Cover of how much land does a man need by Tolstoy pinguin classics

Information about the book

author: Tolstoy
title: How Much Land Does a Man Need
pages: 20

Man needs 1.8m squared to die in.

This is a book meant to teach us a lesson. It’s a lesson which we have all heard a million times: “greed is bad”. This simple lesson is more visceral when told by Tolstoy in this book - as most things with him are.

He helps us understand why greed exists throughout the book in a truly visceral way. He helps understand that we too are running to our death as we chase more land. Chase something which cannot be owned: power, love, money, respect, land.

Overall

This is a brilliant short story which should be read more than once.