In the first volume in this new series on Roman society and law, Saskia T. Roselaar traces the social and economic history of the ager publicus, or public land, identifying the developments in Roman economy and demography which led to a gradual process of privatization. this book provides a most thorough and integrated synthesis of a crucial subject which is often taken for granted in our own narratives, but who detailed implications are only rarely fully appreciated. [Roselaar's] work is a very important one and will appeal not only to anyone interested in Roman Republican history and the archaeology of the Italian countryside, but also - and perhaps especially - to scholars of the Roman economy, a field where teh dynamic relationship between institutions and economic performance is increasingly being emphasized.