The War That Made America

A Short History of the French and Indian War

By: Fred Anderson

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

Apart from The Last of the Mohicans, most Americans know little of the French and Indian War, also known as the Seven Years' War, and yet it remains one of the most fascinating periods in our history. In January 2006, PBS will air The War That Made America, a four-part documentary about this epic conflict. Fred Anderson, the award-winning and critically acclaimed historian, has written the official tie-in to this exciting television event.

In The War That Made America, Anderson deftly shows how the expansion of the British colonies into French territory in the 1750s and the ongoing Native American struggle for survival would erupt into seven years of bloodshed and unrest spreading from the backwoods of Pennsylvania to the high courts of Europe, eventually overturning the balance of power on two continents and laying the groundwork for the American Revolution. Beautifully illustrated, richly detailed, and utterly compelling, this is the story of how America as we know it today emerged from a series of fractured colonies and warring tribes into a nation ripe for independence, and nobody tells this story better than Fred Anderson.

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©2005 The War That Made America, LLC (P)2005 Tantor Media, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Like the best popular historians, Anderson combines exhaustive research and an accessible prose style in a volume that should help rescue the French and Indian War from historical obscurity." (Publishers Weekly)

A thorough and absorbing history

This is a thorough and absorbing history of mid-18th century colonial America and the war that laid the foundations of our modern republic. Anderson is an outstanding historian and an expert in the field. This military and political history is a shorter version of the longer, more nuanced study in his "Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766." Nevertheless, this book is a worthy history in itself. Anderson's analysis is balanced and even-handed throughout, and hardly an apologia for any particular side in the war. His research speaks for itself, and the native Americans fare no better than the British and French in the accounts of their mistaken judgments, greed and duplicity. Listeners will have to draw their own conclusions about the allegedly "revisionist" nature of Anderson's treatment of white policy toward native Americans since 1620, but I suggest it is very far from a "blame white America" work. This is a most interesting study of a little-known period in our history and well worth the attention one pays to it.

Very Good Overview of The FIW!

I enjoy reading about the French Indian War, and this audiobook was a pleasure to listen to. It gives a great overview of the war, but is very Washington-centric. Simon Vance does a good job of narrating, and pulls it off so that you don't find it boring at all. Highly recommended!

Outstanding

Would you listen to The War That Made America again? Why?

First off, sound quality outstanding, the more books I listen to the more I realize this isn't always the case. The history itself is great. I love history and most of this was new information. Highly reccomend this book.

What did you like best about this story?

How it showed the French and Indian war led to the American revolution.

What does Simon Vance bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Narration was very compelling.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Not that type of subject.

Any additional comments?

A must listen for students of American history.

Rich in military detail

This is a book for those who already have a general understanding of this war and its context and want to explore its logistics more profoundly.

A good historic book

A good historic book on the history of the French and Indian War that details underlying causes that would soon lead to the American Revolution.

Very good

great for the most part aside from being too short and not lingering more on details regarding natuve people's

History Trumps Fiction

If you could sum up The War That Made America in three words, what would they be?

This book masterfully tied up some loose ends in my knowledge of pre-revolutionary North American History

What other book might you compare The War That Made America to and why?

It was written in the woven style of Chernow in Washington: A Life. George was a key figure in the French and Indian war,also.

Have you listened to any of Simon Vance’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Simon Vance should be cloned. He is an excellent narrator who moves to French with ease and whose cadence is perfect.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Blood and Gore for a Winning Score

Any additional comments?

I appreciate the intrigues of the Iroquois League much better. What better way for Quakers to fight than to have Indians do it for them!!

Gives so much depth and context to a war usually treated in a paragraph

Unless you are quite the history buff, you probably have a vague recollection that the French and Indian war had something to do with the US war for independence, and that it wasn’t actually fought between the French and the Indians. The War that Made America fills out the conflict with all the details we never learned in school—like that there were multiple tribes involved in the conflict, some pro-English, some pro-French, and all sophisticated, powerful strategic actors in their own right. Frankly, just hearing the names of different tribes rather than just “the Indians” was worth the price of admission, if you ask me. Anderson also weaves in the geopolitics of the Seven Years war in Europe and beyond to give context and depth to what can seem to be a fairly simple, straightforward event. He takes it even further with a really insightful and compelling analysis of how the war shaped the future—of George Washington, the American conflict with the British, the American relationship with native tribes, and the whole British Empire. Despite the scope and breadth of his analysis, he has written an accessible and fascinating account that fills in the gaps usually missing in the history of colonial America.

Solid Overview

What did you like best about The War That Made America? What did you like least?

Not sure I liked anything the least....this was a solid overview of the French/Indian War. Well researched and providing background on the key players.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

This war set the stage for a country on the brink of the revolution. The ending set that up nicely.

What aspect of Simon Vance’s performance would you have changed?

There were a ton of French references in this book, he portrayed them well. I thought he did a very good job.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Sure.

Any additional comments?

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to catch up on this era of history. Hard core history buffs might find it too simplistic but it helped me fill in some gaps on my knowledge of the country during this early era. Well worth the effort.

Hi quality in all regards

A great reading of a fascinating story connecting the French and Indian War to the American Revolution. The only minor his hearing aid British pronouncing names so familiar in the United States