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A Few Acres of Snow: The Saga of the French and Indian Wars
"Leckie is a gifted writer with the ability to explain complicatedmilitary matters in layperson's terms, while sustaining the dramainvolved in a life-and-death struggle. His portraits of the keyplayers in that struggle . . . are seamlessly interwoven with hisexciting narrative." -Booklist"As always, [Leckie] describes themaneuvers, battles, and results in telling detail with a cinematicstyle, and his portraits . . . are first-rate."-The Dallas MorningNews"Leckie's accounts of battles, important individuals, and therole of Native Americans bring to life the distant drama of theFrench and Indian Wars."-The Daily Reflector
With his celebrated sense of drama and eye for colorful detail, acclaimed military historian Robert Leckie charts the long, savageconflict between England and France in their quest for supremacy inpre-Revolutionary America. Packed with sharply etched profiles ofall the major players-including George Washington, Samuel deChamplain, William Pitt, Edward Braddock, Count Frontenac, JamesWolfe, Thomas Gage, and the nobly vanquished Marquis deMontcalm-this panoramic history chronicles the four great colonialwars: the War of the Grand Alliance (King William's War), the Warof the Spanish Succession (Queen Anne's War), the War of theAustrian Succession (King George's War), and the decisive Frenchand Indian War (the Seven Years' War). Leckie not only providesperspective on exactly how the New World came to be such a fiercelycontested prize in Western Civilization, but also shows us exactlywhy we speak English today instead of French-and reminds us howeasily things might have gone the other way.
With his celebrated sense of drama and eye for colorful detail, acclaimed military historian Robert Leckie charts the long, savageconflict between England and France in their quest for supremacy inpre-Revolutionary America. Packed with sharply etched profiles ofall the major players-including George Washington, Samuel deChamplain, William Pitt, Edward Braddock, Count Frontenac, JamesWolfe, Thomas Gage, and the nobly vanquished Marquis deMontcalm-this panoramic history chronicles the four great colonialwars: the War of the Grand Alliance (King William's War), the Warof the Spanish Succession (Queen Anne's War), the War of theAustrian Succession (King George's War), and the decisive Frenchand Indian War (the Seven Years' War). Leckie not only providesperspective on exactly how the New World came to be such a fiercelycontested prize in Western Civilization, but also shows us exactlywhy we speak English today instead of French-and reminds us howeasily things might have gone the other way.
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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236 people want to read
About the author
Robert Leckie
55 books220 followersLeckie was born on December 18, 1920, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He grew up in Rutherford, New Jersey. He began his career as a writer in high school, as a sports writer for ''The Bergen Evening Record'' in Hackensack, New Jersey.
On January 18, 1942, Leckie enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.He served in combat in the Pacific theater, as a scout and a machine gunner in H Company, 2nd Battalion 1st Marines Regiment 1st Marine Division (United States). Leckie saw combat in the Battle of Guadalcanal, the Battle of Cape Gloucester, and had been wounded by blast concussion in the Battle of Peleliu. He returned to the United States in March 1945 and was honorably discharged shortly thereafter.
Following World War II, Leckie worked as a reporter for the Associated Press, the ''Buffalo Courier-Express'', the ''New York Journal American'', the ''New York Daily News'' and ''The Star-Ledger''. He married Vera Keller, a childhood neighbor, and they had three children: David, Geoff and Joan According to Vera, in 1951 he was inspired to write a memoir after seeing ''South Pacific '' on Broadway and walking out halfway through. He said "I have to tell the story of how it really was. I have to let people know the war wasn't a musical His first and best-selling book, ''Helmet for My Pillow'', a war memoir, was published in 1957. Leckie subsequently wrote more than 40 books on American war history, spanning from the French and Indian War (1754–1763) to Operation Desert Storm (1991). Robert Leckie died on December 24, 2001, after fighting a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease.
On January 18, 1942, Leckie enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.He served in combat in the Pacific theater, as a scout and a machine gunner in H Company, 2nd Battalion 1st Marines Regiment 1st Marine Division (United States). Leckie saw combat in the Battle of Guadalcanal, the Battle of Cape Gloucester, and had been wounded by blast concussion in the Battle of Peleliu. He returned to the United States in March 1945 and was honorably discharged shortly thereafter.
