the last 20 years have raised public awareness and interest in the issue of corruption in politics and society. Yet, as Moore and Smith point out in Corruption in Urban Politics and Society, Britain, 1780–1950, this is not a new phenomenon: corruption was evident in British politics across the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. However, most attention is on corruption on the national and political stage rather than the urban and social scene. The volume tackles the issue from two angles. In the first section, the authors provide a discursive overview, attempting to locate the issue in a broad context, while the second section gives more specific detail through a series of case studies in Liverpool, Manchester, Wolverhampton and, finally in Holtby's South Riding. The first section gives a broad definition (indicated in the title). Locating corruption in urban politics and society is problematic. The authors show that it is a concept that shifts according to changing political, social and cultural conditions. It is within this framework that corruption evolves – public contracting and municipal trading, insider trading, protecting interests – shifting times, shifting values and therefore shifting concept. The authors highlight this evolution of what is ethical and acceptable (and what is not) in a largely unique historical context. Surprisingly little has been done on this topic. By its nature, it is a juicy, salacious subject which has always proved attractive to the public. Popular interest has been reflected over recent years in the many tabloid (and broadsheet) headlines. More pertinently, it is an issue of fundamental importance to the political and social value systems of the nation. Yet it is also a tricky topic. By its very nature it is clandestine and secretive. It begs the question, to what extent is this just the tip of the iceberg? The second part of the book provides interesting case studies, but the question arises as to just how typical these are. They leave the impression that specific cases are limited. This is a problem. These are interesting snippets, but will we ever know the real extent and, therefore, significance of corruption in urban politics and society? The book not only invites these questions but leaves the reader wondering whether or not there are more cases to be unveiled. More study is needed to assess the extent and, therefore, the real significance of corruption in urban politics.

Both these volumes are important contributions to our understanding of urban governance. They successfully highlight key themes and issues, filling in a surprising gap in the existing historiography. Finally, while these volumes testify to the hard work and dedication of all who contributed, they are also a reflection of the hard work and dedication of two people in particular. Corruption in Urban Politics and Society stands as a tribute to one of the editors, John Smith, who died in 2005. Moreover, both volumes have significant contributions from John Garrard, one of that fine group of urban historians who have transformed the subject over the last three decades.