It's called fly-over land. The patchwork view you get when you fly over the middle of the country is responsible for much of middle America's distinguishing characteristic -- mile after mile of squares, land framed by straight roads intersected by towns. It's land intimately described by author Andro Linklater in his book, "Measuring America: How an Untamed Wilderness Shaped the United States and Fulfilled the Promise of Democracy." Linklater's book is a detailed history of America through the lens of the biggest land surveys ever, a survey of land from Ohio to the Pacific Ocean, from Canada to the Mexican border. Linklatter argues that by measuring, surveying and parceling the frontier, Americans in the 18th and 19th century shaped America physically, culturally and emotionally.