Empires at War: The French and Indian War and the Struggle for North America, 1754-1763

by William M. Fowler Jr.

Book Overview

On May 28, 1754, a group of militia and Indians led by twenty-two-year-old major George Washington surprised a camp of sleeping French soldiers near present-day Pittsburgh. Washington could not have... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802714110
• ISBN13: 9780802714114
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Walker & Company
• Length: 332 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.4" x 9.7"

Customer Reviews

Great Read on Early American War

This book is a must read for anyone interested in American history. It give great detail on the men, the battles, the Indians...everything you need to have a good understanding of what the war was about and how it effected everyone involved and lead to the American Revolution. I wish I had read it sooner.

Vital history

As many have noted, the French and Indian War is ignored by historians far too often. In school, if history is still taught amongst all the modern PC nonsense, US history begins with the American Revolution; but any world (or US) history class should begin here. Though the F & I War was surely overshadowed by the Revolutionary War just a few short years later, it was, no doubt, the first world war with its global impact undeniable and indelible. Fowler does a masterful job retelling the story in lurid fashion with no stone unturned and few dull moments. I do believe he covers the global impact of the war, contrarily to one prior reviewer. If anything, he might spend too much time on that side at the onset and in the seemingly endless chapters 11 & 12, since the book is about "the struggle for North America" after all. My only criticisms, and they're such small ones that I still gave the book the maximum stars, is that it could truly be 50-100 pages shorter. I know historians, of which I am one, can be wordy and drone on about an incident over 25-35 pages that could be relayed in 10-15, and Fowler does that a few times, especially at the end. The book could be just as informative and magnificent in 220 pages, frankly. I mused this a few times. There are also perhaps a few too many high level words, which I don't believe he uses to show off, but at the same time, makes this book above the level of any high school student, and here in 2009, probably too esoteric for most collegians. That's unfortunate yet true. But all in all, despite some PC/self-loathing whining about "the natives" in the closing pages, a wonderful and necessary read.

God it's great to read a well written book!

Although not as detailed as CRUCIBLE OF WAR, it covered the world wide conflict, bringing the players to life, providing an understanding of the strategies, and a continuity to the history. I would rank this as one of the best overviews I've ever read. I only wish I'd gotten the hard-copy since the maps and illustrations suffer in the paperback version.

This is an informative book, great job Mr. Fowler!!!!

William Fowler has done it again folks! He has managed a quite, impossible task, to write an informative history of the Seven Years' War and made it interesting. I came upon this book while researching a paper on Canadian History. Once I had read the first chapter of "Empires At War..." I had made up my mind, I would write my paper on the Seven Years' War. This book was a page turner, mostly because of the language that Mr. Fowler used. I have read many books on the subject of the Seven Years' War but none are presented in such a way as to make them interesting to anyone who doesn't find history exciting. Mr. Fowler's book gives detailed descriptions of several key battles in the struggle for North America. He also offers an overview of Pontiac's Rebellion. I enjoyed this book very much and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in Colonial history. I found that Mr. Fowler did a good job of representing the "Canadian" perspective, however, he concentrates mostly on the British and French views. I would also recommend this book to people who are mildly interested in history, as it is so well written that anyone would be interested.

Good Review of a Little Known War

The French and Indian War of 1754 to 1763 is one of the historically ignored wars. It is completely overshadowed by the Revolutionary War fought a decade or so later. It's nice to see a book that puts this war in its proper perspective as a precursor to the Revolution. It served as a training ground for the officers (such as Washington), it established the British in Canada, it set up the French as allies of the United States in the Revolutionary War. This book is well researched and exceedingly well written. It covers the nine years and wide expanse of the war in a manner that is easily comprehendable and understandable. He relates the activities taking place in the United States to what was happening around the rest of the world where the English and French were fighting.