- Hardcover: 369 pages
- Publisher: Broadway Books; First Edition, First Printing edition (Oct 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0767916883
- ISBN-13: 978-0767916882
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16.3 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,087,961 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Born Fighting
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
In his first work of nonfiction, bestselling novelist James Webb tells the epic story of the Scots-Irish, a people whose lives and worldview were dictated by resistance, conflict, and struggle, and who, in turn, profoundly influenced the social, political, and cultural landscape of America from its beginnings through the present day.
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 the eighteenth century, traveling in groups of families and bringing with them not only long experience 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 it has 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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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Scots-Irish building America,
By The Maven Review (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America (Paperback)
As someone who actually is Scots-Irish or Ulster-Scot, I would happily recommend this book. It is an aspect of history that attracts far too little attention, despite the influence the Scots-Irish have had on the world, especially in North America. An influence that for too long, was virtually forgotten.
"A Yank in Belfast" questions a few aspects of the book, such as their defence of the frontier,"...Webb goes too far in defining this attribute as somehow ethnically unique." I would say that Webb actually has a point. If you properly understand the history, culture and character traits of the average Scots-Irish settler, you would know that they were ideal frontiersmen: Independent; self-reliant and unafraid to fight for what they believed in. Their religious beliefs, through the generations had also moulded many of them into quite radical political thinkers and they played an influential role in rebellions on both sides of the Atlantic in the 1700s. A German captain fighting on the side of the British during the American War of Independence even said, "Call this war by whatever name you may, only call it not an American rebellion; it is nothing more or less than a Scots-Irish Presbyterian rebellion". George Washington said, "If defeated everywhere else, I will make my last stand for liberty among the Scots-Irish of my native Virginia. All of this, combined with such things as their influence over the Declaration of Independence (which a Scots-Irishman printed) and many other things I could list, I think supports James Webb's comments about the importance / influence of the Scots-Irish in the history of the US. The qualities / culture / history of the people, made this possible. The comments of "A Customer" I feel say more about his / her stereotypical ideas and prejudices against his / her Scottish Lowland neighbours, than they do about James Webb's book, or the Scots-Irish. I would suggest that you would have been better spending your time outside grinding your axe rather than reading a book about people for whom you clearly have "issues". Maybe it's time you got over, whatever your problem is. You have made various accusations & criticisms, including Webb's "ignorance". Having studied 9000 years of history that would be somewhat relevant to the contents of this book, I would suggest that readers simply ignore the historical ignorance revealed in your comments and enjoy the book. This is an important and interesting aspect of history that people seldom have the chance to read about, which will make it all the more surprising!
24 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Whole Story at Last,
By John Little (Belfast, Northern Ireland United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America (Hardcover)
This history written by a talented and far sighted individual, James Webb, places the complete story of this remarkable ethnic group of people in its correct context. For it is their ethnicity that defines them rather than attachment to any physical space. I found Mr Webb's description of his father's funeral at Arlington very moving. It was as though, as in the days of yore, another brave warrior was laid to rest by his native clan. The sense of a bagpiper playing Scotland the Brave as it carried away on the breeze gave me 'goosebumps.' Highly recommend this book tae all Scots-Irish.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Loved this book,
By
This review is from: Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America (Paperback)
Fantastic book on a history rarely covered. I am an Ulster Scot living in Switzerland and was fascinated by the accounts of the seige of Derry and the long hard journey through the fronteirs of America. I think the author made the book very readable and I didnt want it to end.
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