Foreign AffairsĬontroversial, comprehensive, and compelling, this book is megahistory at its most fascinating-a monument to times past, but hopefully not a predictor of future disasters.“Mike was not that big on prioritizing his self-interest, and that was the great thing about him,” says Kenneth Pomeranz, renowned historian of the modern world economy and former colleague of Mike Davis at the University of California, Irvine. Sukhdev Sandhu,Ĭontroversial, comprehensive, and compelling, this book is megahistory at its most fascinating-a monument to times past, but hopefully not a predictor of future disasters. The catalogue of cruelty Davis has unearthed is jaw-dropping … Late Victorian Holocausts is as ugly as it is compelling. New ScientistĪ hero of the Left, Davis is part polemicist, part historian, and all Marxist. Times Literary SupplementĪ masterly account of climatic, economic and colonial history. Wide ranging and compelling.a remarkable achievement. Late Victorian Holocausts proves them wrong. Generations of historians largely ignored the implications and until recently dismissed them as 'climatic accidents'. ObserverĮloquent and passionate, this is a veritable Black Book of liberal capitalism. After reading this, I defy even the most ardent nationalist to feel proud of the so-called ‘achievements’ of empire. Late Victorian Holocausts will redefine the way we think about the European colonial project. This is groundbreaking, mind-stretching stuff. Pyne, author of World Fireĭavis, a brilliant maverick scholar, sets the triumph of the late-nineteenth-century Western imperialism in the context of catastrophic El Niño weather patterns at that time.

Mike Davis tells the story with zest, anger, and insight.

The global climate meets a globalizing political economy, the fundamentals of one clashing with the fundamentalisms of the other. Kenneth Pomeranz, author of The Great Divergence Lots of us talk about writing 'world history' and 'interdisciplinary history': here is the genuine article. Amartya Sen,ĭavis's range is stunning.He combines political economy, meteorology, and ecology with vivid narratives to create a book that is both a gripping read and a major conceptual achievement. Davis has given us a book of substantial contemporary relevance as well as great historical interest.this highly informative book foes well beyond its immediate focus.

Late Victorian Holocausts by Mike Davis