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.