Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America | 
 enlarge | Author: James Webb
Publisher: Broadway
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  142 reviews
Sales Rank: 4536
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.2 x 1
ISBN: 0767916891
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.049162
EAN: 9780767916899
ASIN: 0767916891
Publication Date: October 11, 2005
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Condition: New. No dust jacket as issued. 369 p.
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Product Description
More than 27 million Americans today can trace their lineage to the Scots, whose bloodline was stained by centuries of continuous warfare along the border between England and Scotland, and later in the bitter settlements of England’s Ulster Plantation in Northern Ireland. Between 250,000 and 400,000 Scots-Irish migrated to America in theeighteenth century, traveling in groups of families and bringing with them not only longexperience as rebels and outcasts but also unparalleled skills as frontiersmen and guerrilla fighters. Their cultural identity reflected acute individualism, dislike of aristocracy and a military tradition, and, over time, the Scots-Irish defined the attitudes and values of the military, of working class America, and even of the peculiarly populist form of American democracy itself.
Born Fighting is the first book to chronicle the full journey of this remarkable cultural group, and the profound, but unrecognized, role ithas played in the shaping of America. Written with the storytelling verve that has earned his works such acclaim as “captivating . . . unforgettable” (the Wall Street Journal on Lost Soliders), Scots-Irishman James Webb, Vietnam combat veteran and former Naval Secretary, traces the history of his people, beginning nearly two thousand years ago at Hadrian’s Wall, when the nation of Scotland was formed north of the Wall through armed conflict in contrast to England’s formation to the south through commerce and trade. Webb recounts the Scots’ odyssey—their clashes with the English in Scotland and then in Ulster, their retreat from one war-ravaged land to another. Through engrossing chronicles of the challenges the Scots-Irish faced, Webb vividly portrays how they developed the qualities that helped settle the American frontier and define the American character.
Born Fighting shows that the Scots-Irish were 40 percent of the Revolutionary War army; they included the pioneers Daniel Boone, Lewis and Clark, Davy Crockett, and Sam Houston; they were the writers Edgar Allan Poe and Mark Twain; and they have given America numerous great military leaders, including Stonewall Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant, Audie Murphy, and George S. Patton, as well as most of the soldiers of the Confederacy (only 5 percent of whom owned slaves, and who fought against what they viewed as an invading army). It illustrates how the Scots-Irish redefined American politics, creating the populist movement and giving the country a dozen presidents, including Andrew Jackson, Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. And it explores how the Scots-Irish culture of isolation, hard luck, stubbornness, and mistrust of the nation’s elite formed and still dominates blue-collar America, the military services, the Bible Belt, and country music.
Both a distinguished work of cultural history and a human drama that speaks straight to the heart of contemporary America, Born Fighting reintroduces America to its most powerful, patriotic, and individualistic cultural group—one too often ignored or taken for granted.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 137 more reviews...
 A genuine klunker of popular history. November 30, 2008
This is a sloppy, romantic view of the people who came from Scotland, Ireland and England to the U.S. over the centuries, and how they subsequently effected American culture. So many errors are present, that there is just not enough room herein to detail them. It is something of "revenge" history against what Mr. Webb sees as elitist Yankees who somehow lucked out, won the Civil War and spent the subsequent 140 years making life miserable for Southerners. In one chapter he praises Andrew Jackson up and down--and his powerful actions to maintain the union. Then, in subsequent chapters he romanticizes the sucessionists. Eventually the book dissolves into a horrible snarl of contradictions and quasi-drive-by Bubba History. This book is very bad--not worth the money, be the copy used or new.
 Jim Webb--Fighting for the Wrong Cause October 31, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
As an American of prodominately English descent, with a little Irish mixed in, I enjoyed this book about the Scots-Irish contributions to American wars and American culture. But it seems to me the theme of this book is ultimately about freedom and the centuries-long fight of the Scotch and Irish people to achieve it. When they came to America they did, in large part, achieve freedom for themselves and for their families. But even the Scots and Irish, who hate the English people, have to admit that Britain was right about slavery and the Union was right about slavery. They fought for freedom for themselves but many fought against freedom for African American slaves.
Basically this book is about tribalism and Webb is saying my tribe is better than yours, better fighters, and better people. Sen. Jim Webb started out as a Republican and then dumped the GOP to run, and win a Virginia Senate seat, on the Democratic ticket. What Sen. Webb is saying, in effect, is that Affirmative Action programs were set up to help African Americans but nothing was, or is being, done for the depressed southern white population, many of them of Scots-Irish descent. As a Democrat senator, he seems poised to help his tribal group under a possible "share the wealth" Obama administration. So, in effect, it looks like Webb is poised to help implement Obama's socialist agenda as long as the Scots-Irish population in included in the give-away packages.
One might ask, "What happened to the goal of freedom that Scots and Irish fought so tenaciously for throughout their existence?" Their Democrat leaders seem ready to lead them into new bondage based on "We provide the goodies and you provide the votes."
Most did not have plantations during the Civil War but their descendents seem more than willing to work on the plantation as long as their overlords in Washington, D.C., continue to hand out the goodies.
 You can't stomp `em out and you can't make `em run... October 18, 2008
I read this right after McWhiney's Cracker Culture and Fischer's Albion's Seed, both of which cover a lot of the same ground as Born Fighting. Webb takes us in a more personal direction, however, telling the story of the Scots-Irish's origins and their taming of the American heartland largely through the history of his own family.
I found very interesting Webb's statement that it is "undeniable" that FDR "persistently maneuvered" the U.S. into WWII. That's hardly an earth shattering theory nowadays, but I didn't expect to hear it from a high ranking Democrat.
In any case, it would be hard to award less than five stars to any book that between the same two covers acknowledges the greatness of George Patton, Chesty Puller, Johnny Cash, Hank Jr, Steve Earle, Tom Petty, Three Doors Down, Cool Hand Luke and the Jacksons Andrew, Stonewall and Alan.
Highly readable October 11, 2008
Virginia Senator James Webb has written a highly-readable history of a fascinating people that doesn't feel like at all like a textbook, though it would make a good one. Instead, it seemed almost like reading a "family history." I'm of Scots-Irish descent and a native and resident of East TN. My 88-year-old mother, born and bred in Southwest Virginia, loved the book also.
Want to know why so many Americans cling to guns and religion? September 14, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Many good reviews of this book have been written since 2004; however, with the election year in full swing and the statement concerning certain culture areas of the US "clinging to their guns and religion", this book it quite timely. James explains, the history behind this culture why guns and religion are so important to it. There definitely are reasons and I suggest you read the book to learn those reasons. This particular culture is also growing faster than any culture in the US with their Bluegrass and Country music, Nascar, etc.
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