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Joel Garreau
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The Nine Nations of North America Paperback – June 1, 1982

by Joel Garreau (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars 118 ratings
Divides North America into nine powers, and explains the cultural, ethnic, and geographic identities of each
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  1. Print length
    427 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Avon Books
  4. Publication date
    June 1, 1982
  5. Dimensions
    5.25 x 1.25 x 7.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0380578859
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0380578856
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Avon Books
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 1, 1982
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ Reissue
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 427 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0380578859
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0380578856
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 1.25 x 7.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 118 ratings

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  1. Joel Garreau

    Joel Garreau

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  2. John Garreau

    John Garreau

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
118 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book to be a fascinating and relevant read, with one describing it as eye-opening. They appreciate its readability, with one customer noting its lively prose.

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Reading valueReadability
22 customers mention "Reading value"22 positive0 negative

Customers find the book fascinating and relevant, with one noting it serves as great homework for authors.

"...This seems almost self evident, but it explains a great deal. Well worth reading." Read more

"This book is fascinating, even re-reading it via my third copy...." Read more

"I read this book 30 years ago and found it a fascinating, new way to understand the USA & her neighbors...." Read more

"Spot on Book, This book complements Collin Woodard's "American Nations" and "American Character" as well as David Hackett..." Read more

5 customers mention "Readability"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book readable and fun to read, with one customer noting its lively prose.

"...particularly because of technology and changes in our economy, but a fun read, even so!" Read more

"...Garreau's lively prose, combined with touches of wicked humor, is aptly described by the Detroit Free Press: "Could serve as a socio-political..." Read more

"...Highly readerble, and if you haven't read it - please consider doing so." Read more

"Entertaining and pretty spot on for most areas that I have lived in the U.S." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Solid Insight
    Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2025
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    The main thesis of this book is that the culture of the initial European settlers in a region persists barring a disruptive take over by another culture. This seems almost self evident, but it explains a great deal. Well worth reading.
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  • J. Michael Vice
    5.0 out of 5 stars America As It Used to Be--1980 Version
    Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2021
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    This book is fascinating, even re-reading it via my third copy. (I have this failing about good books: I loan them out and never get them back!)
    This is a sociological/economic look at America in 1980, ignoring the map lines and looking at how we dealt with each other. The author divides America (Central/US/Canada) into ethnic, sociological and economic regions, going so far as to identify one part of a city as residing in the Foundry and other parts as belonging in New England or Dixie! Can he really try to divide the regions based on a street, left vs. right, in a city? Yes, he can, though his division may no longer pertain.
    As a Californian, his description of the West Coast, extending from San Diego to Alaska , west of the Cascades, as a combination of cultures but tending toward tree-hugging and liberalism, was a treat. Join me in Ecotopia, anyone?
    Again, given that the book is 40 years old, much of it is out of date, particularly because of technology and changes in our economy, but a fun read, even so!
    4 people found this helpful
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  • slproctor
    4.0 out of 5 stars but how it is really working and how best to understand how we will be moving into the ...
    Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2017
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    From the author, Sept 10, 1981 he set out to “explain how the continent is really working right now, not as if it were three nations – the United States, Canada, and Mexico; not as if it were 50 states; not as it should work, as an academic might have it; but how it is really working and how best to understand how we will be moving into the 21st century as a result.”

    In July of 2014, Garreau wrote: More than three decades after publication, two things amaze me: how little the boundaries have changed and how much chatter this idea is getting recently. Much of the online discussion in the last few years has been spurred by dismay over American national gridlock and the “nine nations” divisions that fuel it. The gridlock has grown, but the divisions are not new.

    But what seems to really endure is culture and values. They are slow to change, and far more so than he originally guessed. “The layers of unifying flavor and substance that define these nations still explain the major storms through which our public affairs pass. Nine Nations” is also a map of power, money and influence, the patterns of which have only deepened.”
    15 people found this helpful
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  • Margie
    5.0 out of 5 stars Much is still true today......
    Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2022
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I read this book 30 years ago and found it a fascinating, new way to understand the USA & her neighbors. This purchase restored it to my library; but my husband got to read it first and kept commenting that there has not been much change in the 40 years since it was written; and really 40 years is not much time in the life of a country or a continent. I also discovered that I have lived in 4 out of the 9 "countries" and observed the same differences for those countries as Joel Garreau did back in 1981. Both my husband and I highly recommend this book to further understand differences in people living on the North America continent.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Lisa
    5.0 out of 5 stars Some parts of the USA are different from yours
    Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2015
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    "The Nine Nations of North America" came out in 1981. Now, thirty-four years later, it's very close to being as timely as when it was written. Over several years, the author criss-crossed the USA, talking to people, doing research, and getting a real feel for how the various regions of the country operate, what they consider important, and how they get along with the rest of the country.

