Merritt Ierley is the author of Open House: A Guided Tour of the American Home 1637-Present , published in March by Henry Holt, from which this article is adapted.

Mr. Infield’s article is based on his book The Disaster at Bari , published this month by Macmillan.

Julie V. Iovine is a writer based in New York. She often writes on architectural subjects.

Akira Iriye has been a professor of History at Harvard University since 1989.

—Walter Isaacson is the managing editor of Time magazine and the author of Kissinger: A Biography and a forthcoming biography of Benjamin Franklin.

Marjorie F. Iseman is a free-lance writer who not only grew up in New York hut still lives and works there today.

Maurice Isserman is a Professor of History at Hamilton College who specializes in modern U.S. History, American radical movements, and global exploration and mountaineering.