Following World War II, Leckie worked as a reporter for the Associated Press, the ''Buffalo Courier-Express'', the ''New York Journal American'', the ''New York Daily News'' and ''The Star-Ledger''. He married Vera Keller, a childhood neighbor, and they had three children: David, Geoff and Joan According to Vera, in 1951 he was inspired to write a memoir after seeing ''South Pacific '' on Broadway and walking out halfway through. He said "I have to tell the story of how it really was. I have to let people know the war wasn't a musical His first and best-selling book, ''Helmet for My Pillow'', a war memoir, was published in 1957. Leckie subsequently wrote more than 40 books on American war history, spanning from the French and Indian War (1754–1763) to Operation Desert Storm (1991). Robert Leckie died on December 24, 2001, after fighting a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
April 20, 2021
I really enjoyed Leckie's book on World War II, Delivered from Evil: The Saga of World War II. In that book, Leckie reveals his skill at covering military history while keeping the stories personal and real. He also doesn't compromise on comprehensiveness while remaining manageably readable. He covers all the major events of the conflict both military and political in relative detail, not simply chronicling events and dates, but telling the story in full colour and providing commentary. After reading that book, I felt like I had learned about all the major and minor battles of the war while also gaining a fairly good understanding of the global context and the people involved.
I therefore took it upon myself to read Leckie's other books on American military history. I started reading the first chapter of George Washington's War: The Saga of the American Revolution, and in that book, he begins with the story of Wolfe's capture of Quebec. Leckie does this a lot, which I appreciate: he provides context by giving a recap of the previous episode. His book on WWII similarly starts with the Treaty of Versailles and has biographical chapters on Mussolini and Hitler, covering the rise of Italian and German fascism. Likewise, his chapters on the Pacific Theatre start by giving background on the rise of Imperial Japan. After reading about Quebec in the first chapter of George Washington's War: The Saga of the American Revolution, I figured I should go back and read this one on the French and Indian Wars first, which brings me here.
In this book, Leckie follows his practice of remaining thorough and engaging. His recap of prior context consists of a biographical chapter on Christopher Columbus. He spends some time with Samuel de Champlain and the Comte de Frontenac. He covers almost all the major and minor conflicts, including Champlain's battles against the Mohawks, King Philip's War, Acadia, and so on all the way up to the capture of Quebec, after which the book wraps up a bit too quickly.
However, as thorough as Leckie is in covering the French point of view, he really does leave out a lot of detail on the British colonies, especially those south of New England and upstate New York. As I was reading this to get context for his next book, George Washington's War: The Saga of the American Revolution, I didn't feel like it really gave me much information about how the colonies grew up between Jamestown, 1607 and Williamsburg, 1776.
The reason for Leckie's focus on the French perspective becomes apparent as the book wears on. He shows a clear pro-Catholic and anti-Protestant bias. Leckie himself was Catholic, his family originating from Ireland, so that might have something to do with it. I didn't mind opinionated commentary--and Leckie does seem to have become more opinionated as he got older--because he is quite overt about it, so I feel warned and know to take them with a grain of salt. Some reviewers, however, felt really shocked by some of his opinions. Most of them took offence at a small asterisk footnote about women in combat, but personally, I found his incessant criticism of William of Orange tiresome. It must be twenty times that he repeats that William of Orange was a "usurper" and that James II what the legitimate king, and that William's usurpation was illegal. He doesn't let John Churchill, Duke of Malborough off easy either. And he even goes so far as to call Queen Mary II "retarded". Evidently, Leckie really doesn't like William, and he is very insistent on letting us know!
The book also suffers from some poor editing as well. While for the most part, it follows a chronological order, there were a couple of times that it felt like it jumped back and forth, and some paragraphs had clearly been copied-and-pasted from other sections of the book word-for-word. My guess is that he wrote a first draft and then played around with it a bit by moving entire sections around. I first noticed Leckie's habit of doing this in his book Delivered from Evil: The Saga of World War II. In that book too, there seems to be a chapter or two out of place, such as the one about the civilian experience of the Siege of Leningrad, which he moved from the start of the siege to the chapter on the liberation of the city, later in the book. I also found some of the segments discussing his own experiences lifted wholesale from his memoir Helmet for My Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific, A Marine Tells His Story. I would call Leckie lazy, except the man did write over 30 books. Maybe that's how he did it. I expect his book The Wars of America to basically be a collage of his other books.
