Francis Jennings

Empire of Fortune

"A riveting, massively documented epic [that] overturns textbook cliches. . . . This impassioned study throws valuable light on our history." #&151Publishers Weekly

Empire of Fortune focuses on the so-called "French and Indian War"—the bitter last-ditch struggle between the British and French empires in the New World. Challenging traditional historians, Francis Jennings reveals in absorbing detail the political and military realities behind the myths.

"Empire of Fortune is vintage Jennings. . . . No one has done more to demystify the early American 'wilderness' or worked harder to dynamite the anglocentric folktales of colonial history. . . . By re-examining the sources on the Seven Years War, Jennings alters our view of one of the longest, most important, and least understood conflicts in American history." —Peter H. Wood, Duke University