Nomad’s Land investigates the relationship between Mediterranean mobile pastoralism and 19th-century French forestry. By restricting the use of shared spaces, foresters helped bring the populations of Provence, Algeria, and Anatolia under the control of the state. Locals responded through petitions, arson, violence, compromise, and adaptation. Duffy shows that French efforts to promote scientific forestry were intimately tied to empire building and paralleled the solidification of Western narratives condemning the pastoral tradition, leading to sometimes tragic outcomes for both the environment and pastoralists throughout the Mediterranean world.