THE LAND TRAP

Our obsession with land is the driving force behind human history It has sparked revolutions and fuelled economic booms as well as financial crises Land is the world s oldest and most important asset and it governs the course of our lives more than any other form of wealth But this immense power is also what makes it so dangerous In The Land Trap The Economist s Wall Street editor Mike Bird reveals a sweeping global history that shows how fortunes have been built or destroyed all on the bedrock of land It has become the linchpin of the world s banking system and it affects everything from soaring housing prices to geopolitical tensions From the speculative land grabs of colonial America to China s modern day real estate crisis this gripping narrative shows how the economics of land can make and break families businesses and even entire nations This is the book for anyone who wants to see beyond markets and money to the hidden game being played out on the ground beneath our feet