* This book takes the reader on an immersive journey through landscapes and situations of modern-day agriculture* The authors tell you intimate stories of diverse stakeholders and provide an insight into complex scientific, political, legal and philosophic ideas* Agriculture is the single most transformative thing humans are collectively doing to the planet* F. Huber and U. Martin have been documenting the social and environmental consequences of global agriculture since 2007* In a slow journalism approach they build close relationships with their Interview partners, so the projects grow organically, chapter by chapter, in a constant cycle of research, production, and presentation* Featuring many great unseen picturesAgriculture drives climate change, extinction, erosion and water depletion. It uses about 40 percent of all land on earth and more than 70 percent of all freshwater. Due to over-exploitation of the soil and climate change, desertification is one of the greatest threats to life on earth. F. Huber and U. Martin have been documenting the social and environmental consequences of global agriculture since 2007. In a slow journalism approach they build close relationships with farmers, ranchers and fishermen, and interview policy makers, activists and scientists. The book is divided in three big parts with 350 extraordinary, touching photos: White Gold (2007-2012) examines the social and ecological effects of global cotton production. LandRush (2011-ongoing) analyzes the impact of large-scale agro-investments on rural economies and land rights, the boom of renewable fuels, the reallocation of land, and the future of agriculture around the world. Dry West (2014-ongoing) documents the hydrological society and human-shaped landscapes of the American West, where rivers run in concrete beds, across mountains and deserts and up towards money.Contents: Introduction, Texas Blues, Killing Seeds, Burkina Dreams, Dying Sea, The Road, The Farm, Family Affairs, Full Circle, California Drought, American Nile, Dustbowl Riviera.

Interrogates the narratives of land grabbing and agricultural investment through detailed local studies that illuminate how these are experienced on the ground and the implications for Africa's land and agricultural economy.

Annie Mae's family is looking forward to beginning a new life—on their own land. When the Oklahoma Territory is opened in 1889, they and thousands of other settlers race across the border to claim some land of their own. But there is not enough for everyone, and Annie Mae is afraid of trouble ahead. Even if they find their beautiful land, will they be able to keep it?

Fields of Gold critically examines the history, ideas, and political struggles surrounding the financialization of farmland. In particular, Madeleine Fairbairn focuses on developments in two of the most popular investment locations, the US and Brazil, looking at the implications of financiers' acquisition of land and control over resources for rural livelihoods and economic justice. At the heart of Fields of Gold is a tension between efforts to transform farmland into a new financial asset class, and land's physical and social properties, which frequently obstruct that transformation. But what makes the book unique among the growing body of work on the global land grab is Fairbairn's interest in those acquiring land, rather than those affected by land acquisitions. Fairbairn's work sheds ethnographic light on the actors and relationships—from Iowa to Manhattan to São Paulo—that have helped to turn land into an attractive financial asset class. Thanks to generous funding from UC Santa Cruz, the ebook editions of this book are available as Open Access volumes from Cornell Open (cornellpress.cornell.edu/cornell-open) and other repositories.

On the Great Plains, boys nearing manhood have to grow up tough even if their hearts are tender. In this collection of stories based on true events from his boyhood, Gary Reiswig leads others back to the time when the last homesteaderslike his own familyarrived in the Oklahoma Panhandle to claim their pot of gold in the great land rush, the last westward thrust of Manifest Destiny. A farm boy learns to drive a tractor when hes nine, castrate and dehorn calves at twelve. After his father points out old trails, the boy realizes that Native Americans hunted buffalo on the very land his family owns and has fenced, where they now pasture their cattle. 2 A strong-headed boy attends a box supper with his parents, and unwittingly helps a tobacco-chewing neighbor, despised by his mother, recognize her box so he can buy it. 2 A boy, small for his age, discovers unexpected danger when he visits the Grand Canyon and hikes the Bright Angel Trail. 2 A beloved uncle heads to Korea to fight in the war leaving his nephew to care for his two-door hardtop. No one has any idea how drastically this separation will alter their relationship. The stories in Land Rush provide an unforgettable glimpse into the time and place where only the strongest survived and a handshake sealed the deal. Gary Reiswigs strong, unsentimental voice carries us to a timethe fiftiesand a placethe Oklahoma Panhandlethat is at once exotic and home with its hard, wounded, beautifully evoked mothers, fathers, and sons trying to survive one anothers love. Robert Lipsyte, author of The Accidental Sportswriter and The Contender

On September 16, 1893, over 100,000 people converged on the edges of six million acres just south of the Kansas border, a parcel officially designated the Cherokee Outlet but more commonly called the Cherokee Strip. This was the largest of the rushes, where officials threw open whole parcels of land at one time. The opening of the outlet drew people with a wide mix of motivations. Those who arrived that stifling September found heat, dust, wretched conditions, high prices--and hope. Among them was William Prettyman, whose photographs remain the most stirring record of the event. When the starting gun went off at noon, the blurred images of people and animals racing across the dusty terrain became part of the memory of a whole region.

This series captures the exciting and turbulent times that spawned America's first quests for westward expansion. Focusing on key events in history that shaped our country, each vividly illustrated book features clearly written text that explains the social, political, and economic realities of the time.