Wilderness Empire: A Narrative (Winning of America Series)

Decades ago, as young students, the American Wilderness was a topic that we studied in detail. But now, this part of our American history along with the American Revolution are treated very lightly and in little detail in most school's history curriculum. The author of this series, Allan Eckert, is a marvelous author and well deserving of the six Pulitzers his work s were nominated for. Historical Narratives present factual evidence along with the author's attempt to portray what the characters were thinking, how they might have reacted to certain situations and why they did what they did in terms of reacting. This era of the late 1700's and early 1800's come to life and their stories actually jump off the page. Simon Kenton, Pontiac, Tecumseh, Cornstalk, and Blue Jacket, Simon Gerty, William Harrison, Thomas Jefferson, Daniel Boone come to life and their stories unfold nicely. The influences of the French, British, the many Native American Tribes, the early American settlers, and our military and political leaders at the time come to life in vivid colors. The settling of the Indiana Territories, statehood and epic conflicts between the Native Americans and French and English Army along with colonial militia members come to life in vivid details. The Ohio River ran red with blood from our early ancestors and the reasons for the conflict between the two opponents are well developed by the author.British leadership from London, to Colonial Governors, assemblies and British Generals and armies that were sent to protect the colonies were so subpar that our early settlers were ripe for picking. The British military was out of their element when European styles of warfare were applied to Indian and Canadian styles of "hit and run" warfare. The British generals were so unprepared for frontier type warfare and frankly they lacked the backbone to fight this new style of combat. The French and Indians came so close to capturing Albany, Philadelphia and even New York city. The Americans had their chances to win the war in its earliest goings, but deferred to allowing the French and Indians to run roughshod over our forts throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York state. For a time, the American colonies were in a bad way of surviving the onslaught of the French, Indians and our poor tactic and strategy formulated by the English generals. The atrocities that the Native Americans subjected our settlers to was unforgivable. The greed and land snatching that the English subjected the Native Americans to were equally unforgivable.As I suggested in my earlier reviews, I would recommend that you own and carefully read all six volumes that Eckert wrote in his Americana Series. I thoroughly enjoyed reading these epic works and meeting the many characters that contributed to the history known as the settling of early American territories west of the Appalachians and east of the Mississippi River. Great reading!

For over 200 years the Iroquois were a force to be reckoned with. They constituted one leg of a three legged stool which balanced French and English interests on the North American Continent. This was a most profitable position for the Iroquois and they knew it: In this position they were the gate keepers between the English and French trading establishments and all other non Iroquois, native North Americans. With a home in upstate New York they waged war and demanded tribute as far North as Hudson's Bay, as far South as Georgia and the Carolinas and as far West as the Western Great Lakes and Minnesota. Because of this dominance in the economic and political interests in the eastern half of the US and Canada they provided a buffer zone between Indian and White, between French and English interests. Simply stated, they had to be dealt with.Wilderness Empire is the story of the Iroquois during the apex of their influence and power, the French and Indian War. Struggling to maintain the status quo and their preeminent position, this Confederation of six tribes fails in its attempt to balance its internal, competing interests, splitting along French and English lines of allegiance. Resulting in an Iroquois Civil War, the Confederation is ultimately destroyed.This is a quite detailed, yet smooth flowing, description of the destruction of the Iroquois Confederation during the French and Indian War and it comes complete with an all star cast of characters: George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, King George, Montcalm, William Johnson, Pontiac, George Crogan, George Clinton, Wolfe, Charles Langlade and Bougainville, just to name a few. Fought all across the Northeast / Northcentral US and Canada, this war stretched from Detroit and the Michigan Peninsula to Albany, Niagara, the Mohawk Valley, New York, Montreal and Lake Champlain. The sweep of the story, the savagery of the battles, the intrigue and betrayals will leave you stunned.Second in his Winning of America Series, this page turner may be Eckert's best.

This book covers a period in history when the English, French, various American Indian tribes, Canadians and some Colony troops were attempting to trade and seize land by various means. American Indian tribes would switch support from English, French and staying neutral depending on the situation as they leveraged the best they could. I found some of the support issues, a white man and his role in all this and a few other things to be repetitive but only minimally so.

Looks new. Jacket cover and the book are without marks,rips,highlighting.

I read tons of books a year, but rarely take the time to write a review. Allan Eckert's "Winning of America Series" forces me to share my thoughts about this important collection. This is a fascinating narrative of the French and Indian Wars - a subject that was just touched on in my grade school and high school history courses. I was always curious about this time period in American history, but never happened upon the right treatment of this event. I stumbled upon Mr. Eckert's first book in the series and read that in record time (these books are lengthy and you could spend quite a bit of extra time reading through the end notes). I ordered the second book not knowing really what to expect - the first was very good and I hoped for the best. I was not disappointed. Mr. Eckert writes in a very easy to follow style that fully develops the many characters who bring this period of history to life. I highly recommend the first two books and look forward to completing the series soon.

This book came when it was suppose to. It was a used book, but looked brand new. Couldn't tell the difference. It was a gift for my husband who has the series except for this one. He was very pleased to get it. Thank you for making someone very happy.……….

This guy must have lived and breathed American frontier history. He writes with such flair and warmth for a subject close to his heart that the reader can re live the perils of a turbulent period of the development of a nation's history. Have you ever wondered what it must feel like to experience danger at every corner? This book takes you there with its descriptive analysis of both people and events. Try this and others written by Eckert. You won't regret it

Just started to read it... so far, so good

Historically accurate with great dialogue between characters as Eckert is renowned for in all his books.

Excellent.