danjewett's review against another edition
5.0
A huge gap in my understanding of events that greatly influenced the american politics of my formative years has been filled in.
mark_lm's review against another edition
4.0
Halberstam’s 2007 history of the Korean War is excellent. He balanced political and military views of the war and chose the political and military battles to discuss with the adeptness of the experienced Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and historian that he was. The first third of the book is political with mini-biographies of McArthur, Truman, Acheson, Mao, Kennan, Kim Il Sung, Syngman Rhee, Ridgway, and others. If you’re eager to read about the war itself, this may slow you down, but Halberstam used the novelistic technique of starting the book with the disastrous battle at Unsan out of temporal sequence to draw you in.
Besides whatever intrinsic value it has, reading this history is an antidote to the current blather about the uniqueness of our political divisiveness, the politicization of the media, and the megalomania of our leaders. Here the reader can read about the posturings of Douglas McArthur, his support from Henry Luce and Time magazine, and the pervasive lobbying power of the Nationalist Chinese and Chiang Kai-shek.
Besides whatever intrinsic value it has, reading this history is an antidote to the current blather about the uniqueness of our political divisiveness, the politicization of the media, and the megalomania of our leaders. Here the reader can read about the posturings of Douglas McArthur, his support from Henry Luce and Time magazine, and the pervasive lobbying power of the Nationalist Chinese and Chiang Kai-shek.
sleepyboi2988's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent book, I knew next to nothing about the Korean War and I picked this up at my local Habitat for Humanity and decided to rectify that situation. He expertly weaves the political backgrounds, the generals backgrounds, the strategic overviews, and the first hand accounts of the men on the ground into one flowing story. To understand the American politics behind the war he also presents the Russian, North Korean, and Chinese going ons as well. It is (as most books of this kind are) a sad read as well, the amount of human life wasted because of political aspirations and fear is horrible. Excellent in depth overview (if that makes sense) of the war in my opinion.
swoody788's review against another edition
4.0
Anticipating a slog, I was surprisingly engrossed with this one. Halberstam is an excellent writer, and learning the backstories of so many of the players in the Korean War really helped me to understand it better. MacArthur's hubris of pissing in the Yalu River just before being spanked by the Chinese must make for excellent propaganda in China. And the more I learn about Harry Truman, the more I like him.
scnole2021's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.5
myrto229's review against another edition
4.0
I originally tried to read this and didn't like it. But I gave it another chance and really liked it. It is not really a general history of the Korean war, but is a good history of the first winter of the war. According to the author, the first winter was the most important of the entire conflict, as it set the scene for all of the players. After the first winter, the conflict settled into the stalemate that eventually ended it.
The author did a good job situating the Korean war in the context of world history. The book summarizes how WW II was the ancestor of the Korean war, and how Vietnam was the logical successor.
The author did a good job situating the Korean war in the context of world history. The book summarizes how WW II was the ancestor of the Korean war, and how Vietnam was the logical successor.
comatose8911's review against another edition
4.0
I learned more about the Korean War in this book than all other interactions combined. It very much has a history-book vibe to it so it is full of information, but lacks long first-person viewpoints making it a bit dry sometimes. The author also has a tendency to repeat information often in the exact same way he did in a previous chapter. Otherwise, I have a whole new appreciation for the post WWII era and the politics that played heavily into the Korean War. It's amazing how different the political climate was just a few short years after WWII triumph.
rachelleahdorn's review against another edition
5.0
Wow.
This was a dense book but Halberstam does an amazing job of making dense material interesting and readable. The topic matters but his writing is what makes it possible to care.
I didn't know much about Korea. It just wasn't talked about in school or anywhere else when I was growing up or in college, even. This book puts Korea now and the Korean war in perspective but also gives a real sense of how the Korean war and politics of the time impacted the next big war--or should I say wars, because Halberstam makes the connection between Korea and Iraq, not just Vietnam.
Read this book. It will take you a while, but it is worth it.
This was a dense book but Halberstam does an amazing job of making dense material interesting and readable. The topic matters but his writing is what makes it possible to care.
I didn't know much about Korea. It just wasn't talked about in school or anywhere else when I was growing up or in college, even. This book puts Korea now and the Korean war in perspective but also gives a real sense of how the Korean war and politics of the time impacted the next big war--or should I say wars, because Halberstam makes the connection between Korea and Iraq, not just Vietnam.
Read this book. It will take you a while, but it is worth it.