He summed up the state of the world in an effective, if not too direct, statement that "England and France had been at war since – well, it seemed like a eternity” (p. 1). This quote alone sets the tone for what follows. The author continues to reinforce the idea that England and France are polar opposites in this first chapter. Fearing that this "quarrel" he describes might lead the reader to believe that the conflict is regionally centralized, he goes further to say that "England and France have always been on opposing sides as surely as they were facing the English Channel. However, by the mid-18th century this cross-Channel feud began to take on major global dimensions, as it became clear that much more was at stake than the mastery of Europe” (p. 1). This main point of the book is a necessary trend that will continue to manifest itself. The ebb and flow of the world at that time was simply determined by the attitudes of a few European nations and their primordial desires. The author advances by preparing the ground for the numerous altercations that will ensue. It features North America with a supporting cast from Europe and the Caribbean, so to speak. Borneman not only sets the stage from the start, but goes out of his way to depict the very nature of the unstable world at the start of the French and Indian War. He