Flammable Cities : Urban Conflagration and the Making of the Modern World

Bankoff, Greg (EDT); Lubken, Uwe (EDT); Sand, Jordan (EDT); Pyne, Stephen J. (AFT)

ISBN 10: 0299283844 / ISBN 13: 9780299283841

Published by University of Wisconsin Press, 2012

About this Item

Seller Inventory # 14214475-n

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Flammable Cities : Urban Conflagration and the Making of the Modern World
• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
• Publication Date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0299283844
• ISBN 13: 9780299283841
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

In most cities today, fire has been reduced to a sporadic and isolated threat. But throughout history the constant risk of fire has left a deep and lasting imprint on almost every dimension of urban society. This volume, the first truly global study of urban conflagration, shows how fire has shaped cities throughout the modern world, from Europe to the imperial colonies, major trade entrepôts, and non-European capitals, right up to such present-day megacities as Lagos and Jakarta. Urban fire may hinder commerce or even spur it; it may break down or reinforce barriers of race, class, and ethnicity; it may serve as a pretext for state violence or provide an opportunity for displays of state benevolence. As this volume demonstrates, the many and varied attempts to master, marginalize, or manipulate fire can turn a natural and human hazard into a highly useful social and political tool.

About the Authors

Greg Bankoff is professor of history at the University of Hull, UK.

Uwe Lübken is “Disaster Migration” project director, Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society, LMU Munich.

Jordan Sand is associate professor of Japanese history and culture at Georgetown University.