As much as these weaknesses do get in the way of the book, overall, I still think that this book makes a good introduction to the French and Indian Wars, first because of its breadth--he covers not only the French and Indian War from 1754 to 1759 but the entire series of wars of the Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century New France, as well as some of the events in Europe during that period--and second because it is still fairly readable and engaging. I know of no other book covering this period as comprehensively. The strong opinions and the poor editing don't bother me either, as much as his neglect of coverage of the British perspective.
After reading this, I feel like I am fairly informed about the French and Indian Wars, but if I'm to continue with his book George Washington's War: The Saga of the American Revolution, I feel like I still need to fill in my knowledge of Colonial America, perhaps with a few biographies of the Founding Fathers like Walter Isaacson's Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, Joseph J. Ellis's His Excellency: George Washington and American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson, Lynne Cheney's James Madison: A Life Reconsidered, and Ron Chernow's Alexander Hamilton.
I therefore took it upon myself to read Leckie's other books on American military history. I started reading the first chapter of George Washington's War: The Saga of the American Revolution, and in that book, he begins with the story of Wolfe's capture of Quebec. Leckie does this a lot, which I appreciate: he provides context by giving a recap of the previous episode. His book on WWII similarly starts with the Treaty of Versailles and has biographical chapters on Mussolini and Hitler, covering the rise of Italian and German fascism. Likewise, his chapters on the Pacific Theatre start by giving background on the rise of Imperial Japan. After reading about Quebec in the first chapter of George Washington's War: The Saga of the American Revolution, I figured I should go back and read this one on the French and Indian Wars first, which brings me here.
In this book, Leckie follows his practice of remaining thorough and engaging. His recap of prior context consists of a biographical chapter on Christopher Columbus. He spends some time with Samuel de Champlain and the Comte de Frontenac. He covers almost all the major and minor conflicts, including Champlain's battles against the Mohawks, King Philip's War, Acadia, and so on all the way up to the capture of Quebec, after which the book wraps up a bit too quickly.
However, as thorough as Leckie is in covering the French point of view, he really does leave out a lot of detail on the British colonies, especially those south of New England and upstate New York. As I was reading this to get context for his next book, George Washington's War: The Saga of the American Revolution, I didn't feel like it really gave me much information about how the colonies grew up between Jamestown, 1607 and Williamsburg, 1776.
The reason for Leckie's focus on the French perspective becomes apparent as the book wears on. He shows a clear pro-Catholic and anti-Protestant bias. Leckie himself was Catholic, his family originating from Ireland, so that might have something to do with it. I didn't mind opinionated commentary--and Leckie does seem to have become more opinionated as he got older--because he is quite overt about it, so I feel warned and know to take them with a grain of salt. Some reviewers, however, felt really shocked by some of his opinions. Most of them took offence at a small asterisk footnote about women in combat, but personally, I found his incessant criticism of William of Orange tiresome. It must be twenty times that he repeats that William of Orange was a "usurper" and that James II what the legitimate king, and that William's usurpation was illegal. He doesn't let John Churchill, Duke of Malborough off easy either. And he even goes so far as to call Queen Mary II "retarded". Evidently, Leckie really doesn't like William, and he is very insistent on letting us know!
The book also suffers from some poor editing as well. While for the most part, it follows a chronological order, there were a couple of times that it felt like it jumped back and forth, and some paragraphs had clearly been copied-and-pasted from other sections of the book word-for-word. My guess is that he wrote a first draft and then played around with it a bit by moving entire sections around. I first noticed Leckie's habit of doing this in his book Delivered from Evil: The Saga of World War II. In that book too, there seems to be a chapter or two out of place, such as the one about the civilian experience of the Siege of Leningrad, which he moved from the start of the siege to the chapter on the liberation of the city, later in the book. I also found some of the segments discussing his own experiences lifted wholesale from his memoir Helmet for My Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific, A Marine Tells His Story. I would call Leckie lazy, except the man did write over 30 books. Maybe that's how he did it. I expect his book The Wars of America to basically be a collage of his other books.
