Richard White holds the Margaret Byrne Professorship in American History at Stanford University, California and is widely regarded as one of the nation's leading scholars in three related fields: the American West, Native American history and environmental history. Professor White is the author of five books. The first edition of The Middle Ground: Indians, Empires, and Republics in the Great Lakes Region, 1650–1815 (1991) was named a finalist for the 1992 Pulitzer Prize. Among other honors, he is the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation fellowship.

• Introduction; 1. Refugees: a world made of fragments; 2. The middle ground; 3. The fur trade; 4. The alliance; 5. Republicans and rebels; 6. The clash of empires; 7. Pontiac and the restoration of the middle ground; 8. The British alliance; 9. The contest of villagers; 10. Confederacies; 11. The politics of benevolence; Epilogue.

'White's work is also perfect for historians who are themselves looking into more information and research on the Natives' lives during the colonial era … White enchants all; I could not put this book down when I began reading it. The final verdict: Recommend.' Joshua Chanin, Reviewer's Bookwatch (www.midwestbookreview.com)