Description:
The Scots-Irish comrpised forty percent of the Revolutionary War army. They were pioneers like 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 military leaders, including Stonewall Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant, Audie Murphy, and George S. Patton. Born Fighting 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.
Brief description:
Jim Webb is an Emmy Award-winning journalist and the author of several books. As a Marine in Vietnam he received the nation's second and third highest awards for combat heroism. He served as Assistant Secretary of Defense and Secretary of the Navy during the Reagan administration. From 2007-2013 he represented Virginia in the US Senate.
Review Quotes:
"A bombshell, or else the most brilliant battle flare ever launched by a book. James Webb reveals the all-but-invisible ethnic group that has created the core beliefs of democracy American style: our rights come from God, not the Government; all of us are born equal, and 'born aristocrats' don't exist...He has written not only an engrossing story but also an important work of sociological history."
-- "Tom Wolfe, #1 New York Times bestselling author"