Land
How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern World
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4.0 • 20 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
“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
The author of The Professor and the Madman, The Map That Changed the World, and The Perfectionists explores the notion of property—bought, earned, or received; in Europe, Africa, North America, or the South Pacific—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: How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern World 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?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Winchester (The Perfectionists) probes "humankind's approach to the possession of the world's surface" in this eclectic account. Using his purchase of 123 forested acres in New York's Berkshire Mountains as a launching point, Winchester explores the geological history of the planet (he notes that New England formed one billion years ago in the Southern Hemisphere) and the legal, cultural, and social issues related to land use and ownership. He details the decades-long creation of Flevoland, a province in the Netherlands built entirely on land reclaimed from the North Sea, attributing Dutch communalism and consensus-driven policymaking to the fact that much of the country is below sea level. Winchester also details debates over indigenous land rights in America and Australia, and notes that Australian mining magnate Lang Hancock, whose daughter, Gina Rinehart, is now the world's largest private landowner with 29 million acres under her control, once suggested that unemployed aboriginal Australians should be sterilized. Winchester amasses a wealth of intriguing factoids and arcana, though readers looking for a comprehensive overview of the subject will be disappointed. Still, this is an entertaining and erudite roundup of humanity's ever-evolving relationship with terra firma.
Customer Reviews
Interesting but….
There’s some really great information and knowledge in this book. But in many ways, it’s a one-sided view. The author leads us through history (albeit not a complete look; much of the land story is missing here) as he interprets it, setting the stage for suggesting community-based land trusts are the way forward. I must say my personal experiences with such types of projects have not been so positive. Unfortunately, in todays society, human beings have much less care for what they see as not “theirs.” Ask anyone with property along one of the celebrated “rail trails.” The amount of garbage (water bottles, used diapers, pet waste baggies, whatever people need to discard while walking and biking) is horrendous. The arguing and fighting over who rides on what side of the trail where, walkers being knocked over by bikers and soon is incredible. Having owned large tracts of land, land trusts sound very nice. Until you find out that in addition to land the donor is supposed to keep supporting the given property for maintenance, etc. Try wilding your yard or garden in a city - I know a woman botanist who did just that, only to be sued by the city for lowering property values in her neighborhood. The problem is much more complex than the author lets on. Having worked in an environmental agency, I’ve seen the impact of the “neighbor hate fights” over things like plantings, ornamentation, fences, maintenance, etc. I’m having trouble believing real humans can co-own land for lengthy periods of time in a truly sustainable manner. Sorry to be contrary. The theory is nice - but true human nature is testament to how difficult this reform will truly be.