As much as these weaknesses do get in the way of the book, overall, I still think that this book makes a good introduction to the French and Indian Wars, first because of its breadth--he covers not only the French and Indian War from 1754 to 1759 but the entire series of wars of the Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century New France, as well as some of the events in Europe during that period--and second because it is still fairly readable and engaging. I know of no other book covering this period as comprehensively. The strong opinions and the poor editing don't bother me either, as much as his neglect of coverage of the British perspective.
After reading this, I feel like I am fairly informed about the French and Indian Wars, but if I'm to continue with his book George Washington's War: The Saga of the American Revolution, I feel like I still need to fill in my knowledge of Colonial America, perhaps with a few biographies of the Founding Fathers like Walter Isaacson's Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, Joseph J. Ellis's His Excellency: George Washington and American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson, Lynne Cheney's James Madison: A Life Reconsidered, and Ron Chernow's Alexander Hamilton.
April 22, 2022
A sloppy, clumsy and folksy history of the struggle for North America.
Leckie does provide great portraits of all the personalities, and his coverage of the wars is actually good for the most part, (the siege of Québec is vividly recounted) but his opinionated style may be off-putting for some, and his armchair-quarterbacking seems a bit excessive.
The narrative goes back and forth in the first half or so, with the French and Indian War being covered only later. It also gets a bit repetitive in parts. Again, Leckie’s style is pretty opinionated, and women, the Hanoverians, the Germans, the Dutch, and a couple of historical figures all come in for criticism that often seems unrelated to the supposed topic of his book. In one case Leckie manages to write a sentence that begins with Columbus and ends with the US Navy in Seoul in 1950. Oliver Cromwell is called a “hymn-singing swine.” Don’t ask me why Cromwell is even in this book at all. At one point he refers to Britain’s “drumbeat of military reversal” in the early phase of the Seven Years’ War and for some reason includes the siege of Cartagena in 1740. Also, Leckie accepts the story that Wolfe recited Thomas Gray's Elegy in a Country Churchyard the night before the battle for Québec, even though Wolfe had issued strict orders for silence.
A very imbalanced and chaotic volume.
Leckie does provide great portraits of all the personalities, and his coverage of the wars is actually good for the most part, (the siege of Québec is vividly recounted) but his opinionated style may be off-putting for some, and his armchair-quarterbacking seems a bit excessive.
The narrative goes back and forth in the first half or so, with the French and Indian War being covered only later. It also gets a bit repetitive in parts. Again, Leckie’s style is pretty opinionated, and women, the Hanoverians, the Germans, the Dutch, and a couple of historical figures all come in for criticism that often seems unrelated to the supposed topic of his book. In one case Leckie manages to write a sentence that begins with Columbus and ends with the US Navy in Seoul in 1950. Oliver Cromwell is called a “hymn-singing swine.” Don’t ask me why Cromwell is even in this book at all. At one point he refers to Britain’s “drumbeat of military reversal” in the early phase of the Seven Years’ War and for some reason includes the siege of Cartagena in 1740. Also, Leckie accepts the story that Wolfe recited Thomas Gray's Elegy in a Country Churchyard the night before the battle for Québec, even though Wolfe had issued strict orders for silence.
A very imbalanced and chaotic volume.
July 30, 2013
I guess one would classify this as popular history? It truly is a saga: part truth, part myth. Very readable, but not nearly as scholarly a work as Fred Anderson's "Crucible of War." I have liked Mr. Leckie's informal style since reading his memoir of the Pacific War, "Helmet for my Pillow." "A Few Acres of Snow" is well-balanced, and the French come off surprisingly well, as they should. It is good entertainment, but I would not use it as a reference for a scholarly paper. It mixes the historical facts of the French and Indian Wars with the myths and a few historical inaccuracies. Leckie's word pictures of historical figures like Frontenac, Washington, Montcalm, Wolfe, William Pitt, and Louis XIV, and his descriptions of wilderness warfare, are what make this book worth reading.
