FOOTPRINTS OF ASSURANCE is a comprehensive and complete record of fire marks used by fire insurance companies in sixty-three countries. These insignia themselves tell the story of the development of one of the world’s most important economic institutions. Mr. Bulan enriches the story by introducing the reader to some of the men who have been responsible for the growth of the institution. He has enlivened his account with incident and anecdote so that the lay reader may share with the profession an understanding of the spirit which has from the beginning been the distinguishing feature of the enterprise of providing security against loss by fire. Collectors of fire marks will find this volume to be an indispensable guide. Economic historians will not find anywhere so full a record of these signs of security, these visible symbols of assurance, assurance which provided the climate requisite to economic growth. The volume shows nearly 1800 fire marks in half tone vignettes each with a caption giving a full description of the mark and date of organization of each company. This systematic treatment has indeed established the collecting of marks as a science and has added to the English language the word Signeviery as the name of that science.

In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.