Dead Cities and Other Tales Author:Mike Davis A riveting exploration of the tensions between nature and the built environment. — The storm is here, crushed dams no longer hold, the savage seas come inland with a hop. -- Jacob van Hoddis — As Mike Davis shows, prophecies of urban doom too often come true. Beginning with a trip to New York's Ground Zero, Davis pairs the horror of low... more »er Manhattan's falling skyscrapers with Las Vegas' delirious delight in blowing up its landmark hotels, where environmental terrorism is practiced in the name of urban development.
We stop at "German Village," the Utah wasteland where Allied scientists once perfected their plans to destroy Berlin, then move on to Los Angeles, the frontline of a "Second Civil War" that lies waiting to be ignited in cities across the country. The title essay is an autopsy of the metropolis dead on a slab, with reflections on "bomber ecology" and "ghetto geomorphology." The final chapter, with accounts of Montreal and Auckland brought to their knees by ice storms and heat, warns that our urban infrastructures are as little prepared to deal with climate change as with car bombs and hijacked airliners.
Preface : Flames of New York --
Part I : Neon west --
White people are only a bad dream ; Ecocide in Marlboro Country ; Berlin's skeleton in Utah's closet ; Las Vegas versus nature ; Tsunami memories --
Part II : Holy ghosts --
Pentecostal earthquake ; Hollywood's dark shadow ; Infinite game ; Subway that ate L.A. ; New industrial peonage --
Part III : Riot city --
As bad as the H-bomb ; Burning all illusions ; Who killed L.A.? A political autopsy ; Fear and loathing in Compton ; Dante's choice --
Part IV : Extreme science --
Cosmic dancers on history's stage? ; Dead cities : a natural history ; Strange times begin« less