Northern Armageddon: The Battle of the Plains of Abraham and the Making of the American Revolution

Written by D. Peter MacLeod

Narrated by Tom Perkins

A vivid re-telling of Canada's most important battle, based on decades of research and many dramatic eyewitness accounts.#160;The Battle of the Plains of Abraham is one of the pivotal events in North American and global history. This clash between British general James Wolfe and French general Louis-Joseph de Montcalm on September 13, 1759, led to the British victory in the Seven Years' War in North America, which in turn led to the creation of Canada and the United States as we know them today.#160;Rooted in original research, featuring quotations and images that have never appeared before, Northern Armageddon immerses the reader in the campaign, battle and siege through the eyes of dozens of participants, such as British sailor William Hunter, four Quebec residents enduring the bombing of their city and a teenage Huron warrior. Shifting from perspective to perspective, we move from the bombardment of Quebec to the field of combat, where Montcalm and Wolfe gave their orders but thousands of individual soldiers determined the outcome of the battle. In the final chapters, MacLeod traces the battle's impact on Canada, the United States, both countries' Aboriginals and the world, from 1759 into the twenty-first century.#160;

• Language: English
• Publisher: Highbridge Company
• Release date: Mar 22, 2016
• ISBN: 9781681680514

D. Peter MacLeod

D. Peter MacLeod received his Ph.D. From the University of Ottawa in 1991. His area of specialization is Amerindian-European relations in northeastern North America in the eighteenth century.

Reviews for Northern Armageddon

[bruchu_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Battle of QuebecIn this historical recount of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, military historican D. Peter MacLeod takes the reader on a day by day, hour by hour, retelling of one of the defining battles of the Seven Years War between the English and the French.I'll describe what I like most about the book first, then go on to some of its weaknesses. MacLeod has really reached deep into the archives transcribing and interpreting the battle from the perspective of some of its real-life participants. The incredible detail is in itself a remarkable accomplishment. Intricate details of key players including Wolfe and Montcalm. MacLeod accurately captures the savagery of the scorched earth policy used by the British in attempt to smoke out the French. The battle on the plains, named after Abraham Martin dit l'Ecossais, is the climax of the book with the siege of Quebec and the aftermath that followed. There are about two dozen or so illustrations and paintings of the battle and the key players, all done in color. MacLeod bookends the book contextualizing the overall historical significance of the battle within the larger war and the events that followed it.A few minor points of contention that I have. Firstly, MacLeod's writing is rather disjointed and he rarely transitions his points choosing rather to write in short paragraphs and short chapters. It makes it very difficult to have a continuous narrative that really captures the reader. Secondly, at times, MacLeod takes a few liberties in hyperbolizing some of his points in an attempt to make sections of his narrative sound more important than they really were, the title of the book is an example of this kind of exaggeration.Overall, I recommend "Northern Armageddon" especially if you enjoy reading detailed accounts of war and battle or if you enjoy reading about Canadian history.