tonyt ... the book that you are looking for that places the conflict on the North American continent into perspective is Douglas Edward Leach's "Arms for Empire: A Military History of the British Colonies in North America, 1607-1763." Fred Anderson really has set the current standard; be warned that his "The War that Made America" is an abridgement of "The Crucible of War" ... though large, Crucible's 746 pages are worth the effort.
Cheers!
Jason "Dutch" Palmer
I'm about 2/3 of the way through "The Crucible of War" and second this endorsement... a completely engrossing history of the conflict, with just enough coverage of the overall Seven Years War to keep someone informed as to what was going only globally throughout it all. Until this point, all I know of the French and Indian War was what is commonly covered as background in Revolutionary War books, so this has been a revelation to me.
