"This is an excellent book, and a must read for those interested in the anthropology of disaster or theories of affect. Barrios's focus on social and environmental justice, partnered with his offhand, vernacular definitions and ethnographic presentations of concepts such as neoliberalism, modernity, postcolonialism, and disaster ethics, among other key concepts in anthropology, also makes the book a useful text for many upper division undergraduate courses or any graduate seminar in disaster studies or environmental justice."—Elizabeth Marino, Journal of Anthropological Research
"Governing Affect: Neoliberalism and Disaster Reconstruction and Disaster Upon Disaster, two books by Roberto E. Barrios, Anthropology, are showcased on a “new reads” list by the University of Colorado’s Natural Hazards Center. The center, a leading National Science Foundation-designated information clearing house, compiles this list to highlight cutting-edge research that bridges the gap between academics and practitioners focused on disaster risk reduction."—SIUC News
“Seamlessly weaving together poststructural theory, political economy, ethnography, and personal narrative, Roberto Barrios opens new terrain for understanding why disaster reconstruction so often falls short in addressing the needs of disaster victims by failing to recognize the power of affect.”—Anthony Oliver-Smith, author of The Martyred City: Death and Rebirth in the Andes
“A major contribution to disaster scholarship . . . [and] provocative enough to provide an interesting classroom debate.”—William L. Waugh Jr., coeditor of Emergency Management: Principles and Practice for Local Government, 2nd edition
“In crystal clear, step-by-step prose, illuminated by four heart-wrenching examples, Roberto Barrios strips bare the ways pre- and postdisaster agencies and development schemes ignore the crucial importance of a vulnerable or devastated people’s well-being.”—Susanna M. Hoffman, coeditor of The Angry Earth: Disaster in Anthropological Perspective
