renrich
Chief Master Sergeant
IMO, a very good new book from the library. Not about WW2 but rather about "Two centuries of battles along the great warpath that made the American Way of War." I never thought about it before but battles that took place along the border of Canada and what is now the US did take place for about two centuries. The " Great Warpath" is the corridor running from Albany to Montreal dominated by the Champlain Valley. One of my favorite movies, " The Last of the Mohicans" starring Daniel Day Lewis features one of the key events along "The Great Warpath" during the French and Indian (Seven Years) War. That was the siege of Fort William Henry and the subsequent massecre after the surrender.
To me this book appears to be extraordinarily even handed in the way it treats all the participants, French, Indians, Canadians, British and Americans and the author makes a good case for how those two centuries shaped the US attitude about war. Even if you don't agree with him on that premise the story of that historical period is well told and makes engaging reading.
It has made me get on Google Earth and examine the topography and how it shaped the campaigns and battles. It further backs up the position taken by John Keegan in "Fields of Battle" a book I own about how geography shaped the wars in North America. Of course this is a much closer look at the period beginning in the 1600s and extending for two centuries. For Americans, the sagacity of George Washington as far as overall strategy and the talent and self sacrifice of Benedict Arnold are noteworthy.
To me this book appears to be extraordinarily even handed in the way it treats all the participants, French, Indians, Canadians, British and Americans and the author makes a good case for how those two centuries shaped the US attitude about war. Even if you don't agree with him on that premise the story of that historical period is well told and makes engaging reading.
It has made me get on Google Earth and examine the topography and how it shaped the campaigns and battles. It further backs up the position taken by John Keegan in "Fields of Battle" a book I own about how geography shaped the wars in North America. Of course this is a much closer look at the period beginning in the 1600s and extending for two centuries. For Americans, the sagacity of George Washington as far as overall strategy and the talent and self sacrifice of Benedict Arnold are noteworthy.
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