{"product_id":"dead-cities-and-other-tales-9798888903018","title":"Dead Cities: And Other Tales","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFor the late great Mike Davis, the ravaging of the climate by capital-and his prescient analysis of its consequences for those of us left to deal with the resulting crises-was always a central part of his urban geography.\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003eIn these wide ranging, incisive, and hauntingly relevant essays, Davis asks us to consider what we would find if we put a microscope to the ruins of Metropolis, and provides a riveting account of the disasters-natural, man-made, and those (as in the case of climate calamity) where the distinction is impossible to make-that he finds on the other end. He begins his examination by sifting through the rubble of the twin towers in the wake of 9\/11, presciently identifying the seeds of war already germinating in the scorched soil of ground zero, and closes by considering how little prepared our hollowed out urban infrastructure is to deal with shocks of any kind, be they from car bombs or ice storms. In between we are treated to tours of blasted wastelands where American generals built and destroyed replicas of Berlin, glimpses of Las Vegas's penchant for annihilating its own best-known landmarks, and other riveting tales of the dialectic between nature and the city.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eDead Cities\u003c\/em\u003e, written over twenty years ago, abounds with prophecies fulfilled, contains echoes of our current moment where conspiracies abound and anxieties drown out official celebrations of prosperity, and offers dreams of alternative paths not taken.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMike Davis\u003c\/strong\u003e (1946-2022) was a writer, political activist, urban theorist, and historian. He is best known for his investigations of power and class in works such as \u003cem\u003eCity of Quartz, Late Victorian Holocausts\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003ePlanet of Slums\u003c\/em\u003e. His last two non-fiction b\u003cem\u003eooks \u003c\/em\u003ewere\u003cem\u003e Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties\u003c\/em\u003e, co-authored by Jon Wiener, and \u003cem\u003eThe Monster Enters: COVID-19, Avian Flu, and the Plagues of Capitalism\u003c\/em\u003e. He was the recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship and the Lannan Literary Award.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Haymarket Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50916253335826,"sku":"9798888903018","price":52.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_d890e9b7-21cf-43a9-afe6-78e9025ca1c5.jpg?v=1738845705","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/dead-cities-and-other-tales-9798888903018","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}