Borderlands: Riding the Edge of America [Hardcover]

The events of 9/11 changed the borderlands of the U.S. irrevocably. The longest undefended border in the world is disappearing, soon to be a memory. The Land of the Free is quickly becoming Fortress America, fearing drugs and illegal immigrants from the south and terrorism from the north. These are the realities that Derek Lundy, best-selling author of Godforsaken Sea, discovers when he embarks on a motorcycle trip across the entire southern and northern edges of the U.S., riding as close to the border as possible.

An immigrant himself – from “British” North Ireland – Lundy is no stranger to contentious borders, and he disputes the axiom that good fences make good neighbours. He argues that movement across borders has been at the heart of community, national identity, and economics in North America for decades.

Open and honest about his failings as a rider, Lundy employs a wry sense of humour that keeps the pages turning as the miles fly by. He has an ironic chuckle over the tight security at the International Peace Gardens, and his repeated interactions with the U.S. Border Patrol become known as “the Script.”

Across the 49th parallel, the land, and in many cases the people, are the same, divided only by an arbitrary line on a map, and locals are more likely to ignore suspicious activity out of spite than aid the Border Patrol’s already impossible task. To the south, Mexican workers view crossing the border as an all-or-nothing prospect. And within the U.S., indigenous people view the Border Patrol’s activities with increasing resentment.

Borderlands is well-balanced, both in terms of interview subjects and the exposure given to the northern and southern U.S. borders.With typical Canadian self-deprecation, Lundy worries that the Canadian border will hold none of the adventure and mystique of its southern cousin. Not so. While the book is primarily a travelogue commenting on America’s growing security obsession, in the borderlands between politics and memoir a fine history lesson exists, and Lundy is an excellent teacher.

"Get on the bike, we're gonna have us a ride. Derek Lundy's border meditation takes us deep inside the American obsession with security. His clear Canadian eye and clean prose makes me realize that my country shouts about safety but is frightened by life itself."
-Charles Bowden, author of Down by the River: Drugs, Money, Murder, and Family

"Intrepid adventure traveller, daring investigative reporter and rigorous historian, Derek Lundy rode his motorcycle on "the edge" in more than one way - the borders of the United States with Mexico and Canada, yes, but he also often rode the edge of survival, against wind, rain, heat, cold, gravel, mud and homicidal logging trucks. Equally, he faced the extremes of the American frontier myth in the twenty-first century, as I have also experienced them, as represented by the Border Patrol, the Department of Homeland Security, and vigilante groups like the Minutemen. His polished prose is searingly honest about himself and what he experiences, and his story goes well beyond the conventions of "where I went and what I saw." He takes the reader into the deeper complexity of "what it all means." Borderlands is entertaining, enlightening and important. I hope it will be widely read, and in particular by Americans - to witness what is being done in their names at the ragged edges of their great country."
-Neil Peart, author of Ghost Rider and Roadshow

"The two wheels of Lundy's bike trace an illuminating path through space and time. A great ride and a great read, Borderlands is a profound exploration of the rough ground where rival histories, ethnicities, and mythologies jostle for their place in the sun."
-Ronald Wright, author of A Short History of Progress and What Is America?

“[A] complex and absorbing portrait of the anxious, post-9/11 U.S.A. . . .  supremely enjoyable — an artful story, a provocative rumination . . . Lundy [is] erudite, reasonable and amusingly self-deprecating [and] provides succinct historical overviews throughout, reminding us of what the here-and-now is founded on.”
-Vancouver Sun
 
 “The book is part travelogue and part lesson on the continent’s history. But mostly, it’s a fascinating look at U.S. national security post–9/11 and the human consequences. . . . Besides covering the political, the book gets personal, detailing Lundy’s struggles with his motorbike, painful injuries, and reflections on his own mortality. The joy of the ride runs through it all.”
-The Georgia Straight
 
“Superbly rendered story. . . . Lundy’s analysis, and meditation on, what it’s like for Canada and Mexico to share a border with the world’s superpower in a post-9/11 world is both convincing and alarming. . . . Borderlands is tough to pigeonhole. It’s part travelogue, part history, part analysis of U.S.-Canada relations and part reflection on the joys and pains of biking. Regardless, it’s all good.”
-Winnipeg Free Press
 
“With interesting historical facts that everyone can probably stand to brush up on and keen insight into the contemporary political climate, Borderlands is a valuable contribution to North American studies. But above all it is a good read, peppered with Lundy’s personal travails as the motorcycle ride progresses and he meets the borders’ quirky inhabitants.”
-Gulf Islands Driftwood

“Open and honest about his failings as a rider, Lundy employs a wry sense of humour that keeps the pages turning as the miles fly by. . . . Borderlands is well-balanced, both in terms of interview subjects and the exposure given to the northern and southern U.S. borders. . . . While the book is primarily a travelogue commenting on America’s growing security obsession, in the borderlands between politics and memoir a fine history lesson exists, and Lundy is an excellent teacher.”
-Quill & Quire (starred review)