Ecology of Fear : Los Angeles and the Imagination of Disaster (Vintage)
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sort customer reviews by: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Show All Reviews on Page
Hide All Reviews on Page
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ecology of Fear : Los Angeles and the Imagination of Disaster (Vintage) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
"Graced with a bold political and environmental vision, much splendid phrasemaking and a multitude of facts. . . . A truly eccentric contribution."--The New York Times Book Review
Earthquakes. Wildfires. Floods. Drought. Tornadoes. Snakes in the sea, mountain lions, and a plague of bees. In this controversial tour de force of scholarship, unsparing vision, and inspired writing, Mike Davis, the author of City of Quartz, revisits Los Angeles as a Book of the Apocalypse theme park. By brilliantly juxtaposing L.A.'s fragile natural ecology with its disastrous environmental and social history, he compellingly shows a city deliberately put in harm's way by land developers, builders, and politicians, even as the incalculable toll of inevitable future catas-trophe continues to accumulate. Counterpointing L.A.'s central role in America's fantasy life--the city has been destroyed no less than 138 times in novels and films since 1909--with its wanton denial of its own real history, Davis creates a revelatory kaleidoscope of American fact, imagery, and sensibility. Drawing upon a vast array of sources, Ecology of Fear meticulously captures the nation's violent malaise and desperate social unease at the millennial end of "the American century." With savagely entertaining wit and compassionate rage, this book conducts a devastating reconnaissance of our all-too-likely urban future. "Dizzying. . . . In Mr. Davis's account, the world ends in fire, and the next time is now."--The New York Times |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The 1990s have not been kind to Los Angeles. As Mike Davis writes, "The destructive February 1992, January 1993, and January 1995 floods ($500 million in damage) were mere brackets around the April 1992 insurrection ($1 billion), the October-November 1993 firestorms ($1 billion) and the January 1994 earthquake ($42 billion)." But, he argues, the increasing fear about nature's reign of terror in Southern California reflected in Hollywood's preoccupation with apocalypse--L.A. has been destroyed on screen by everything from lava (Volcano) to nukes (Miracle Mile) to alien death rays (Independence Day)--is in reality a strong case of denial. Again, Davis himself says it best: "For generations, market-driven urbanization has transgressed environmental common sense. Historic wildfire corridors have been turned into view-lot suburbs, wetland liquefaction zones into marinas, and floodplains into industrial districts and housing tracts. Monolithic public works have been substituted for regional planning and a responsible land ethic. As a result, Southern California has reaped flood, fire, and earthquake tragedies that were as avoidable, as unnatural, as the beating of Rodney King and the ensuing explosion in the streets."
As in City of Quartz, his earlier book about Los Angeles, Davis reveals the deeper ideological narratives behind historical events. Whether he's explaining the motivations behind the persistent refusal of civic leaders to admit that a tornado alley runs down the middle of the region, from Long Beach to Pasadena, or discussing, as one chapter refers to it, "the case for letting Malibu burn," he outlines his arguments with a fascinating amount of detail and a subtle sense of irony. There are wonderful chapters here, such as "Maneaters of the Sierra Madre," a zoology of the wild beasts Angelenos fear, including mountain lions that descend from the hills to eat joggers and small children, swarms of Africanized killer bees making their way across the deserts, and El Chupacabra, the "goat-sucking vampire" that joined L.A.'s roster of faddish icons in 1996. Although this book is specifically about Los Angeles, its lessons about the relationship between urban developments and natural ecosystems and about the dangerous influence of class politics on environmental safety policy are applicable to any city. Anyone with a serious interest in natural history or urban policy should make a point of reading this book. --Ron Hogan |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reader Reviews 1 - 8 of 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Review Date |
Review Rating(5 High) |
Review Helpful to: |
Customer Review | Reviewer Info |
Permanent Link |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reader Reviews Below Sorted by Newest First | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 03-28-08 | 5 | (NA) |
| Reviewer | Permalink | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
I lived in Los Angeles for over 20 years, from 1980-2000, and enjoyed every minute of it. LA haters have always seemed kind of pathetic and silly to me, like spinsters back in the sixties who thought Elvis was vulgar. Still, LA is not the sort of place to become sentimental about, as Mike Davis makes clear; you can love it but you'd better keep your doors locked. Davis is fun to read because as disastrous and dangerous as the events he describes were, the fact of the matter is that car crashes, as it were, are a kick to watch. Davis' research and writing style make for an impressive sort of journalism. One even suspects that the author knows what he is talking about, but it has to be said that while the evidence does make an impression, most Americans still equate LA with sun and fun, not with the end of the world. The reason Davis had to write this book is that each catastrophe was forgotten two days after it happened. Now this is deserving of a separate chapter. Why is it that in LA there is no accumulative historical perspective, no natural 'history'? Everything that happens there is forgotten by Friday. Isn't that part of the narrative of Los Angeles? Isn't that part of the nightmare of stardom? Think of 'Sunset Boulevard'. Davis makes a valiant effort to write a history of disasters in the Los Angeles area, but one suspects few will pay attention.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2008-08-29 08:56:08 EST)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 03-28-08 | 5 | (NA) |