April 27, 2016
Full of lively prose and the down right entertaining anecdotes of long dead souls as if they were alive and well and merely eccentric characters in your family you might meet at the Holiday feast table. That however does not save this dinosaur of a fossil from being irresponsible as History. A few pages in I checked the year this was published, thinking that such antiquated attitudes as the very opinionated author spouted freely were out of date in the 60's. 1999, wow. So this is a book written by a confident and irascible old man as he was dying, a man who was a soldier and a military historian. His sexism and racism are apparent, but more so, many of his assertions especially about Native Americans are now provably incorrect. Also, the author approached this book as he might a conversation in a pub with an audience. I didn't mind, but the disorganization was pretty wild. He would go off on tangents, expound for an entire page about something that he was obviously thinking about, like George McClellan, the Civil War general. The first chapter is a complementary mini biography of Christopher Columbus! A little off topic to address at such length. He obviously was enjoying the chance to get this material off his chest, and had no reason to be fussy about it. I did enjoy the lively character sketches, and I hope I learned something, especially regarding the European political scenes and characters that set the stage for the events unfolding in North America in the 18th Century. The author did not exclude anyone but nuns from his excoriating criticism, to be fair, but I think his book might be best approached as a cautionary window on attitudes toward History in living memory, not as a primary tool to learn about the History of the 15th through the 18th centuries in the Atlantic world.
September 17, 2025
Here because The Pacific exposed me to Robert Leckie and because I've been wanting to read about the French & Indian Wars for a while.
This book is a little messy and could have benefitted from some better editing. Leckie's style can be a little convoluted and difficult to follow at times. Also, at times it's like he's making wisecracks or references he just assumes you're going to understand, but you probably won't. At least I did not.
About 50 pages in you'll have to re-check the cover of the book to make sure you're not reading a book about Christopher Columbus. The slow zoom-in from the Columbus's time is somewhat appreciated but way too long.
On the plus side, Leckie is great at describing the personalities and the wartime actions of armies and troops. Which only makes sense given his background.
And the final chapter on the siege and fall of Quebec are pretty great.
This book is a little messy and could have benefitted from some better editing. Leckie's style can be a little convoluted and difficult to follow at times. Also, at times it's like he's making wisecracks or references he just assumes you're going to understand, but you probably won't. At least I did not.
About 50 pages in you'll have to re-check the cover of the book to make sure you're not reading a book about Christopher Columbus. The slow zoom-in from the Columbus's time is somewhat appreciated but way too long.
On the plus side, Leckie is great at describing the personalities and the wartime actions of armies and troops. Which only makes sense given his background.
And the final chapter on the siege and fall of Quebec are pretty great.
August 20, 2019
Will not waste any more of my time on this book - after Part 1 (40 pages!) I had to look back to confirm that the date it was written was actually 1999 - because the attitudes and writing style would have been more at home in 1899. After having read other Goodreads reviews (and I do note the wide variation in ratings) I'm not expecting any improvement. I've never bailed on a book this quickly before. I was hoping for a history - this isn't that. I didn't see any reference in other reviews to Leckie pontificating about "the white man's burden" but it would certainly have fit right in. Too bad, because even in the early going I get the impression that he has a wealth of detail to offer and is ready to be critical of some popular myths. But he is way too Kipling for me ....
September 17, 2020
Good historical content, but Leckie allows his personal feelings to creep in and slant the whole. It is clear that he is pro-catholic and anti an all volunteer military ; especially women in the military as he states in several totally unnecessary paragraphs at one point. He was a drafted Marine in World War II and was one of the characters in "The Pacific" mini-series.
September 6, 2018
Excellent book on the French in North America.
December 29, 2022
Robert Leckie has written a very comprehensive book about the entire time of fighting between the British and French, with inclusion of the Indians in Canada and our northern American colonies during much of the 17th and 18th centuries. He explains the background in Europe between the two nations, and the many players in the events that transpired. The reader sees how extensive the fighting was over such a long period of time before we became a nation, and understands how easily Canada could have remained French, had it not been for the corruption within its leaders, stealing from their own mother country. One sees the complexity of the involvement of the different tribes of Indians, and their hatered for one another, and for in great part, for us. What I once thought was the French and Indian War of a shorter duration, was actually only part of a much longer involvement of hostilities and bloodshed. Really interesting reading!
