fairly easy beach read, gifted by Marty and Pam as we headed to the beach (they are big fans of this kind of literature)

Eckert provides us with a sweeping historical epic set during the American colonial period--focusing on the French and Indian Wars. In his own words, he writes "narrative history" which uses techniques usually reserved for fiction: imagined dialog and imputed emotions. He claims the dialog and emotions come from letters, diaries, newspaper articles and other primary sources; many of which are also quoted in his book. Like all good history, Eckert provides chapter notes and an extensive bibliography. Highly recommended for colonial history buffs. ( )

Mr. Eckert is an excellent practitioner of history. His deliberate choice, as outlined in his introduction, to let the personages speak for themselves so far as possible makes his massive achievement in American history very accessible. It is certainly better than Zane Grey's fictions of this period, and of course vastly preferable to James Fenimore Cooper. Eckert's rival in this area is Parkman, but since his books in paperback have had a good deal of exposure, I'm sure that those readers who thought they were getting a novel, but stayed to see how the reality worked out, had the wonderful time that I did.
This book follows the fortunes of the Iroquois, and the Irish immigrant, Sir William Johnson. I dip into this book often.
I prefer Eckert's use of the term "Narrative" to that of Shelby Foote in his pro-CSA trilogy. ( )

Fantastic account of the American frontier from 1715 thru the French & Indian War period. The author uses primary sources to fill in a narrative style that makes this book read like a novel.

All sides in the conflict had equal time, from military men on both sides, colonists, traders, and especially the native americans who seldom recieve fair treatment in histories. ( )