| Reviewer | Permalink | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
I lived in Los Angeles for over 20 years, from 1980-2000, and enjoyed every minute of it. LA haters have always seemed kind of pathetic and silly to me, like spinsters back in the sixties who thought Elvis was vulgar. Still, LA is not the sort of place to become sentimental about, as Mike Davis makes clear; you can love it but you'd better keep your doors locked. Davis is fun to read because as disastrous and dangerous as the events he describes were, the fact of the matter is that car crashes, as it were, are a kick to watch. Davis' research and writing style make for an impressive sort of journalism. One even suspects that the author knows what he is talking about, but it has to be said that while the evidence does make an impression, most Americans still equate LA with sun and fun, not with the end of the world. The reason Davis had to write this book is that each catastrophe was forgotten two days after it happened. Now this is deserving of a separate chapter. Why is it that in LA there is no accumulative historical perspective, no natural 'history'? Everything that happens there is forgotten by Friday. Isn't that part of the narrative of Los Angeles? Isn't that part of the nightmare of stardom? Think of 'Sunset Boulevard'. Davis makes a valiant effort to write a history of disasters in the Los Angeles area, but one suspects few will pay attention.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2008-11-30 09:40:38 EST)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11-09-06 | 5 | 0\1 |
| Reviewer | Permalink | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
This is a very, very fine book that looks at the archetype of Modern America, Los Angles and Southern California. Looking at the interaction of population growth, individualism (greed!), urban growth without planning, and the nature of the environment, this book shows how we are unwilling to acknowledge the normalcy of earthquakes, fires, tornadoes, and wild animal encounters. It is extremely well-written and researched -- and hard to put down! It is social criticism that is "grounded", literally.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2008-03-29 08:35:27 EST)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12-07-04 | 4 | 2\2 |
| Reviewer | Permalink | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
As a resident of Los Angeles I found Ecology of Fear a great and informative read. I understand those who review it and find things to quibble with. Nothing is perfect. But for someone like me, possessed before reading this with a feeling that so many things in LA were just wrong, but not having a good understanding how how and why things got to be so messed up in so many ways, Ecology of Fear is an indispensible book. Perhaps the greatest thing I took away from this book was an abiding sense of the "alternate reality" LA that perhaps exists in some other dimension-- an LA where greenbelts line the rivers, where the foothills are left undeveloped and able to burn seasonally as meant to, and where resources are more equitably distributed.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-04 09:05:25 EST)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 03-13-04 | 4 | 1\2 |
| Reviewer | Permalink | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Not a sequel to City of Quartz, but a look at current and historical LA from an environmental perspective instead of Quartz's sociological view. Famous for its criticism as much as its content, Ecology Of Fear compiles a staggering amount of information into an informative and compelling story. LA's dynamism is a product of its people, land, water, air, wildlife, history, and future. This is the book that can tell you what life has been and will be like, for those who choose to live in the wilderness of Los Angeles.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-04 09:05:25 EST)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 02-15-04 | 4 | 3\6 |
| Reviewer | Permalink | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
"Ecology of Fear" is unfortunately a necessary book in which Mike Davis once again denounces how the United States has managed to create a completely Apartheid-like society, but has done such a good job at it that people hardly perceive that they are living in a divided world (in this book, the divisions most commonly pointed out is the one between natural areas and inhabited areas, but we are also shown how a city is divided between poor and wealthy, and nature's role in this division). Nowhere is this more acute than in Los Angeles, the epitome of social division and exploitation of every natural resource. Davis convincingly shows how the natural world is utterly obliterated, with bogus re-creations made in its place where necessary, as a blind eye is turned to all of the destruction and the special interests of the wealthy are always put before those of the have-nots.
