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The Land Trap

A New History of the World's Oldest Asset

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The Land Trap

By: Mike Bird
Narrated by: Mike Bird
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About this listen

 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©2025 Mike Bird Civilization Economic History Economics World Business China Capitalism Banking Real Estate Socialism Money American History Taxation

Critic reviews

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. (ED CONWAY author of Sunday Times bestseller Material World)
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. (RORY SUTHERLAND Vice Chairman of Ogilvy and author of Alchemy)
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. (LEWIS BASTON author of Borderlines)
All stars
Most relevant
This book was recommended by my friend Ben. Ben is a smart guy. Ben has made hundreds of millions of dollars. Be more Ben.

A wonderful book

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I listened to this audio book as a long time listener to the Economist's Money Talk podcast, which Mike is a co-host of. If you enjoy Mike's commentary on economic history during Money Talks, I think you'll enjoy this book. If you're not a listener to Money Talks, but you'd like to understand the importance of land as an asset class and why it's had a huge influence on the economic winners and losers of today then I'd recommend it as well!

Magic Mike!

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I knew a little about land's relationship to housing, but much less about it's role in finance. Bird takes us from the Americas to Asia across centuries, explaining how various societies have snared themselves in similar land-based traps, and giving a rare example (Singapore) of one that slipped the snare.
We also get a lot on the thinkers behind land economics like Henry George (of Georgism) and the people he influenced like Wolf Isaac Ladejinsky, and where their ideas did and didn't take hold and why.
Overall, a very insightful book about a topic that's arguably one of the most important to understand.

Insightful and important

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This expiains how land and the laws about who owns it, have shaped history, political and economic. Global in scope, this book includes are a great deal to explain 20thC history in East and South Asia for example. An excellent and fascinating account that is extremely well researched and documented. It is rich in detail but moves through its broad spectrum of material at a sensible pace.

A fascinating and detailed account of Land

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