Book Ends

On this date in 1763 the Treaty of Paris was signed and the Seven Year's War was brought an to end. This conflict - better known to us as the French and Indian War - brought an end to France's overseas possessions in North America and sowed the seeds for the American Revolution a decade later. You can find an excellent account of the fighting in North America - often on New England's doorstep - in Francis Parkman's Montcalm and Wolfe. The somewhat archaic prose style can, however, make for some slow going. I started this book last fall and finished it up just a few weeks ago.

Also on this date in 1906 the HMS Dreadnought of the British Royal Navy was launched - a significant escalation in the naval arms race between the British Empire and the Second Reich. Robert K. Massie's Dreadnought is an excellent account, not only of the naval arms race, but of European diplomacy over the 40 years prior to the outbreak of the Great War, when the lamps went out over Europe. Massie's writing is anything but dull and will drag you in if you're of a historical bent - but at a 1000 plus pages Dreadnought certainly isn't a light read. I read this book many years ago and have returned to browse it'd pages on many occasions since then; the successor volume Castles of Steel is currently waiting my attention.