Under the Blade: The Conversion of Agricultural Landscapes" examines the patterns, causes, and consequences of current land use decisions in the United States, particularly the conversion of farmland to housing, roads, and other development. Changes in land use are the result of complex interactions among law, economics, landscape characteristics, social and political forces, ethics, and aesthetics. By examining farmland loss from each of these perspectives, and then integrating the results into policy recommendations, "Under the Blade" makes an important contribution to the ongoing debate on the optimal use of a finite resource--land.