Traces the history and influence of the Scots-Irish in America, following their odyssey from their native Scotland, through their settlement in Northern Ireland, to their migration to America in the eighteenth century.

Originally published in hardcover, 2004.

pt. 1. Rulers and rednecks. Big Moccasin Gap -- The radical individualists -- pt. 2. The making of a people-- and a nation. Hadrian's Wall -- Tribalism versus feudalism : the Celtic tie of kinship -- Braveheart -- Bannockburn -- pt. 3. The Ulster Scots. The Ulster plantation -- Border warriors-- and Bible beaters -- The problem children of Ulster -- Londonderry. The Boyne. Exodus -- pt. 4. The spirit of a revolution. Roots -- Pioneers and radicals -- Preachers and warriors -- pt. 5. Rise and fall : the heart of the South. Westward, ho -- Old Hickory -- The winds of war -- Attack and die -- pt. 6. Reconstruction. Diaspora. Reeducation? The mess the Yankees made -- Fight. Sing. Drink. Pray -- Poor but proud-- and stubborn as hell -- Hillbilly highways -- pt. 7. Refections : the unspeakable circle. Glad soldiers, accidental scholars -- The invisible people -- Rites of passage : the legacy of Camel Six -- Kensett, Arkansas.