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

by Stuart Banner

Book Overview

In America, we are eager to claim ownership: our homes, our ideas, our organs, even our own celebrity. But beneath our nation's proprietary longing looms a troublesome question: what does it mean to own something? More simply: what is property?

The question is at the heart of many contemporary controversies, including disputes over who owns everything from genetic material to indigenous culture to music and film on the Internet. To decide...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0674058054
• ISBN13: 9780674058057
• Release Date: March 2011
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.3" x 9.7"