| Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America | 
 enlarge | Author: James Webb
Publisher: Broadway
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy Used: $5.96
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Avg. Customer Rating:  142 reviews
Sales Rank: 6198
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
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Understanding the Liberal/Redneck Divide September 11, 2008
This book about the Scots-Irish back-country culture talks at length about how proud Webb is to be from the warrior culture whose heartland is in the Southern Appalachians and which has been spat upon by cultural elites since antebellum days, when the lowland Southern plantation owners tried to exclude their white upcountry brethren from the political process as much as possible. Webb might be the only senator around who wouldn't be ashamed of being called a redneck, because he takes it to be a sign of dignity, honor, courage, and loyalty to a higher cause. I'm speculating about that, but it seems entirely plausible to me.
I read this book a couple years ago, before Webb joined the Senate, but I remember it as a very aggressive defense of his ancestral people, the back-country Scots-Irish, and a recounting of all they had done for the U.S. Especially their crucial role in the military history of the country: Andrew Jackson, MacArthur, and Patton included, to name three famous generals. It goes overboard at times, but it's a book worth reading, especially if you're the sort of person who could be called an urban intellectual liberal. I say that because it goes far beyond Wal-Mart, NASCAR, hunting, and images from Deliverance in defining the backwoods South as a culture and outlining its accomplishments.
Webb seems to be one of the very few Democrats on the national stage who represents this culture, and he's shown that opposition to President Bush and fierce attachment to the military are not mutually exclusive. It's not hard to envision a future in which he becomes more prominent for that very reason. Along with providing a vision that takes outsiders to his culture beyond the tired stereotypes of the rural South, Webb provides some very important clues to the core of his own personal and political values in this book.
 Born Fightng- How the Scots-Irish shaped America August 22, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This history of Scotland and Ireland and the effect its immigrants had on the US is fascinating and rich with detail and description. A must read for people of that descent and to anyone who enjoys a well written history and political analysis.
A Bluegrass Review August 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Being from the Bluegrass state, I am related and neighbors to the ethnic group spoke of so well by Senator Webb. This book is entertaining as well as informative. I have read one of his novels but will be trying the others soon.
I found my roots July 13, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book was a revelation to me. It explained so much about my Southern heritage and made me appreciate my Scots Irish ancestry. I always admired my father's "indifference to wealth" without realizing that this was a common trait among Scots-Irish Americans. I want to read more of Jim Webb's books since I enjoyed this one so much.
A Time To Fight July 12, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
A must read for anyone who has an interest in our current world problems as well as current economic issues we are facing
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