Land - How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern World

The author of The Professor and the Madman and The Perfectionists explores the notion of property--our proprietary relationship with the land--through human history, how it has shaped us and what it will mean for our future. Land--whether meadow or mountainside, desert or peat bog, parkland or pasture, suburb or city--is central to our existence. It quite literally underlies and underpins everything. Employing the keen intellect, insatiable curiosity, and narrative verve that are the foundations of his previous bestselling works, Simon Winchester examines what we human beings are doing--and have done--with the billions of acres that together make up the solid surface of our planet. Land: The Ownership of Everywhere examines in depth how we acquire land, how we steward it, how and why we fight over it, and finally, how we can, and on occasion do, come to share it. Ultimately, Winchester confronts the essential question: who actually owns the world's land--and why does it matter?

Report

"The latest sweeping, satisfying popular history from the British American author and journalist, this time covering a topic that many of us take for granted...Engaging revelations about land and property, often discouraging but never dull. - Kirkus Reviews
"Exudes the comfort and charm of a beloved encyclopedia come to life." - New Yorker
"In many ways, "Land" combines bits and pieces of many of Winchester's previous books into a satisfying, globe-trotting whole...Winchester is, once again, a consummate guide." - Boston Globe

Product details

• Authors: Simon Winchester
• Publisher: Harper Collins Usa
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.01.2021
• EAN: 9780062938336
• ISBN: 978-0-06-293833-6
• No. of pages: 464
• Dimensions: 152 mm x 229 mm x 33 mm
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book; HISTORY: WORLD, SOCIAL SCIENCE: Sociology / Urban, HISTORY: Social History, PSYCHOLOGY: Mental Health, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS: Real Estate / General, HISTORY: OF IDEAS, HISTORY: Europe / General, SOCIOLOGY: CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY, SOCIAL SCIENCE: Anthropology / Cultural & Social, LITERATURE: CULTURAL STUDIES, PHILOSOPHY: Political, SOCIAL SCIENCE: Indigenous Studies