The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal about Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power
By Deirdre Mask
The Address Book is thoughtful and whimsical, startling and absorbing; an historical tour and wholly entertaining. 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 won’t get lost - even w/ gps. But street addresses were not invented to help you find your way; they were created to find you - by the taxman, the conscription services, and all those pesky direct mailers; many parts of the world, your address can reveal your race and class.
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.
I didn’t think I’d find it compelling to read but it was a blend of fascinating fact, with modern applications that keeps one turning the page.
