In the summer of 1754, deep in the wilderness of western Pennsylvania, a very young George Washington suffered his first military defeat, and a centuries-old feud between Great Britain and France was rekindled. The war that followed, which one historian called truly the first world war, would decide the fate of the entire North American continent--not just between Great Britain and France, but for the Spanish and the Native Americans as well. Fought across virgin wilderness, from Nova Scotia to the forks of the Ohio River, the French and Indian War is best remembered for dogged frontier campaigns and the momentous battle of Quebec on the Plains of Abraham--and the seeds of discord sown in its aftermath would give root to the American Revolution. We encounter George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, William Pitt, William Shirley, Edward Braddock, Wolfe and Montcalm, and Major Robert Rogers, a legend misunderstood.--From publisher description.

Includes maps of: North America, Circa 1754; Washington's Marches, 1753-1754; Braddock's Defeat, July 1755; Lake Champlain Frontier, 1756-1757; Battles for Louisbourg, 1758; Ticonderoga Campaign, 1758; Fort Frontenac Raid, 1758; Forbes's Road, 1758; Caribbean Campaigns, 1759-1762; Siege of Fort Niagara, 1759; Quebec Campaign, 1759; Rogers's Raid on St. Francis, 1759; Western Europe, Circa 1760; British Colonial Frontier, Circa 1760; North America, Circa 1763.

Introduction: The war that won a continent -- Colliding empires (1748-1756) -- 1. The bells of Aix-la-Chapelle -- 2. Beautiful Ohio -- Albany, 1754 -- Braddock's roads -- 5. "That I can save England" -- Mr. Pitt's global war (1757-1760) -- 6. Massacre and stalemate -- 7. Fortress Atlantis -- 8. "Till we meet at Ticonderoga" -- 9. The bateau man -- 10. Braddock's roads again -- 11. Caribbean gambit -- 12. Falling dominoes -- 13. Battle for a continent, or is it? -- 14. The making of a legend -- 15. Deciding the fate -- Prelude to revolution (1760-1763) -- 16. Montreal to Michilimackinac -- 17. Martinique to Manila -- 18. Scratch of a pen -- 19. A matter unresolved -- 20. prelude to revolution.