"This splendid book makes a truly innovative contribution to the literature on social and political change in Latin America. Davis demonstrates compellingly how a focus on local level processes can lead to a new understanding of politics a the national level."
-Evelyne Huber, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
"This impressively researched, historically and theoretically informed book should be read by all persons interested in the political economy of cities in general and of Mexico in particular. Diane Davis understands the subtleties of how political, social, and economic forces at the national and urban levels influence each other, both positively and negatively, and how they change over time."
-Susan Eckstein, Boston University
"The illuminating tapestry of Urban leviathan is woven from the diverse elements of politics, geography, political economy, and public policy. The result is a study that forces us to rethink the places of cities in relationship to national institutions and practices, and makes the built environment central to our understanding of political and economic development."
-Ira Katznelson, Columbia University
