The Seven Year's War [Hardcover]

Daniel Marston (Author)

Book Description

Series: Essential Histories | Publication Date: August 1, 2001

The first of its kind, a unique exploration of the history of human conflict, Essential Histories is the most comprehensive and fascinating study of human conflict ever undertaken. Leading historians from around the world have been commissioned to write 42 accessible and definitive guides to every major war throughout history, with an emphasis on the people who fought and the impact on the world at large. Eyewitness accounts are used to give a "soldier's-eye view" of the conflict and expose the reality of the battlefield. Illustrated with colour photographs and maps throughout, Essential Histories will provide for a deepened understanding of the nature of war and human history. The Series Editor of Essential Histories is Professor Robert O'Neill, Chichele Professor of the History of War at Oxford University.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A very useful resource, especially, but by no means exclusively, in school and college libraries...these books offer very useful standardised accounts and are presented in very attractive and approachable volumes.
–Reference Reviews

From the Publisher

This unique series studies every major war in history looking at all the aspects of war, from how it felt to be a soldier to the lasting impact of the conflict on the world around it. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; Ill edition (August 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579583431
• ISBN-13: 978-1579583439
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,978,297 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent primer, October 8, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Seven Years' War (Essential Histories) (Paperback)

Daniel Marston's SEVEN YEARS' WAR is a well-researched scholarly account of that conflict. Marston tackles a broad and complicated subject in an comprehensible manner, producing an excellent introduction for any person unfamiliar with the Seven Years' War.

The account is split into several sections, addressing the causes of the conflict, the warring sides, the fighting, and the conclusion of the war. The fighting section deals with all of the various fronts of the war: North America, India, and Europe. Marston highlights the important battles and also focuses on important tactical innovations.

One of the greatest attractions to this book is Marston's in-depth and accurate research. Most books that are readable do not contain this level of scholarly investigation. In particular, on the conflict in North America, better known as the French and Indian Wars in the United States, Marston presents an account firmly backed up by rigorous archival research. Thus, this book represents a very readable yet academic introduction to the Seven Years' War.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Easily navigable short history of the Seven Years' War, November 24, 2005

By 

Brian Hawkinson (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Seven Years' War (Essential Histories) (Paperback)

The Seven Years' War was a very important period. Marston has done a good job in creating a clear and coherent overall picture, using his very short (91 pages) history book to summarize the war.

Some of the cons of the book are that he hashes through the battles much too quickly, simply stating in a few sentences what happened and so on. He doesn't mention the main players, with the exception of a few of the generals, and leaves over the telling of the battle to be Britain versus France or Prussia versus Austria and so on. So the battles are explained in a very generic form.

The pros, though, outweigh the cons. The beginning chapter and the ending sections are great in that they help to explain some of the more mundane aspects, such as a soldier or nun's point of view from their journals. We see a summary in the end on how much the war cost and what the effect was on that country and its future. Additionally, the middle section (which covers the battles of the war) are broken apart by years, and then within the year it is broken down by either North America, Western Europe, Central Europe and India, which makes for a very concise and organized structure that is easily navigable.

This book did exactly what I wanted, which was to understand the Seven Years' War on more of an international level rather than the typically localized level of the North American continent (a much more deep and detail oriented history of the Seven Years' War could be found at _The Crucible of War_ by Fred Anderson). Although it skimped on the details, I have a springboard to look for further books. I would recommend only if you are looking for a summary of the war, especially in regards to both North America and Europe, otherwise try Anderson's book.

26 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Summary, but Tainted by anti-Colonial Bias, August 25, 2001

By 

R. A Forczyk (MD, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Seven Years' War (Essential Histories) (Paperback)

Osprey's new "Essential Histories" attempts to expand from its more narrowly-focused campaign and men-at-arms titles to provide a broader overview of major conflicts. In the Seven Years War (1756-1763), Daniel Marston has written a succinct but valuable overview of what was arguably the first world war. American readers, who are more familiar with this conflict as the French and Indian War, will appreciate this volume for the perspectives it provides in tying together all the various campaigns around the world. Major chapters include a background to the war and a brief overview of the military resources available to all sides (although it ignores the military resources of the Iroquois Confederacy). The bulk of the volume consists of a 61-page summary of the war, broken down in annual sections, that are further subdivided into regional (North America, Western Europe, Central Europe, India) headings. This is an excellent organizational structure, which increases the quick-reference value of the book. There are also short follow-up chapters that address the economic costs of the war and its political ramifications. A detailed bibliography lists primary and secondary sources used. Overall, this volume is a good piece of scholarship that will allow readers to follow the highlights of the conflict without getting bogged down in detail. The illustrations and maps that support the text are also quite good. The only troubling aspect of this volume is the author's not-too subtle bias against the participation of American colonials in the war. Although Marston was born in the United States, his attitudes reflect the contempt that arrogant British officials held toward the colonies in circa 1770. This bias is demonstrated in consistently inaccurate descriptions of battles in which colonials were engaged. In the Battle of Ticonderoga in 1758, the author states that, "the provincials attacked in the first wave and were easily repulsed. Abercromby then committed his regular troops." This description is false, because the provincial units pushed in the French pickets but were not "easily repulsed." Nor did Abercromby commit his regulars, because they attacked without orders and he lost control of the battle. The author's contention about the Black Watch's attack, that "after an hour of hard hand-to-hand fighting, the attack was called off," is also misleading. Only a few Highlanders made it to the French entrenchments and the attack failed because the unit was virtually destroyed. A similar example occurs during the Forbes expedition, when the author states that "on 14 September the British suffered a setback when the French garrison attacked their position, causing their provincial units to disperse.." This description is totally false, because the action on that date was caused by a British decision to send an advance guard ahead to seize Fort Duquesne, but the detachment was ambushed and badly defeated. That detachment was commander by a British regular, Major James Grant, and consisted of regulars and provincials. Obviously, there is the traditional pattern of British 18th Century historiography, which is to downplay defeats and blame the stupid colonials if you cannot avoid discussing "setbacks." This is the same kind of contempt for Colonial soldiers that British regulars were smirking about until they discovered otherwise at Bunker Hill. Furthermore, the author makes no effort to detail or discuss the immense efforts in raising troops to fight for the Crown, or the ramifications of widespread American military experience 12 years later when the Revolution broke out. Overall, this is still a very good volume for its size. American readers will appreciate the summaries of the campaigns of Frederick and those in Hannover, which are often ignored on this side of the Atlantic. However, Americans will be disappointed by the typical condescension toward Colonial military efforts.