The Land Trap: A New History of the World’s Oldest Asset

 
        「有土斯有財」──這句古老智慧放諸古今中外皆準，土地始終是推動富者更富、貧者更貧的關鍵力量。本書作者麥可‧博得（Mike Bird）現任《經濟學人》編輯、Podcast節目「Money Talks」共同主持人，熟稔全球金融脈動，加上曾在英國艾希特大學主修歷史與政治的研究背景，使其能以宏觀的角度，審視全球經濟的底層邏輯。
 
        《土地陷阱》（The Land Trap）帶領讀者穿越三個世紀，從美國殖民時期的土地投機狂潮，到當代中國的房地產危機，顯示財富能夠透過土地不斷累積，同樣也可能在短期內下跌崩解，揭示土地如何悄然成為全球銀行體系的核心樞紐，引發房價飆升、金融風暴與地緣政治的緊張對峙。如今，各國政府面臨社會貧富差距擴大問題，土地資產也日益稀缺，本書提供嶄新的思考框架，揭示了影響這些棘手挑戰的重要因素。《土地陷阱》深入探討這項金融體系中最古老、最核心的資產，讓我們以全新的角度，看見「土地」這個被低估的角色。(文/博客來編譯)
 
        好評推薦：
 
       「從美國的荒野邊疆，到今日新加坡的摩天大樓，再到中國瘋狂房地產熱潮所造就的鬼城，麥可‧博得帶領讀者進行了一場精彩的探索，說明土地至今仍是全球經濟的核心。」——《兆億大戰》（Trillions）作者羅賓‧魏吾絲（Robin Wigglesworth）
 
       「我們都知道土地無法被創造或消滅，且不容繼續被忽視。作者引領我們理解這項人類最古老資產的特殊之處，以及它如何形塑現代歷史。」——美國線上媒體《爭論》（The Argument）主編耶路撒冷‧德姆薩斯（Jerusalem Demsas）

       In The Land Trap, Mike Bird—The Economist’s Wall Street editor—pulls back the curtain on how this ancient asset exerts outsize influence over the modern world. With masterful insight into global finance, Bird reveals how land has quietly become the linchpin of the world’s banking system, affecting everything from soaring housing prices to geopolitical tensions. From the speculative land grabs of colonial America to China’s modern-day real estate crisis, Bird shows how fortunes are built—or destroyed—all on the bedrock of land.

       As governments wrestle with inequality and land becomes ever scarcer, The Land Trap offers a bold new framework for understanding the driving force behind today’s most pressing challenges. Eye-opening and timely, Bird’s analysis unveils how land remains the ultimate currency of power—and the key to economic survival in an increasingly fragile world.

       This is the book for anyone who wants to see beyond markets and money to the hidden game being played on a foundation as old as civilization itself. Timely, provocative, and essential, The Land Trap will change how you see the ground beneath your feet.

Mike Bird is The Economist’s Wall Street editor, leading coverage of topics across the American financial industry and contributing to coverage of finance globally. He also cohosts the financial podcast Money Talks. Previously, he was a financial columnist and market reporter at The Wall Street Journal. Bird studied history and politics at the University of Exeter in the UK. He is currently based in Singapore.