American Property: A History of How, Why, and What We Own

Stuart Banner is Norman Abrams Professor of Law at the University of California, Los Angeles.

In this tightly written book, Banner tackles an admittedly expansive topic, illustrating that our ideas about what property is, how it is regulated, and what it is meant to do are in constant flux and have been historically contested. Partly an examination of law, partly of culture, politics, economics, and even religion, Banner successfully shows how our notions of property and so-called "natural property" in essence sketch the shifting borders of what Americans deem appropriate government regulation. "Our conceptions of property have always been molded to serve our particular purposes," Banner writes, using examples ranging from zoning laws (which were often used to enforce racial and economic boundaries); eminent domain and personal property disputes; as well as new, thorny notions of intellectual property in the digital age (digital copying makes some property rights harder to enforce, he notes, but creates new opportunities as well). Banner even addresses biological breakthroughs (can a company own a genetically engineered hybrid or a cell line?). Publishers Weekly 20110124 What sounds like it might be a staid look at a dry subject turns out, in fact, to be an exciting and captivating journey along a fascinating side road in American history: property and its ownership...[Banner] explores the occasionally labyrinthine legal and political processes that, as America was defining itself as a country, began to define one of its residents' most basic (yet complex) rights. -- David Pitt Booklist 20110124 Banner provides an expansive survey on the evolution of property rights and protections in the U.S. Using the background of technological advances and shifting social perspectives, the author highlights the mutable nature of American property. -- A. H. Cooley Choice 20111001