James Salzman

Michael A. Heller

In a lively Freakonomics-style survey of ownership, two acclaimed law professors reveal the hidden rules that decide who owns what and how they control our lives "Mine!" is one of the first words babies learn. The instinct for possession is hardwired in our DNA and is one of the driving forces of human (and animal) psychology. By the time we grow up, whether we are buying coffee or a home, we assume that "mine" couldn't be simpler. But who controls the space behind your airplane seat, you reclining or the passenger behind you trying to work on her laptop? Should someone be prohibited from operating a food truck in the metered parking space in front of your restaurant? Should you have the right to shoot down a drone peering into your house as it delivers a UPS package to your neighbor? Mine! reveals that much of what we assume about ownership is not natural at all--there are hidden rules that have emerged over centuries of social living, wielded by governments, businesses, and savvy others to their own benefit. More important still, these choices are always in flux and open to revision. Mine! is your guide into this hidden world of ownership that controls our lives.

Michael A. Heller

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