Francis Parkman thought of Montcalm and Wolfe (1884) as his masterpiece, and that estimate has prevailed for more than a century. At its heart lies the gripping story of the struggle between France and England for control of North America, the French and Indian Wars. Parkman marshals facts and anecdotes to make us eyewitnesses to this confrontation on both sides of the Atlantic, from the royal courts to the colonial fields and forests, where war began with the defeat of George Washington's Virginia militia at Fort Necessity in 1754 and did not end until 1759, on Quebec's Plains of Abraham, with the tragic deaths of the brilliant opposing generals, Louis de Montcalm and James Wolfe. The author masterfully explains the military strategies, giving the reader vivid descriptions of such battles as Louisbourg, Fort Frontenac, and Ticonderoga, the besieged stronghold that Montcalm's greatly outnumbered soldiers defended against Wolfe's troops. Problems of logistics, armament, morale, and corruption all receive close attention, as do the major participants, both military and political: Montcalm, Wolfe, Amherst, Bigot, Pitt, Madame de Pompadour, Washington, and Franklin. This edition, lavishly illustrated and designed, makes abundantly clear Parkman's insight and skill. The result is history as literature. | Montcalm and Wolfe by Francis Parkman, Paperback | Indigo Chapters