Forget the schoolbook divisions of north America-the arbitrary borders that separate countries, states, and provinces; the fabled distinctions between east and west, north, and south; the compartments that are supposed t...Forget the schoolbook divisions of north America-the arbitrary borders that separate countries, states, and provinces; the fabled distinctions between east and west, north, and south; the compartments that are supposed to be political units. Consider, instead, the way north America really works.