Land: How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern World – A World History of Property Rights, Conflict, and the Future of Environmental Stewardship

“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 the fascinating human history of 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 the complex topic of land ownership: 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 questions of property rights: who actually owns the world’s land―and why does it matter? 

• A Globe-Trotting World History: Follow the story of property from Europe and Africa to North America and the South Pacific, exploring how our relationship with the ground beneath our feet has shaped nations and cultures.
• Environmental Stewardship: Go beyond acquisition to explore how we care for the land we own, the challenges of stewardship, and the profound consequences of our choices.
• A Geopolitical Perspective: Investigate why we fight over territory, from ancient disputes to modern conflicts, and what these battles reveal about our deepest instincts.
• Narrative Nonfiction at its Finest: Written with the keen intellect and insatiable curiosity that made Simon Winchester a bestselling author, this book makes complex history feel like a gripping story.

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.