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hatrack

(63,051 posts)
5. Incidentally, this article mentions Mike Davis, and with good reason.
Sat Jan 11, 2025, 06:52 AM
Jan 2025

Some 30 years ago, he wrote a fantastic book called "Ecology Of Fear". It's all about why Americans love to imagine the destruction of Los Angeles.

This isn't anything new. It goes back about 100 years to fundamentalist preachers, "The Day of The Locust" by Nathaniel West and keeps on going with pulp fiction trash like "Lucifer's Hammer" and movies like "Volcano" and "Earthquake". When imagination fails, destroy Los Angeles.

It also covers actual disasters, like recurring fires in Malibu and elsewhere, and a history of tornadoes in the LA metro in a chapter called "Our Secret Kansas".

He was (he died a few years ago) a stylish, smart writer, and this book is well worth your time.

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