The Thumbnail Book Reviews
by John Q McDonald --- 25 September 1998
by Mike Davis
In this remarkable book, Mike Davis presents the reader with an almost incredible litany of biblical disasters visited upon Los Angeles and Southern California. As is well-know, the region suffers from fires, earthquakes and riots, as well as the lesser-known threats of tornadoes, plague and mountain lions. Angelinos, for their part, have a combination of responses, ranging from initial shock and responsible reaction, to amusement and complacency. In this book, as in Davis's City of Quartz, many of LA's villains are greedy developers, weak local politicians, and an irresponsible press. Davis presents a laundry list of avoidable disasters, and the overall tone suggests the question "Why doesn't LA live more in touch with the natural and man-made disasters that surround it?" Davis doesn't present an answer to that beyond demonstrating that LA has consistently avoided a genuine response to its problems. The book is a fascinating analysis of LA and its disasters, with riveting historical background and even an overview of the literature of disaster. Occasionally, though, Davis has an almost pathological fascination with the lurid details of disaster. The list falls on the reader like a biblical rain at the millennium. Particularly in his list of tornadoes, Davis belabors the point that LA is as prone to these whirlwinds as downtown Oklahoma City. Nevertheless, Davis makes his point. The book is more accessible than his previous work, prodigiously footnoted and rich with detail, but perhaps a little more shrill in tone.
Also by Mike Davis: [City of Quartz]