January 10, 2018
Not a useful book. It is disorganized, repetitive, and contradictory; it includes frequent taunts of childish name-calling and diatribes. There are also errors in facts. I am very hesitant to remember anything in this book other than the names and perhaps the number of the wars between England and France in America.
December 23, 2025
OOO My why is this one in storage instead of the shelf?
The things I knew about the French and Indian Wars took a few paragraphs or pages?
The things they don't teach in school my goodness.
Anyway, like most non-fiction it is a slow read but a verry Good Read!
The things I knew about the French and Indian Wars took a few paragraphs or pages?
The things they don't teach in school my goodness.
Anyway, like most non-fiction it is a slow read but a verry Good Read!
May 31, 2017
Some regrettable sexism, but some great writing nonetheless
June 10, 2018
This was a very superficial book, in my opinion.
November 26, 2025
Very good coverage of the French and Indian Wars, great way to learn about them. Writing is just a bit dry, moreso than other Leckie works..
March 17, 2014
First off I want to inform everyone that the author, Robert Leckie, is the same Robert Leckie who fought in WWII as a marine and is portrayed in the HBO series "The Pacific."
The Bad: lets get this out of the way. Leckie jumps around an incredible amount. He also reiterates events and conclusions he makes numerous times over in several places. For someone who isnt familiar with the colonial conflicts the seemingly sudden and lengthy diversions into European history that seems barely relate-able can be a turn off and create confusion. For instance he spends not one but two chapters on the so-called "Glorious", or "Bloodless" Revolution that brought William of orange to the English throne. Also, his blatant distaste for all things protestant and his almost militant Catholicism could be seen as a serious detraction for many readers (although for this reader I followed his arguments and came to agree with many of his conclusions on matters of religion and colonial politics).
The good: Leckie gives an amazing breadth of info and helps the reader who heretofore has had merely a basic understanding of the colonial conflict in America a much better understanding of the European events and happenings that led ultimately to the French and Indian War. His clear understanding of the differences between French and colonial English policies regarding the natives is refreshing in a politically correct age and his frank honesty in terms of native american customs is also a nice breath of fresh air (there is no racist mentality simply a frank observation of the customs). He provides excellent and interesting background to several well-known characters of the era that many readers may not have encountered before(the background, not the characters).
Historian and recreational history lover alike need this book
The Bad: lets get this out of the way. Leckie jumps around an incredible amount. He also reiterates events and conclusions he makes numerous times over in several places. For someone who isnt familiar with the colonial conflicts the seemingly sudden and lengthy diversions into European history that seems barely relate-able can be a turn off and create confusion. For instance he spends not one but two chapters on the so-called "Glorious", or "Bloodless" Revolution that brought William of orange to the English throne. Also, his blatant distaste for all things protestant and his almost militant Catholicism could be seen as a serious detraction for many readers (although for this reader I followed his arguments and came to agree with many of his conclusions on matters of religion and colonial politics).
The good: Leckie gives an amazing breadth of info and helps the reader who heretofore has had merely a basic understanding of the colonial conflict in America a much better understanding of the European events and happenings that led ultimately to the French and Indian War. His clear understanding of the differences between French and colonial English policies regarding the natives is refreshing in a politically correct age and his frank honesty in terms of native american customs is also a nice breath of fresh air (there is no racist mentality simply a frank observation of the customs). He provides excellent and interesting background to several well-known characters of the era that many readers may not have encountered before(the background, not the characters).
Historian and recreational history lover alike need this book
November 19, 2015
I had never read about the French and Indian War, spotted "A Few Acres of Snow" at the book store and picked it up. It's subtitle read: "The Saga of the French and Indian Wars" but I did not notice that Wars was plural. It was not just about The French and Indian War but all the French and Indian Wars, four of them, which occurred in the seventy years prior to the American Revolution. Oddly, the book starts with Columbus wondering around Spain trying to find someone to finance his voyage of discovery. It seemed to me to be a little far back to start his saga but since I have discovered that he has a series of "sagas" which cover the entire history of the United States and this being the first book in the series it was only natural to start with Columbus. The fighting between the French, Indians and English was brutal during the 70 years of the French and Indian Wars with atrocities on both sides. The Native Americans routinely tortured and ate their enemies while the French and English enlisted them to slaughter each other's settlers. The book ends with the capture of Quebec by the English, a subject which I remember being taught in grade school history. The author Robert Leckie is old school, a kind of classical writer who uses a style not common anymore. Leckie takes a stand on whether a historical figure is good or evil and strings adjectives together in the way a symphony composer strings together notes of music. In reading the book, I would constantly read a passage and reread it just for the sheer enjoyment. I look forward to reading the next of Leckie's Sagas, the one on the Revolutionary War, to get his take on that.
