Books

On June 23, 1946, Italy and Belgium signed the “men in exchange for coal” agreement, in which Italy committed to sending fifty thousand workers each year to the Belgian coal mines, and Belgium pledged to supply a few thousand tons of coal to Italy each month. The first treaty of its kind, ...

Modern Paris is often hailed as a capital of urban infrastructure. Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann’s rebuilding of Paris in 1853–1870, branded “Haussmannization,” helped define urban modernity for cities worldwide. But even as infrastructures expanded and modernized, some Parisians were left behind: as late as 1928, 18 percent of houses still lacked direct ...

Not a day goes by that humans aren’t exposed to toxins in our environment—be it at home, in the car, or workplace. But what about those toxic places and items that aren’t marked? Why are we warned about some toxic spaces’ substances and not others? The essays ...