Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

As an inveterate history buff who happens to live about 1000 yards from Fort William Henry in Lake George, New York (and, incidentally, dined last evening at The Montcalm Restaurant), I make it my business to read every book about the French and Indian War I can lay my hands on. But having read so many which have proved either repetitious, superficial, or both, I have grown increasingly wary of new and ever more "comprehensive" histories of the war. To this point, the very best to my mind remained Parkman's "Montcalm and Wolfe" which is as fresh and readable today as it was when published over 100 years ago. Then along comes Fred Anderson's "Crucible of War", and I guess I have to start changing my mind. The book excels in three respects. First, Anderson is a superb writer, as close as one will find to the Great Parkman. Second, it abounds with terrific maps and illustrations, many of which I have not seen before, from the Clements Collection at the University of Michigan. Third, and most importantly, Anderson does the best job of anyone I know in justifying the thesis that it was this war, and not the Revolution, which was the most significant conflict of the 18th century from "America's" standpoint because it lay the foundation for the inevtiable schism between the Colonies and the Mother Country. Time and again, Anderson demonstrates how almost every Colonial rejection of British hegemony during this period sowed the seeds which bloomed in April, 1775. An absolutely top-drawer read that herewith becomes a must for every serious student of American history and of this fascinating war.