Status
Available
Publication
New York : Simon and Schuster, c1987.
Description
Chronicles the Korean War with over 200 interviews of veterans, including the Chinese.
User reviews
LibraryThing member nbmars
Hastings hopes to remedy the neglect with which historians have treated the Korean War. He contends that, "above all, perhaps, Korea merits close consideration as a military rehearsal for the subsequent disaster in Vietnam." Indeed, in his detailed history of the conflict, he draws many parallels
The Korean War was accompanied by some critically important side-dramas: Truman versus MacArthur, the Allies' fears of both McArthur and McCarthy, China versus the Soviet Union, the questionable fate of Formosa, and the decision to use -or not to use - atomic weapons in tactical maneuvers. All of these issues are given illuminating coverage by Hastings. Among his sobering conclusions was the observation that in spite of many examples of personal bravery, the performance of the U.S. Army - at least in the first year of fighting - "ranged between moderate and deplorable." Behavior of Army prisoners of war was not much better. Furthermore, many Americans exhibited arrogance, insensitivity, and paternalism in their treatment of Koreans. In fact, he suggests, Americans had much more respect for the Chinese, whose infantrymen were considered to be excellent fighters.
Hastings is scrupulously fair in his assessment of both U.S. and Chinese motives for fighting in Korea. Although he tries to convey fully the frustration Americans felt by having political limits placed on their military power, he does not hesitate to express his own gratitute that nuclear weapons were not used. He deplores the behavior of Syngman Rhee and his support by the U.S., but declares him and his regime "infinitely better than anything attainable under Kim Il Sung." One minor quibble would be that the scanty maps are inadequate. A recommended companion piece while reading this very good book is the Oxford Atlas of American Military History.
(JAF)
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to the ill-fated war in Indochina. (Especially poignant: the reference to "the ferocious struggles that cost thousands of men on both sides their lives in pursuit of hill numbers or map references.") The book is well-written and stays interesting; his minute-by-minute eyewitness recollections from the front are as riveting as they are grim. The Korean War was accompanied by some critically important side-dramas: Truman versus MacArthur, the Allies' fears of both McArthur and McCarthy, China versus the Soviet Union, the questionable fate of Formosa, and the decision to use -or not to use - atomic weapons in tactical maneuvers. All of these issues are given illuminating coverage by Hastings. Among his sobering conclusions was the observation that in spite of many examples of personal bravery, the performance of the U.S. Army - at least in the first year of fighting - "ranged between moderate and deplorable." Behavior of Army prisoners of war was not much better. Furthermore, many Americans exhibited arrogance, insensitivity, and paternalism in their treatment of Koreans. In fact, he suggests, Americans had much more respect for the Chinese, whose infantrymen were considered to be excellent fighters.
Hastings is scrupulously fair in his assessment of both U.S. and Chinese motives for fighting in Korea. Although he tries to convey fully the frustration Americans felt by having political limits placed on their military power, he does not hesitate to express his own gratitute that nuclear weapons were not used. He deplores the behavior of Syngman Rhee and his support by the U.S., but declares him and his regime "infinitely better than anything attainable under Kim Il Sung." One minor quibble would be that the scanty maps are inadequate. A recommended companion piece while reading this very good book is the Oxford Atlas of American Military History.
(JAF)
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LibraryThing member GShuk
I stopped listening about a third of the way through. While there were many great incites into the war and politics that surrounded it he went into way too much detail of the actual day to day fighting to keep me interested.
LibraryThing member Hebephrene
An extremely readable history of the conflict. The strength here is the inclusion of his interviews with 200 people including some Chinese, British soldiers and Korean non combatants. The book is fairly compressed however and feels rushed at times. Hastings writes for those who are more familiar
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with military nomenclature and consequently some of the descriptions of battles are confusing. The action is not well blocked and we realize that things are being summarized to an extent that robs us a real understanding of what the experience was like. Also through no fault of the author the book is dated not only because he skips over the McArthur dismissal (because everyone knows about it) but also because he is writing during a period in which the Soviet Union still existed and previous to the Chinese adoption of the capitalist/communist hybrid. So discussions about whether our not it was a good decision not to nuke China are terrifying. However, the book is very good on outlining the way the Korean conflict set up Vietnam. Hastings is very clear about the lessons not learned and he is scrupulously fair when it comes to outlining what went wrong in Korea. I was, or had forgotten just how despicable Rhee was and how much he contributed to the quagmire. It is also an extraordinary window into the early bellicosity of the GOP - a trait we still have swirling around us even after Iraq. Show Less
LibraryThing member LynnB
Max Hastings is a very good writer. In this book, he writes about the experiences of those involved in the Korean war. Talking about on-the-ground experiences is something this author does so well, really bringing the feel of the battle to the reader. He provides just enough background for the
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general reader about the reasons for and consequences of the war, but does not provide this in great depth. Show Less
LibraryThing member tbrennan1
Excellent narrative history of the Korean War. The author uses "first-hand" accounts of those who fought in that conflict on both sides to arrive at a re-assessment of this war. He naturally "highlights" some actions of British troops including the stand of the" Gloucesters" on the Imjin in 1951.
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He is full of praise for the fighting retreat of the US Marines from the Chosin reservoir ,while scathing of the actions of the 8th Army leadership in failing to comprehend the Chinese threat of "intervention" in the conflict. A good read. Show Less
LibraryThing member addunn3
The author reviews many aspects of the Korean War. Good explanation of what happened and how we (US) conducted the war on behalf of the UN. It has been 30 years since the book was written and some of his observations/biases become glaringly apparent. In the forward he pretty much established his
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opinion of how he saw the war. I would rather he had stated facts, first hand observations, and any relevant information and let the reader make that assessment - at least until the concluding chapter. Show Less
LibraryThing member santhony
I read a broad assortment of genre, from science fiction, to biography to literary fiction. One of my favorites is history and military history in particular. In reviewing my library, I noted a couple of works by Max Hastings and noted that I had rated them very highly.
His book, Retribution, was
Sadly, this was nowhere near quality of the two books cited above. Consider, Retribution, which deals with only the final year in the Pacific theater, clocks in at a hardcover 688 pages. His book on the Vietnam War extends for almost 900 hardcover pages. This book on the Korean War is a paperback 389 pages. Simply too short and cursory a treatment for such an important event.
It is not a terrible book, but would serve as more of a beginner’s guide to the conflict. It gives you all the important events and personalities, but little of the detail that made the earlier two books so outstanding.
His book, Retribution, was
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an outstanding treatment of the final year of the World War II Pacific theater. Vietnam, an Epic Tragedy, was equally as well done. That being the case, I purchased a couple of other Hastings works, including this treatment of the Korean War. Sadly, this was nowhere near quality of the two books cited above. Consider, Retribution, which deals with only the final year in the Pacific theater, clocks in at a hardcover 688 pages. His book on the Vietnam War extends for almost 900 hardcover pages. This book on the Korean War is a paperback 389 pages. Simply too short and cursory a treatment for such an important event.
It is not a terrible book, but would serve as more of a beginner’s guide to the conflict. It gives you all the important events and personalities, but little of the detail that made the earlier two books so outstanding.
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