Simon Winchester: How the Search for Land Ownership Transformed the Modern World

Sam S.: This work is incredibly well-researched and covers all parts pf the globe. Its central theme is basically theft; theft of land and territory of various parts of various continents by white Europeans (of which I am one, hence the shame) from the indigenous peoples they made stateless. The most shocking is probably the way that native Americans were displaced and marginalised, because it's not spoken about or taught (apparently) in the States. Man's inhumanity to Man, all in one superb and shocking book.

United Kingdom on Feb 04, 2023

AC: Interesting and insightful read on land inhabiting, geological history and obsession of land ownership. The latter often coming with devastating consequences for indigenous people and the environment.
The book reads like separate essays jumping from different regions and historical time periods in each chapter which for me kept it Interesting
Therefore it doesn't have a obvious thread but it is clear that the author was interested/sympathetic to certain areas

The Chapter on Africa was lazy at best. So many parts of the continent could have been explored given the continent has some of the worst examples of land exploitation and genocide themes Simon explored elsewhere. But also the geological variety and diversity not even acknowledged. The migration of first humans was a tiny remark somewhere in the book. To compare Africa the continent has the smallest chapter 10 pages yet 2full chapters on Scotland (they were interesting probably could have been one though  )

I learnt a lot about what Native Americans had to endure in this book but often times their depiction was condescending and placid.

Where the author is interested it was interesting for sure

United Kingdom on Dec 31, 2022

Matt Hook: An interesting look on land , however it feels as if it’s a collection of long essays rather than a book. Nevertheless a great read.

United Kingdom on Jul 08, 2022

Kim Wingerei: Simon Winchester is a superb writer. His grasp of complex issues is surpassed by his ability to make them understandable to the reader. The research behind this book is extraordinary, and the way he binds it all together makes for a riveting read of a rather somber subject. But I was hoping for a better approach to solutions of the malaise we find ourselves in. Maybe there aren’t any...

Australia on Jun 01, 2021

A. Menon: Land is a survey of the concept of ownership of land and how that has impacted history and created irreconcilable conflict. At its core the book highlights and questions the concepts of land ownership and discusses the evolution of the concept over time and how different cultures have different philosophies about it. The book at first is a historical survey but migrates into telling a variety of stories that bring the concepts to life and remind the reader of the humanity involved. At first I found the writing a bit superfluous but as the book evolved I appreciated the style more and by the end was a fan of the writing and the content.

The book starts with how the earliest demarcation of land holdings likely came into existence. When proto farming began and the planting of vegetation became a calculated endeavor, the need to create boundaries on where one had planted became a practical issue that likely led to early concepts of land rights. From here the author takes the reader on the evolution of that simple practical issue to all that it entails. The author discusses legal land rights as they are currently constructed, how they differ across the world. The author...

United States on May 20, 2021

Timothy Haugh: Simon Winchester is one of my favorite writers of nonfiction. His books are invariably engaging and informative. Though I wouldn’t put this book in the top-flight of his work, it certainly does his reputation no harm.

His biggest theme here seems to be this: that there is no logical reason to think that it makes sense for land to be owned and fenced. It is a human construct that has impacted our history in many ways. After a brief excursion into measurement and maps, he focuses mainly on land acquisition and transaction. There are the usual suspects—land taken from native Americans and other colonizing tragedies—but Mr. Winchester is a master storyteller who makes old tales new and finds new tales to tell on the same theme.

If this book doesn’t rise to the level of some of his best work, it is because of its scattershot nature. There are a lot of great anecdotes here, but nothing really draws everything into a uniform whole. Still, it’s hard to pass up something that has as many interesting stories as Mr. Winchester is able to gather in this book.

United States on Mar 30, 2021

frank mullally: another wonderful book

Canada on Feb 15, 2021

John D. Cofield: It's almost become a banality to say of a book "I couldn't put it down," but in the case of Land I found it to be the truth. Simon Winchester's newest offering provides a rich collection of fascinating material, well presented in fine English prose that's actually a joy to read. From the introduction detailing Winchester's purchase of some land along the New York-Connecticut border to the conclusion warning of the effects of climate change are some 400 pages of vividly told tales, all of them in one form or another detailing humanity's complex relationship with the ground at our feet.

I find it difficult to single out any particular segment of Land for special praise because they are all so remarkable. I suppose the stories of the dispossession and removals of the Native Americans in the United States during the 1830s had special resonance for me, as did those recounting the lengthy and ambitious efforts to create elegant and highly accurate maps of the entire planet. Perhaps the most memorable chapter is the one in which he tells the story of Akira Aramaki, a Japanese-American who was one of the many thousands forced to abandon their property and move into camps far from...

United States on Jan 29, 2021