"Urban environmental history has now reached the stage where it needs more transnational studies, and Platt's comprehensive and detailed account of the environmental transformation of Manchester and Chicago shows the value of taking such an approach."
— Stephen Mosley, Urban History
"Thoroughly researched, deeply reflective, and sophisticated."
— Jeffrey K. Stine, Isis
"By sorting out what is unique and what is held in common in Chicago and Manchester, Platt advances the discussion of industrialization and urban growth in the late 1800s."
— Burton W. Folsom Jr., American Historical Review
"This is at one level a specific study of two cities, Chicago and Manchester. On another level, it is about the inevitable confrontation with nature that occurs in all cities as they grow and evolve. . . . An impressive, comprehensive examination of two multi-faceted dynamic urban systems during their most dramatic periods of growth and urbanization. Platt leaves no aspect unconnected to the whole."
— Randall Partlett, The Historian
"By putting questions of social and environmental justice at the center, Platt does an exemplary job of uncovering the cultural and political construction of physical space in these two revolutionary cities."
— Matthew Osborn, Journal of Social History
"Platt has written the definitive account of industrialization, transformation, and reform in each city during the 1800s, while demonstrating the remarkable insights to be gained through comparative history. . . .Depth and insight make Shock Cities a model for urban environmental historians. . . . An exhaustive analysis, with implications far beyond 19th century Manchester and Chicago."
— Stephen Bocking, Urban History Review