Death or Victory: The Battle for Quebec and the Birth of Empire - Hardcover

Snow, Dan

4.3

113 ratings by Goodreads

9780007286201: Death or Victory: The Battle for Quebec and the Birth of Empire

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0007286201 ISBN 13: 9780007286201

Publisher: Harper Press, 2009

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Perched on top of a tall promontory, surrounded on three sides by the treacherous St. Lawrence River, Quebec—in 1759 France's capital city in Canada—forms an almost impregnable natural fortress. That year, with the Seven Years War raging around the globe, a force of 49 ships and nearly 9000 men commanded by the irascible General James Wolfe navigated the river, scaled the cliffs, and laid siege to the town in an audacious attempt to expel the French from North America forever.

In this magisterial book, Dan Snow tells the story of the famous campaign that was to have far-reaching consequences for Britain's rise to global hegemony, and for the world at large. Using original research and telling the story from all perspectives, Snow brilliantly sets the battle within its global context to create a gripping tale of a brutal war where terrain, weather, and native Indian tribes were as fearsome as any enemy. 1759 was, without question, a year in which the decisions of men changed the world forever.

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About the Author:

DAN SNOW has researched, written and presented documentaries on British and world history for the BBC, including the BAFTA-award-winning Battlefield Britain. He has contributed to BBC History Magazine, The Times, The Guardian, Express, and Sunday Times. He was born in Canada and lives in London, England.

Review:

'Many of us wondered whether Dan Snow could make the transition from fluent TV presenter to serious historian. This hugely impressive work confirms his triumphant arrival on the scene. It is by far the best account yet written of a campaign that helped shape North America, and is a fitting tribute on the 250th anniversary of that "wonderful year" 1759' Richard Holmes"Dan Snow is perhaps more familiar from television....this, his first book, proves him to be a master military historian in the making. Its grasp of detail is prodigious" Daily Express"Lively and thoughtful...fascinating stuff....one of the book's strengths is its vivid portrayal of the physical backdrop against which the campaign unfolded" Literary Review

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