July 25, 2009
Leckie deserves credit for tackling the "saga" of the French and Indian Wars from a long historical and geographic perspective: his tale starts with Columbus' arrival in the New World, and includes plenty of information on goings-on in Europe (monarchic skullduggery, in particular) and how these events spilled over into French and British North America. Leckie also writes with a keen sense of drama, keeping the pages turning quickly in many parts. However- the book is terribly edited: in some instances, entire paragraphs are repeated in different parts of the narrative. Speaking of narrative, Leckie often loses a coherent chronological thread in a jumble of digressions and anecdotes. Leckie's strong opinions- which he is quite up-front about- render his version of events unreliable at best, particularly since he provides no footnotes, no discussion of the sources that he's drawing on, and a very brief bibliography that doesn't contain any materials written before the mid 19th century. I'm glad I had sufficient background knowledge to be able to take Leckie's conclusions with a grain of salt. I wish someone else had written- and edited- this book.
April 8, 2020
A very scholarly book, I would have liked more maps, but Mr. Leckie is a wonderful wordsmith and I enjoyed the book immensely once I adjusted to his scholarly style. I wanted to learn more about the French and Indian War (1756 - 1763) but Mr. Leckie chose to do the entire foundation of the French - British - Indian interactions from the time of Columbus on and I am better off because of it. I am now going to try and find his other histories, especially his WWII Memoir "A Helmet for my Pillow" about his USMC experiences in the Pacific (His story was featured in the HBO special "The Pacific").
Mr. Leckie has done amazing research on the early American wars and told the story in an excellent mix of facts and stories that supported the facts. The savagery of the time is well-documented , especially the use of torture and cannibalism by the Native American allies of both the French and the British, and he has a serious dislike for most things royal. I heartily recommend it.
Mr. Leckie has done amazing research on the early American wars and told the story in an excellent mix of facts and stories that supported the facts. The savagery of the time is well-documented , especially the use of torture and cannibalism by the Native American allies of both the French and the British, and he has a serious dislike for most things royal. I heartily recommend it.
March 13, 2013
A really fun read. He did a really respectable job both of researching and of storytelling. Well written, opinionated (but his opinions are right out there in the open, not hidden behind any academic pretense at objectivity) and engagingly presented. It is told from a decidedly French perspective, and just the previous week I had finished Bloody Mohawk about the same conflicts, but from the British & American Colonial perspective, and it was a delight to read how they balanced, mirrored, and battled with each other.
July 29, 2016
Some major editing flaws (whole sections repeated verbatim in different chapters) and then the author goes off on tangents about women in the military in the 20th century. It is my understanding that the author wrote this as he was dying to help his family, but the publisher needed a better editor on this. I did not gain much of an understanding of the French and Indian Wars and I had hoped from the time invested in this book, not near as much. Look elsewhere for this history.
May 18, 2015
Excellent look at North America from Columbus to the end of the Seven Years War. This book traces the history of the colonies, as well as the political situations in Europe that led to the first major world-wide war. The early period of American and Canadian colonization are not much explored in writing, but this book brings you through it all.
July 19, 2012
I really can't get past the cheerleading for Christianity. The conquistadores were better than Genghis Khan because they brought their religion to the new world? I couldn't finish reading the complete lack of any objectivity in this book.
May 7, 2013
Another outstanding Leckie book, great narrative, detailed facts on all levels. Enjoyable yet educational and insightful.
March 23, 2019
What an awesome book, I really enjoyed it! I recommend anyone who’s a history buff like me to read it.
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December 25, 2010Very good book. Really didn't expect much, but turned into an enjoyable read.
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