A review by deadflagblues
City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles by Mike Davis

5.0

Every person in Los Angeles should be given a copy of this in the mail. This book is a very detailed synopsis of Los Angeles history seen through a critical lens. There are a few chapters that should are timely in regard to policing and the community of Los Angeles. None of the history is sugar coated or given the "Hollywood treatment." It is one of the most eye-opening books I've read and really gives you the whole history of Los Angeles in every nitty gritty detail. This book is detailed in every topic it covers, sometimes its pretty dense in that regard, but no stone is left unturned. There is an entire chapter dedicated to the history of the power structures of the Catholic church in Los Angeles. While each chapter is a specific theme, the books does a great job of showing the connection and influence each part plays in the history of Los Angeles. Its critical theory meets history meets urban design. Mike does not hold an idealized version of LA and may come off more editorial than pure historical, but he brings detailed reciepts to every point he makes in the book. It is a commentary of power structures, Capitalism, racism, and failed public policy that is not unique to Los Angeles. But like its golden jewel Hollywood, its the mechanisms behind the scenes that are the reality, not the well manicured image of Utopia it strived so hard to become over the years. "It is both utopia and dystopia" and this book does a great job laying its complicated history for all to bear.