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England in the Seven Years' War: Volume II, 1759-63

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The Seven Years' War is one of those conflicts that never really gets dealt with in all of its permutations in the same place. Those books that deal with the conflict in America (where it is generally referred to as the French & Indian War) tend to leave out the parts of the conflict that took place in the Caribbean, Asia, and Europe, while the books that deal with those parts of the conflict generally skimp somewhere else. The current book looks at the naval aspects of the war, from the point of view of England, and makes the case that the "system" of Pitt (the minister of the government who essentially ran things for most of the war) was brilliant, and had great influence on the outcome of the conflict.

Julian Corbett was a lawyer who wrote naval history a century ago, earning himself a knighthood during the First World War for his analysis of the conflict. In this book, you can see why he's so well-thought-of among naval historians, and considered a corrective to the great Mahan. The discussion of the various courses that might have been taken, strategic questions that various players were confronted with, and the descriptions of how the confrontations played out, is interesting to say the least. This war led to no major naval battles, but there were several campaigns where sea power was decisive, and so the strategic decision making process is very interesting. Corbett is very perceptive in his analysis.

While the book is interesting, it's not for everyone. The language is rather dated, being very wordy by modern standards. Sentences run line after line at times, paragraphs run down the page, and his train of thought is sometimes difficult to follow. If you can get past the eccentric verbiage, though, this is a very worthwhile book.

The Seven Years War was a massive effort, including battles across India, Europe and the Americas. This book does a good job of showing how the war both A) allowed Britain to emerge ahead of France as the Western World's dominating force, and B) created numerous heroes, including Clive of India and General Wolfe. Corbett pays special attention to maritime strategy. An engrossing read.