    He's used a combination of well-known regional names – Dixie, New England, Mexamerica, Quebec – and some more fanciful, evocative ones – the Empty Quarter (mountains and mining), Ecotopia (the West Coast, where environmentalism is huge), the Breadbasket (vast fields of corn and wheat), the Foundry (the industrial East), and the Islands (Miami and further south). Garreau's lively prose, combined with touches of wicked humor, is aptly described by the Detroit Free Press: "Could serve as a socio-political text book if it weren't so much fun to read." Dave Hickey, in the Texas Observer, wrote, "Home, in the twentieth century, is less where your heart is, than where you understand the sons-of-bitches."

    No matter where in America you're from, you'll recognize your family and friends in these chapters. I've re-read this book several times over the years. I purchased this one as a gift for my brother.
    29 people found this helpful
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  • Reader 47
    5.0 out of 5 stars Spot on Book, This book complements Collin Woodard's "American ...
    Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2016
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Spot on Book,
    This book complements Collin Woodard's "American Nations" and "American Character" as well as David Hackett Fischer's "Albion's Seed." Unlike those other three books, it brings personal or anecdotal stories about those regions into the mix. Although it was written at the beginning of the Reagan administration, its divisions of the U.S. and Canada are still spot on. As a writer dealing with American history and political themes, I often refer to this book along with the other three I mentioned and I am always thumbing through it. The political almanacs, including the Barone and CQ ones similarly see these divisions in the U.S. Garreau's descriptions of several regions meeting in Texas and Indiana couldn't be more accurate. Its descriptions of Mexamerica, Ecotopia, Dixie, the Foundry, and New England couldn't ring truer. A must have book for anyone interested in the U.S. and its future.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • It's Just Me
    3.0 out of 5 stars surpased by newer books
    Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2014
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Garreau's book was outstanding in it's time, but it is dated (based on info from the 1970s). An updated versions would be appreciated. For a much more recent book on "nations" in North America, look to Woodard's American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America. Garreau's book is largely a travelogue while Woodard's book has lots of history. The history of a region helps explain why the region is the way it is now. Unfortunaley, Garreau's dated travelogue only offers some insight into what the "nations" are like now. The author's do differ somewhat, but not greatly, in what they consider the "nations" to be.
    8 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Nambu
    4.0 out of 5 stars Regions of America
    Reviewed in Japan on February 27, 2018
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    This book led to Colin Woodard's volume on the American Nations. While the material is now outdated, there is a lot of food for thought, and Garreau is an excellent companion in viewing the Untied States of America.
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  • Gabriele Stirnimann
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Nine Nations of North America
    Reviewed in Germany on August 27, 2014
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Ich habe den Titel bei Amazone zufällig gefunden und der Titel hat mich sofort interessiert.
    Jeder der an Nordamerikanischer Geschichte und Politischer Entwicklung interessiert ist
    sollte dieses Buch zur Erweiterung des Hintergrundwissens lesen
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  • Alan Zelnicker
    5.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking and groundbreaking analysis of North America
    Reviewed in Canada on March 14, 2021
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Great book that helped my North American market expansion.
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  • ゆかり
    2.0 out of 5 stars キャンセルに対する返答がない
    Reviewed in Japan on February 1, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    間違って注文したのに気づき、すぐさまキャンセルを申し出たのですが、返答はありませんでした。
    商品そのものの状態は良好でした。
    Report
  • Connaisseur de l'Amazonie
    4.0 out of 5 stars Very useful basic geographic intelligence for North America
    Reviewed in Canada on September 19, 2014
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    While a little bit outdated, this book is very useful if you are looking to relocate, to choose a university, or to evaluate a job opportunity. The author has keen eyes that he has noted many interesting details that would otherwise take average observers years, if not decades to notice. As many things may bear the "elephant in the room" nature that locals would either be reluctant to tell you, or do not have a conscious understanding of it to clearly explain, you will need Joel Garreau to expound them all.
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