Revelations from addresses

The Address Book

Author: Deirdre Mask Publisher: Allen & Unwin/ Profile Books

RRP: $34.99 Reviewer: Mary Ann Elliott

WHO would think that something as mundane as an address can save lives, but also serve the powerful?

With degrees from Oxford and Harvard, African-American lawyer, scholar and author Deirdre Mask travelled the world to find out where we live and what it says about us.

In many parts of the outback, where there are no street addresses, ambulances cabs, postmen and friends need guidance by phone or GPS apps. Failing that, residents need to listen for the siren or honking.

But addresses are not just there to help find you. They allow the state to tax its citizens and the police to locate suspects.

On the other hand, in the US it took eight years for a street to be named after Martin Luther King Jr. Mexico City has at least 500 streets named after Emiliano Zapata, leader of their peasant revolution, and in Russia, more than 4000 streets are named after Lenin.

Especially relevant now, when Black Lives Matter rallies are at their height, Mask describes the campaign by Florida black community residents to rename streets named after confederate generals. Their new names include Liberty, Freedom and Hope Sts.

Thousands more names have changed in America’s Deep South.

In many parts of the world, including Australia, your address can reveal your race and class, and even political affiliations. Street names change after wars, revolutions and political upheavals.

Venturing back to ancient times, Mask explores how the Romans navigated their cities. Her fascinating insights include how Nazis still haunt the streets of modern Germany. In a chapter featuring Donald Trump, she explains the prestige values of specific addresses in New York City.

When I walked past Trump Tower many years ago, homeless men were huddled right by the gilt chandeliered entrance, wrapped in flimsy blankets or newspaper. It seems not much has changed.

As for those living in the slums of Kolkata, the favelas in Rio and innumerable refugee camps worldwide, the “residents” don’t have the luxury of an address, and are just lucky to survive.

This completely engrossing book is filled with fascinating people and places; a real pageturner.