Mike Davies peers into a looking glass to foresee the future of Los Angeles, and what he sees is not encouraging. A city -or better a succession of city states- torn by racial hatred, economic disparity and social anomie. Looking back, Davis suggests that Los Angeles has always been contested ground.
In the 1840's a combination of drought and industrial stock raising led to the destruction of small-scale Spanish farming in the region, in the 1910's, Los Angeles was the scene of a bitter conflict between management and industrial workers, so bitter that the publisher of the Los Angeles Times retreated to a heavily fortified home. In 1992, much of the city fell before flames and riot in a scenario Davis describes as thus: 'Gangs are multiplying at a terrifying rate, cops are becoming more arrogant and trigger-happy, and a whole generation is being shunted toward some impossible Armageddon'. So, Davis approach to the past, present and future of Los Angeles is alarming and arresting, but his book is an essential read for anyone interested in contemporary affairs.
