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A review by michellewords
Becoming Kim Jong Un: A Former CIA Officer's Insights into North Korea's Enigmatic Young Dictator by Jung H. Pak
4.0
Publication day!
Becoming Kim Jong Un drew me in with the title, cover, and description. I knew next to nothing about the North Korean leader besides what craziness I heard via various news outlets.
This book was almost exactly what I expected and wanted from a book with that kind of title. It's a book that begins with a cultural history lesson about North Korea from it's creation and I don't mean that in a boring way. It's a really interesting look into the country with such an intense history.
Then we learn about the leaders of North Korea and their personal histories up through Kim Jong Un.
In the final section there is an attempted analysis of Kim Jong Un as a person and character with his goals and expectations. Then it takes a sharp turn into U.S. politics and foreign policy regarding North Korea.
The first two sections were so interesting and the writing was very well done. At times the short little tid bits read like a collection of stories (very terrifying and uncomfortable, nightmarish stories). At time I laughed out loud-not because it was funny-but because with my U.S. history and upbringing it sounded absolutely as insane and unreal.
The final section brought the book down for me a lot. I picked up the book because of my interest in understanding and learning about Kim Jong Un. It became very preachy about the future of dealing with North Korea. I agree that is important, but I feel like that belongs in an afterword or something. I would have enjoyed a better summary of Kim Jong Un at the end instead of U.S. focus.
I still really enjoyed this book and would recommend to anyone with interest in foreign leaders and who they are.
Becoming Kim Jong Un drew me in with the title, cover, and description. I knew next to nothing about the North Korean leader besides what craziness I heard via various news outlets.
This book was almost exactly what I expected and wanted from a book with that kind of title. It's a book that begins with a cultural history lesson about North Korea from it's creation and I don't mean that in a boring way. It's a really interesting look into the country with such an intense history.
Then we learn about the leaders of North Korea and their personal histories up through Kim Jong Un.
In the final section there is an attempted analysis of Kim Jong Un as a person and character with his goals and expectations. Then it takes a sharp turn into U.S. politics and foreign policy regarding North Korea.
The first two sections were so interesting and the writing was very well done. At times the short little tid bits read like a collection of stories (very terrifying and uncomfortable, nightmarish stories). At time I laughed out loud-not because it was funny-but because with my U.S. history and upbringing it sounded absolutely as insane and unreal.
The final section brought the book down for me a lot. I picked up the book because of my interest in understanding and learning about Kim Jong Un. It became very preachy about the future of dealing with North Korea. I agree that is important, but I feel like that belongs in an afterword or something. I would have enjoyed a better summary of Kim Jong Un at the end instead of U.S. focus.
I still really enjoyed this book and would recommend to anyone with interest in foreign leaders and who they are.