5 chapters: introduction; features, triggers, and drivers of the global rush for land; impacts; factors shaping the land rush; conclusions and policy considerations. Africa is the prime target, the best land is often being targeted for acquisition, national elites are playing a major role, the rural poor are frequently being dispossessed, compensation for resource loss is rarely adequate, women are particularly vulnerable. Concludes that we at a crossroads as regard the future of rural societies, land-based production, and ecosystems in many areas of the global south and that urgent action is needed to bring harmful land transfers to a halt, and to redirect capital into more fruitful forms of investment where possible.