The Struggle for North America, 1754-1758 : Britannia’s Tarnished Laurels

At the end of 1758, Britons could proudly boast of the numerous victories which had been achieved against the forces of King Louis XV. Although the Seven Years' War, or French and Indian War, was far from over, 1758 marked a significant turning point. Uniquely, this book provides an insight into the initial stages of the Seven Years War, and explains why Britain failed, despite the many advantages which it enjoyed.

George Yagi employs an immense amount of varied primary material in order to provide the most thorough analysis yet of British failure during the early stages of the Seven Years' War. In doing so, it aims to dispel commonly held misconceptions and prove that the reasons for failure are much more complicated than has been assumed.

“[An] eminently readable, wide-ranging rehabilitation of Britain's first three commanders in chief in North America … The Struggle for North America is a fine, succinct work of military history, well organized and indexed, cleanly printed, replete with apt references, useful endnotes, and a full bibliography … For its wide purview, extensive documentation, and meticulous attention to detail, George Yagi's lively new survey should become standard reading on its subject.” —Michigan War Studies Review

“The American aspect of the Seven Years War is hardly an untold story. But George Yagi succeeds in bringing to this new study a fresh perspective. Rather than focus on the victorious culmination of the struggle, with the capture of Quebec in 1759 and then Montreal in 1760, he looks in detail at the first phase of the war – a period marked by British defeat and setback. Written with great clarity, and based on deep and wide research, Yagi's account paints a compelling picture of the problems the British faced between 1754 and 1758 – the year when the tide turned and eventual triumph began to seem almost inevitable.” —Stephen Conway, University College London, UK