Ecology of Fear: Los Angeles and the Imagination of Disaster

By Mike Davis

A witty and engrossing look at Los Angeles' urban ecology and the city's place in America's cultural fantasies

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 catastrophe 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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Feb 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9781786636256

Mike Davis

Mike Davis (1946–2022) was the author of City of Quartz as well as Dead Cities and The Monster at Our Door, co-editor of Evil Paradises, and co-editor—with Kelly Mayhew and Jim Miller—of Under the Perfect Sun (The New Press).

Reviews for Ecology of Fear

[aulsmith · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is an outstanding book with a wide appeal. I think everyone from people interested in the sociology of cities to science fiction fans to readers who wonder how humans can ignore obvious risks will find something in this book to like. It discusses many of the problems of Los Angeles including earthquakes, droughts, mudslides, unplanned urbanization, wildfires, tornadoes, wild animals and urban blight. In the middle he pauses to read every book and see every movie that depicts the destruction of Los Angeles. He breaks them down into categories and then discusses several from each group.On top of having so much information, this book is a joy to read, moving along at a rapid pace and pulling the reader in. I have only two complaints which made me rate this 4 instead of 5. One, there isn't one cohesive over-riding thesis. Two, is that there is no bibliography so when you want more information (or the list of all the dystopian LA fiction), you have to ferret it out of the bibliography.

[laurieae · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Loved this book and City of Quartz. Highly recommended to anyone interested in LA or southern California.