John Grenier is an independent scholar. The First Way of War won the 2007 Society for Military History award as the Outstanding Book in American History. He is also the author of The Far Reaches of Empire: War in Nova Scotia, 1710–1760 (2008).

"Read it as a clear, informed survey of the lesser-known wars of early American history, or as a strongly argued reinterpretation of the pattern and relevance of early American military experience, John Grenier's excellent book earns a place on the short shelf of essential books in U.S. military history." -John Shy, Professor Emeritus of History, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

• Introduction; 1. The First Way of War's origins in Colonial America; 2. The First Way of War in the North American wars of King George II, 1739–55; 3. Continental and British Petite Guerre, circa 1750; 4. The First Way of War in the Seven Years' War, 1754–63; 5. The First Way of War in the era of the American Revolution; 6. The First Way of War in the 1790s; 7. The First Way of War and the final conquest of the transappalachian West.