The Sanitary City: Urban Infrastructure in America from Colonial Times to the Present by Martin V. Melosi is a big book in every sense. It spans a multitude of disciplines, including economics, environmental policy, history, law, political science, and public health. It raises important arguments that will provoke debates and stimulate further research for years to come. And it is thorough and comprehensive, revealing an author who has been reading and thinking about the issues at hand for a very long time. A book this big needed to be nearly 600 pages long.