The Nine Nations of North America is a 1981 book by
Joel Garreau, in which the author suggests that
North America can be divided into nine
nations, which have distinctive
economic and
cultural features. He also argues that conventional national and state
borders are largely artificial and irrelevant, and that his "nations" provide a more accurate way of understanding the true nature of North American society. The work has been called "a classic text on the current regionalization of North America".
Hawaii, which the author considered an
Asian aberration as much as a North American aberration.
Northern Alaska, despite its categorization on the front cover as part of the Empty Quarter, was listed in the aberrations section of the book.
Despite their presence within North America, Garreau did not assign the central and southern regions of the country of Mexico to any of his nine nations.
Reception
Paul Meartz of
Mayville State University called The Nine Nations of North America "a classic text on the current regionalization of North America".[2]