...phrase, making up among the best general summaries of the problem of "slums and shanty towns" in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and what explains their growth. The author, Mike Davis, has written several fine books on urban issues, but focused mainly on the United States. His unfamiliarity with urban issues in the other three regions explains some of the inaccuracies, many of which arise from his failure to question the validity and accuracy of some sources from which he draws. But part of the book's strength is the fresh eyes it brings to the topic and the analytical insights, drawing on urban issues in the United States. This review will consider the book's strengths and weaknesses.

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Its strengths are its readability and the evidence it marshals on the crisis in urban areas in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Many examples highlight the awful living conditions for hundreds of millions of urban dwellers. The book describes how large sections of low-income population live in very poor quality rented accommodation, with overcrowding and exploitation from landlords that rival the worst nineteenth-century slums. It emphasizes how poverty...

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