And while there were some informative parts, there were some parts I found to be downright biological determinist and reactionary. The first issue I had with it was it seems to want to almost bring back the myth of Teutonism and Anglo Saxonism. it talks about how essential America's British past was and how it was what made America, not the broken backs of minorities and poor people . The second issue I had with it was the chapter on the "borderers" people from the north of England and lowland Scotland as well as Northern Ireland who settled in Appalachia and the Ozarks and are what people call "white trash" today. He basically implies these people were dirtier, dumber and more promiscuous than the rest of the British colonial stock, I won't say it feels racist because these people were largely of white ancestry, but this part of the book feels very classist and elitist.
I'm selling it short i'm sure. I'm not the brightest guy around, but in my gut I could feel why some on the right say this is one of the best books on American history. Because it appeals to that myth of "Anglo Saxon white America" they've got constantly playing in their heads.
Anyone else read this? What did you think?
I would say it actually is racist and serves as an important reminder that whiteness isn't about skin color but about hierarchy and your relation to power. Who is considered white has changed dramatically over the centuries. At one point Irish, Italians, Slavs, and even Germans were not considered to be "white races". The expansion of the privilege of whiteness happened gradually over time and usually correlated with the existing whites needing to bolster their numbers to retain political and economic control.
The Appalachians are so remote and economically marginal that the people who live their have been written off by all the major political factions in the us. It's not an accident they were settled by the subjugated peoples of the British Isles.
Ironically, the total abandonment of Appalachia makes it a pretty good recruiting ground for Leftists. People there know exactly how badly capitalism has fucked them over. A little bit of theory and they have the context to assemble why and how it happened. And they're generally survivors, even in communities ravaged by drugs and neglect. There's a couple of good leftist podcasts coming out of Appalachia though the names escape me at the moment.