Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America

Born Fighting: A Real Treasure

Being of Scots-Irish heritage, I was extremely pleased with this book. For the first time I began to fully understand the gift my ancestors have given me. I now look at my remaining family members and those who are no longer with us with a much greater appreciation, admiration and respect. I am definitely highly recommending this book to anyone who treasures their family in all its subtleties and complexities.

James Webb has created a very readable book. It reads like fiction rather than non fiction yet is highly informative, thought provoking and obviously well-researched. Bravo, Sen. Webb!

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

An engaging read that personalizes previous scholarship...

Born Fighting is a good book, but for the original scholarship one must pick up Leyburn's Scotch-Irish or for a more recent scholarly discussion of ethnic immigration into colonial America grab a copy of Fischer's Albion's Seed. Webb's book is a good summary of Leyburn's and Fischer's scholarship. He presents their material with personal anecdotes that bring to life some of the cultural traits of the Scots-Irish, which results in many passionate and engaging passages. Some of Webb's conclusions may be a bit too general or treat historical events beyond the scope of his focus too casually but overall he does a good job arguing that the particular and persistant cultural traits of the Scots-Irish had a profound and unique impact on the history of the American frontier and aspects of our contemporary culture.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Most enjoyable!

Despite the less than sterling reviews by previous individuals, I found the book to be highly informative and entertaining. Contrary to one reviewer's opinion, I learned in high school geography that the Appalachians do extend into New England and Canada. That's according to some outfit called the United States Geological Service.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Deeply moving and informative yet easy to read

This history of the Scots-Irish is for everyone who treasures the rugged individualism and spirit of the first Americans and our founding. Tracing the culture from early Scotland to the present, you will see how the values of the Scots-Irish have helped form America in the past and continue to teach us valuable lessons even now.

A very well written scholarly work.

A little repetitive but a very interesting theory well documented and convincing.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

An Obnoxious, Self-Effacing Tale

I found this work arrogant and self-effacing by an author who was all too often willing to bend history to fit his argument. Bending history began with the claims that the bulk of the French and Indian War was fought in Appalachia. This might be true if one claims that Appalachia extends to the Hudson River, the Mohawk River, Lake George, Lake Champlain and to the plains of Abraham in Quebec where the Marquis de Montcalm finally met defeat and lost his life. And this author's argument was that the United States was not explored, hacked-out of the wilderness, and defended by many but that the Scots-Irish did it all. This is a pompous work and obnoxious in its reading. Don't waste either your money or your time.

0 out of 9 people found this review helpful.

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