The Korean War by Christopher Chant

The Korean War by Christopher Chant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book on the Korean War is part of a larger series called the "The Military History of the United States". It is relatively short in length with a mix of text, illustrations, maps and photograph. As the series title may foretell it focuses primarily though it does give some historical background that lead up to the war itself. At a relatively short 136 pages it seems to give a concise summation of the war rather than a thoroughly comprehensive history of the war. It does provide the basics of what happened for those that are unfamiliar or new to the subject. It provides a decent starting point for those looking into this event. After this I'd recommend "The Korean War" by Max Hastings and "The Coldest Winter" by David Halberstam which are more in depth.

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The Korean War by Max Hastings

The Korean War by Max Hastings
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After finish this I could help but see this as a precursor to American War in Vietnam in flared up in the following decade. It is often the conflict that receives less attention(at least in the United States) than it should squeezed in between World War 2 and Vietnam. Perhaps because it was perceived as a draw with no obvious winner could be declared. Even veteran's were treated differently who came home. In World War 2 servicemen received ticker tape parades . Fast forward to the Vietnam veterans getting yelled or spat upon the Korean veteran's were often unrecognized or just blended back in society with little or no fanfare other than perhaps their immediate family or friends.

It also seemed that the United States learned little from the Korean War with a high industrialized nation fighting against an underdeveloped agricultural nation who just gained it's sovereignty relatively recently much like Vietnam a generation later. Also add in that both counties(Vietnam and Korea) had leadership that was barely any better than the Communists that were trying to take over.

This is a decent book that covers a war that should be more recognized. It has a blend of on the ground military action, what the General's see, what the politicians see and then the folks back home. I have to admit even being a U.S. History buff I knew little details of the war itself. The author also dives into subjects like POW's on either side, undercover action behind the lines of battle. It was also interesting to listen to it from an English perspective on what is mostly perceived (at least in America) as an American effort where the contributions from other nations especially since the action was under (at least officially) as a United Nations banner. The book in general gives a good overall picture of the war especially if you knew little of it before.



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