Buying land to conserve it is not a recent phenomenon. Buying Nature chronicles the evolution of land acquisition as a conservation strategy in the United States since the late 1700s. It goes beyond the usual focus on conservation successes to provide a critical assessment of both public and private land acquisition efforts.

The book shows that for more than 200 years, both private purchasers -- such as the Nature Conservancy and the Trust for Public Land -- and governmental agencies have acquired land for conservation. It documents trends of growing complexity in...