The Land Trap
On sale
6th November 2025
Price: £24.99
LONGLISTED FOR THE FINANCIAL TIMES AND SCHRODERS BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD
“One of those books that changes the way you see the world. Gripping, urgent, important.”
ED CONWAY
“This wonderful book is as welcome as it is overdue … shines a much-needed light on this essential topic.”
RORY SUTHERLAND
“A deftly written tale.”
LEWIS BASTON
__________
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.
©2025 Mike Bird (P)2025 Hachette Book Group Audio
“One of those books that changes the way you see the world. Gripping, urgent, important.”
ED CONWAY
“This wonderful book is as welcome as it is overdue … shines a much-needed light on this essential topic.”
RORY SUTHERLAND
“A deftly written tale.”
LEWIS BASTON
__________
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.
©2025 Mike Bird (P)2025 Hachette Book Group Audio
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Reviews
The Land Trap looks at history, society and finance from an unusual but essential perspective. Ranging from colonial America to modern China, Mike Bird identifies the toxic blend of land and speculation which has repeatedly laid financial systems low. This is a deftly written tale of ignored prophets, well-meaning reformers, self-interested politicians and greedy landlords that will interest anyone who has looked at a city skyline and wondered why it looks the way it does.
This wonderful book is as welcome as it is overdue. Land values are a problem hiding in plain sight; something visibly problematic and unpleasant where economists and commentators have simply chosen to look the other way. The Land Trap shines a much-needed light on this essential topic.
One of those books that changes the way you see the world. Gripping, urgent, important. If you want to understand the ways we are all being shaped by the ground beneath our feet, you need to read The Land Trap.