This is the aspect of the book that I found most interesting (more sociological and political), but there are chapters for people with different tastes and interests. For movie buffs or sci-fi novel readers, there are very well-documented sections on the portrayal of disasters in the Los Angeles area (I personally found this part less fascinating, because that is not my area of interest, but to many it may be). For environmentalists the book is a must-read on how NOT to manage an urban area. For local historians, there are some great anecdotes on LA history that I had never seen or read anywhere, and my family has lived in the LA area for decades. The saddest part of the book is discovering just how short-sighted people can be when making policy decisions and that capitalism's solution of allowing the power of money and majority opinion to solve everything does not lead those who possess power and wealth to make the soundest decisions in many, if not most, cases. And who knew that there are tornadoes in Los Angeles?! (Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-04 09:05:25 EST)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 09-21-03 | 5 | 2\4 |
| Reviewer | Permalink | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Ecology of Fear is a public gem, if just, for its inquiry into fire prevention and policy in two differing socioeconomic enclaves of Los Angeles,Ca affluent Malibu and densely immigrant Pico-Union Westlake District. Why a public gem in this respect?? It is a broadly appealing insight into the intersection of 'fire' policy and human welfare. The fire related inquiries alone perhaps will equally interest busy professionals, students, politicians, et.al with a keen interest in policy awareness, yet left with little time or resources for conquering the wealth of information disseminated by Mike Davis. It is likely that a casual read of this book will land the reader into perhaps a fit of rage, or maybe a touch of shame, and possibly even numbness.
Ecology of Fear will likely capture the reader's attention and generate much deliberation. (Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-04 09:05:25 EST)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 04-25-03 | 5 | 6\6 |
| Reviewer | Permalink | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
We all think we live near glitzy Hollywood-style Los Angeles; we've sung the praises of its temperate weather. We complain a bit about smog; but when a hurricane hits the East Coast, we feel smug that we only have earthquakes.
Every one in Los Angeles who has had any of these thoughtsmust read the Ecology of Fear. Anyone who has ever wondered just how urban sprawl came about must read this book. Mike Davis has done the perenially-new Los Angeles a favor by gathering together the facts and insights of this book. The Ecology of Fear reveals how this very real place and its problems are founded upon a number of very poor decisions. This book demonstrates how much of Los Angeles' disasters are simply a function of decisions that are poorly-made in light of the natural environment. Even though we have built and paved mightily, L.A.'s natural surroundings are not going away. Earthquakes, coyotes, hunters, xenophobia, fires (wild and otherwise), land grabs and twisters are all part of what makes up the fear ecology of Los Angeles. If you have ever addressed your local City Council, or worked on a general plan, or wondered why open space was vanishing, or even voted, you should read this book. It will open your eyes. (Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-04 09:05:25 EST)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reader Reviews 1 - 8 of 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| All Books | Arts | Biography | Click Here For An A-Z Index Of All 213 Best-Seller Subjects | Business | Children's | Comics | ||||||
| Computers | Cooking | Engineering | Entertainment | Health | History | Home | Horror | Humor | Law | Fiction | Medicine | Mystery |
| Nonfiction | Outdoors | Parenting | Professional | Reference | Religion | Romance | Science | Sci-Fi | Sports | Teens | Travel | |
