About the Author

Grady McWhiney (1928-2006) was a noted historian of the American South and of the Civil War. He taught at a number of institutions, notably at The University of Alabama and Texas Christian University. Among his many booklength works are Attack and Die: Civil War Tactics and the Southern Heritage and Braxton Bragg and Confederate Defeat (vol. 1), both available from The University of Alabama Press.

Reviews

"Assuredly the most controversial book about the South to emerge in years, and the discussion of its argument is certain to be heated and extensive."
--Louisiana History

"Cracker Culture will enjoy a permanent place in the literature of its field. . . . Assign [it] and stand back to watch the fur fly."
--Journal of the Early Republic

"McWhiney defines and explains the 'cracker' culture that emanated from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and northern England to become the dominant culture among British settlers in the Old South. Characterized primarily by the values of herdsmen, this white ethnic culture valued leisure for leisure's sake, emphasized an oral tradition over the written word, and placed stress upon ideas that were antagonistic to the life-style of English-dominated northerners. It was, therefore, only a matter of time and circumstance before the two basic cultural heritages--Celtic and English--would collide in a devastating war."
--Choice