For the late great Mike Davis the ravaging of the climate by capitaland his prescient analysis of its consequences for those of us left to deal with the resulting criseswas always a central part of his urban geography. In 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 disastersnatural manmade and those as in the case of climate calamity where the distinction is impossible to makethat he finds on the other end. He begins his examination by sifting through the rubble of the twin towers in the wake of 911 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 Vegass penchant for annihilating its own bestknown landmarks and other riveting tales of the dialectic between nature and the city. Dead Cities 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.