‘The Field’ is perhaps the quintessential Irish drama. Bull McCabe embodies a
nation’s enduring obsession with land, an obsession hardly dimmed by the self-
inflicted housing crash of 2008-2011. To this day, housing is our most pressing public policy challenge, the property ladder still dividing ‘the smug from the damned.’
Those inclined to Irish exceptionalism may think ‘it could only happen here’. Mike Bird’s ‘The Land Trap’ shows it to be a near universal affliction. Bird, a journalist with The Economist, writes with verve and clarity, tracing land’s role in global economic history, from ancient Babylon to modern-day Beijing. And yes, Ireland is a recurring case study, from the 19th century Land War to our 21st century housing crises.
*** A version of this book review was first published in The Irish Times on 20 December 2025 ***
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