An exuberant and insightful work of popular history of how streets got their names houses their numbers and what it reveals about class race power and identity.When most people think about street addresses if they think of them at all it is in their capacity to ensure that the postman can deliver mail or a traveler wont get lost. But street addresses were not invenAn exuberant and insightful work of popular history of how streets got their names houses their numbers and what it reveals about class race power and identity.When most people think about street addresses if they think of them at all it is in their capacity to ensure that the postman can deliver mail or a traveler wont 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 world your address can reveal your race and class.In this wide-ranging and remarkable book Deirdre Mask looks at the fate of streets named after Martin Luther King Jr. the wayfinding means of ancient Romans and how Nazis haunt the streets of modern Germany. The flipside of having an address is not having one and we also see what that means for millions of people today including those who live in the slums of Kolkata and on the streets of London.Filled with fascinating people and histories The Address Book illuminates the complex and sometimes hidden stories behind street names and their power to name to hide to decide who counts who doesnt―and why.(less)