Land: How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern World
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- Create Date：2021-01-20 04:17:29
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Simon Winchester
- ISBN：9780062938336
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Summary
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: 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？
Editor Reviews
10/26/2020
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。 Agent: Suzanne Gluck， WME （Jan。）
About the Author
Simon Winchester is the acclaimed author of many books， including The Professor and the Madman， The Men Who United the States， The Map That Changed the World， The Man Who Loved China， A Crack in the Edge of the World， and Krakatoa， all of which were New York Times bestsellers and appeared on numerous best and notable lists。 In 2006， Winchester was made an officer of the Order of the British Empire （OBE） by Her Majesty the Queen。 He resides in western Massachusetts。
Reviews
B&NAlisaS
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Land is something we think of as eternal， the "only thing that lasts" which is why land ownership is considered to be one of the best investments。 But the land changes constantly， usually so slowly we can't notice， but lately， so quickly it can be shocking due to the varied effects of climate change。 This is engaging narrative non-fiction at its best。
Steve Donoghue
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If you've read any Simon Winchester， you know what to expect in this terrific book: a natural storyteller's ease， a thousand great anecdotes， some very interesting， challenging insights， and maybe a corresponding lack of narrative through-line。 Winchester is in great form here， scintillating and funny and wide-ranging in his examination of the million ways humans have obsessed over land in the last thousand years （and as an added bonus， the US hardcover from Harper is quite nice）。 My full review If you've read any Simon Winchester， you know what to expect in this terrific book: a natural storyteller's ease， a thousand great anecdotes， some very interesting， challenging insights， and maybe a corresponding lack of narrative through-line。 Winchester is in great form here， scintillating and funny and wide-ranging in his examination of the million ways humans have obsessed over land in the last thousand years （and as an added bonus， the US hardcover from Harper is quite nice）。 My full review is here: https://www。thedailystar。net/book-rev。。。 。。。more
Anne Morgan
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"Land" is the story of people's relationship with and to the land， across both time and the globe with the big question being: "what does it mean to "own" the land？" Winchester examines how European invaders have destroyed both the land and the people who originally inhabited it wherever they went。 He informs us of the few mega-rich who own tremendous amounts of land。 The Highland Clearances and today's radical Scottish attempts to make land owned by the communities instead of individuals。 The S "Land" is the story of people's relationship with and to the land， across both time and the globe with the big question being: "what does it mean to "own" the land？" Winchester examines how European invaders have destroyed both the land and the people who originally inhabited it wherever they went。 He informs us of the few mega-rich who own tremendous amounts of land。 The Highland Clearances and today's radical Scottish attempts to make land owned by the communities instead of individuals。 The Soviet Union's genocide in Ukraine over land and Communist farming methods。 Then wraps it all up by reminding the reader that， despite what they might think， land is not forever。 It changes， it grows， and during these times of global warming， it drowns。 All in all， a depressing book that wasn't as interesting or as informative as I had anticipated， and one where I skimmed a lot because Winchester seemed to be trying to fit ten or more examples into any given sentence where two or three would do。I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review 。。。more
Denise Newton
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https://denisenewtonwrites。com/？p=2478Land: How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern WorldSimon WinchesterLand is an engrossing and thought provoking read。 Readers who enjoy learning about history， geography， maps， as well as the contradictions of human behaviour， will enjoy the mix of anecdote and analysis with which Winchester packs a lot of information into a very readable package。 https://denisenewtonwrites。com/？p=2478Land: How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern WorldSimon WinchesterLand is an engrossing and thought provoking read。 Readers who enjoy learning about history， geography， maps， as well as the contradictions of human behaviour， will enjoy the mix of anecdote and analysis with which Winchester packs a lot of information into a very readable package。 。。。more
Zeb Kantrowitz
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This book has two parts， the first part is geological and discusses the creation of land and the type of land and the beginning of man to harness it as opposed to just living off what exists。 The biggest change to the relationship of man and land is when he began to settle in places and create agriculture which meant staying in one place， to plant and sow。As more people lived together， they began to go from groups to tribes to communities。 Communities then began to compete for resources and to c This book has two parts， the first part is geological and discusses the creation of land and the type of land and the beginning of man to harness it as opposed to just living off what exists。 The biggest change to the relationship of man and land is when he began to settle in places and create agriculture which meant staying in one place， to plant and sow。As more people lived together， they began to go from groups to tribes to communities。 Communities then began to compete for resources and to conquer others to make their lives easier by exploiting those who were conquered。 Little by little different groups began to take land as their gd given rights。 Empires were created， and that's when the book changes to a geographic story。Empires began to conquer lands around it to control the output of those lands。 The Egyptians would take over more and more land up the Nile Valley to enrich themselves and to enslave peoples to do their work and bidding。 Rome took on the Carthaginian Empire to give them control of the Mediterranean Sea and all of the commerce that occurred in that area。 Later they expanded into other area that had resources they wanted。 This is how land was acquired and controlled。Over the centuries， religion became the primary reason for the controlling of land， as different groups fought to prove that they were gds given。 First it was Christianity and the Pagans and then Christianity and Islam， later it was Christianity and Protestantism。 As land was controlled by borders and became nations， they again fought over control of resources。 In the sixteen hundreds Europe began to go out and begin to control other parts of the world， ending with the division of Africa in the late eighteenth century。World War I and II were fought over control of land as control of land became power and the proof of status as a World Power。 After the war， ideology became the primary reason to battle over land for the now reduced resources。 During this time， almost all world colonies were given their independence while the world divided by affiliation to the West （US & Europe） and East （Ussr）。 With the end of the Cold War， we entered a period of armed nationalism。This is the last section where Winchester discussed the current problems with control of land for groups over disputes related to religion and ethnicity， or political disagreements。 Some places discussed are the Korean Peninsula， the Middle East and South Asia。 It's a well written and research history of why many parts of the world are as they are today。 。。。more
Dan
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