The Address Book

An extraordinary debut in the tradition of classic works from authors such as Mark Kurlansky,Mary Roachand Rose George. An exuberant and insightful work of popular history of how streets got their nameshouses their numbersand what it reveals about classracepowerand identity. When most people think about street addressesif they think of them at allit is in their capacity to ensure that the postman can deliver mail or a traveler wonΓÇÖt get lost. But street addresses were not invented to help you find your way; they were created to find you. In many parts of the worldyour address can reveal your race and class. In this wide-ranging and remarkable bookDeirdre Mask looks at the fate of streets named after Martin Luther King Jr.the wayfinding means of ancient Romansand how Nazis haunt the streets of modern Germany. The flipside of having an address is not having oneand we also see what that means for millions of people todayincluding those who live in the slums of Kolkata and on the streets of London. Filled with fascinating people and historiesThe Address Book illuminates the complex and sometimes hidden stories behind street names and their power to nameto hideto decide who countswho doesnΓÇÖtΓÇöand why.