The French and Indian War: Deciding the Fate of North America

Walter Borneman's coverage of the French and Indian war tells the tale of one of the first global conflicts extremely well. Best of all, he sets the context that created the war and defines the context that the war created which lead to the American Revolution. He does a credible job describing the battles and personalities that defined the conflict. He gets at the heart of the economic as well as personal causes for the war. He writes clearly and enjoyably, making the book easy to read as well as informative. The maps in the book, specifically the ones outlining battles, are poor especially when one considers the overall quality of the rest of the work. That minor weakness aside, this is a great book, informative on the topic and well worth reading.

I would highly recommend this book for those like myself who are just barely acquainted with the history of the French and Indian War, which was formally recognized as lasting from 1756 to 1763. Battles and skirmishes had begun before this time, e.g. General Braddock's march and defeat at the hands of the French and Indian allies in 1755 near the Monongahela River, with a young George Washington also playing a part in this battle. Borneman is an excellent writer whose clear style will make this both an easy and informative read. This is a fairly compact book that will not take long to read. In essence, Borneman shows how this war could be classified as the first truly World War. Both the French and British had claims over the North American continent (roughly with the British occupying the Atlantic coast and the areas just inland and the French occupying areas along the St. Lawrence River, the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River), and it was this close proximity between two ambitious nations that could perhaps only culminate in war. But in addition to these areas and the West Indies (also extremely important for both sides), the author takes us to Europe to show us the war occurring on the European mainland, which the government of France seemed more concerned with than with their possessions in North America. We become acquainted with many of the political and military leaders from both the British and French sides, but also some of the leading American colonists, and the Indian leaders and tribes. We learn of the legends that developed around Roger's Rangers and General Wolfe on the British side, the leaders who would emerge in the American War for Independence some twenty years later, and the issues stirring behind the war on the European mainland. It is also worth mentioning that this war perhaps best defined the emergence of the British Empire. For a relatively short book, we learn of much more than what was occurring in the wilderness areas of Canada and the present day United States. But this account still largely covers the battles that took place in North America, such as those along the rivers and lakes that now form part of the upper Mid-Atlantic States and western New England States, as well as the Great Lakes States and those portion of Canada that border on the St. Lawrence River, notably Quebec and Montreal. The early stages of the war saw more French success in the field, but this changed and eventually ended in Britain's victory. As Borneman also discusses towards the end, the seeds for future revolution were laid by the British in the developing thirteen colonies that hugged the Atlantic Coast. Examples of this include the numerous pieces of taxation legislation imposed by the British Parliament and the quartering of British troops in the American colonies. As I mentioned earlier, I think this is a most appropriate book for the beginning student trying to become acquainted with this particular conflict. It will, I think

The French and Indian War names the two losers in this war. From this war the victorious kingdom of Great Britain became the British Empire. We usually think of Braddock's march towards Fort Duquesne and Wolfe attacking Montcalm at Quebec during this war. However, there is also John Bradstreet's attack on Fort Frontenac on the shores of Lake Ontario, the battles in the Lake George and Lake Champlain area of New York state, the battles for Fort Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada, along with numerous other conflicts that made up what was known as the Seven Years War in Europe which really lasted nine years. One definite strength of this book is the many maps which were placed in the appropriate chapters to illustrate exactly where the events took place. The lack of such maps in other books I've read on various subjects has been frustrating. The real losers in this war, of course, were the Native Americans. Regardless of which side won the war they would lose their land. England's victory in this war lit the spark for the American Revolution to follow, and it was the defeated France that assisted America to defeat England in America's revolution. Former Harvard historian Samuel Eliot Morison called the French and Indian War the first World War. It was, indeed, global in nature. The fate of William Pitt, Jeffery Amherst, Robert Rogers, Chief Pontiac, and other key participants is also covered. The book is 308 pages long, and there are a lot of names to keep track of. My knowledge of this war and its importance to future events in America were definitely increased with this reading. Stick with it to the end. It is worth it.

If you google Walter R. Borneman, you will find not just a writer of history books, but a lawyer managing a substantial trust benefiting medical research, and also a mountaineer who has climbed all of Colorado's fourteeners and co-authored books on the subject. I cannot help but think that this background contributes to both the efficiency and the meticulous attention to detail and accuracy found in his recent books ("1812" and "French and Indian War"). This is not to say that his writing is not pleasing; it flows rationally and provides eminently pleasurable reading. As work limits my pleasure reading, I am quite selective in choosing my material. In less than 400 pages Borneman has provided a complete, yet readable account of the global conflict referred to as the "French and Indian" war. I find most history books deficient in illustrations and maps, and I would like to have seen a few more here, but I managed by book marking the maps as to return to them easily as I read. If you need a long tome to fill idle hours, they are out there. However, if you need a pleasurable, informative narrative history of the French and Indian war that is complete but can be finished in a reasonable interval, you should read this book. Borneman has bracketed the American Revolution with his last two books. It would be kind of him to fill this gap someday.