On May 28, 1754, a group of militia and Indians led by 22-year-old major George Washington surprised a camp of sleeping French soldiers near present-day Pittsburgh. The brief but deadly exchange of fire that ensued, in Horace Walpole's memorable phrase, "set the world on fire." The resulting French and Indian War in North America escalated into a global conflict fought across Europe, Africa, and the East and West Indies. Before it ended, nearly one million men had died. This book captures the sweeping panorama of this first world war and the huge cast of characters who fought it, including the aristocratic French tactical genius Henry Montcalm and the gallant young Englishman James Wolfe, who both died on the field outside Quebec; Sir William Johnson, who sometimes painted his face and dressed like a warrior when he fought beside his Indian allies; and the "Great Commoner" William Pitt, who saw the world as a vast chessboard.--From publisher description.