Edmund Ruffin, who claimed the distinction of firing the first shot at Ft. Sumter, was a zealot, white supremacist and exact opposite of John Brown. Ruffin was a diarist of detailed descriptions of his daily life and that of his family and the southern United States before the War Between the States. This is a sometime revealing look at a man who strongly believed slavery was right, and not a demeaning way of life. I am looking forward to reading Volume II of this wordy diary. I would strongly recommend it to anyone interested in US history, southern life and politics or genealogy of the Ruffin and allied families.