{"product_id":"the-liberty-gardener","title":"THE LIBERTY GARDENER","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Garden is Overgrown. It’s Time for a Trim.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFor seventy years, the man known only as \u003cstrong\u003e\"The Gardener\"\u003c\/strong\u003e has worked for the world’s most powerful landscaping firm. But his job isn't to plant seeds — it’s to decide which ones are allowed to grow.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFrom the copper mines of Chile to the oil fields of Iran, he has spent a lifetime pruning \"weeds\": the democratic movements, stubborn leaders, and national identities that threaten the aesthetic of the global market. To him, a nation is not a collection of people, but a patch of land to be managed. If a country grows too tall, it is topped. If its roots extend into \"private\" soil, it is poisoned.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn this brutal and witty odyssey, Oluwatayo Jide Shoneye takes us behind the curtain of the \"Hollow State\". Following the Gardener from the shadows of the Cold War to the engineered blackouts of Venezuela in 2026, the novel unveils a chilling secret history where:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul type=\"disc\"\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"Stability\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is just another word for concrete.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"Humanitarian Aid\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is the fertiliser for extraction.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"Regime Change\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is a calculated liquidation sale where the Gardener is both the auctioneer and the only bidder.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePart secret history, part terrifyingly plausible field guide, \u003cem\u003eThe Liberty Gardener\u003c\/em\u003e is the ledger of a man who paves the world so that shareholders can enjoy the view. From the \"Plywood Era\" of the 1950s to the \"Digital Era\" of near-future Caracas, discover how nations are turned into vacancies and why a \"failed state\" is often the most profitable harvest of all.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIf the grass looks greener on the other side, it’s probably because the Gardener has just finished paving it.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BookVAULT Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Perfect Bound","offer_id":50550741401904,"sku":"9781807383213","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.thegreatbritishbookshop.co.uk\/products\/the-liberty-gardener","provider":"The Great British Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}