A SHORT HISTORY OF THE KOREAN WAR

by James L. Stokesbury ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 24, 1988

A concise, perceptive recap of the 1950-53 ""police action"" that compares favorably with more detailed overviews, including Max Hasting's The Korean War (1987). As in previous works on both world wars, historian Stokesbury (Acadia Univ., Nova Scotia) crams vast amounts of information into a compact narrative. Having set the geopolitical stage for the mid-1950 invasion with a brief rundown on the land of the morning calm (which found itself partitioned rather than liberated in 1945), he offers tart commentary on the quicksilver campaigns that marked the penisular conflict's first year. MacArthur's amphibious assault on Inchen, for instance, and his subsequent failure to realize that Chinese ""volunteers"" had entered the fighting in force are both characterized as examples of ""imagination and insight over sound military logic."" While the final two years of the Korean War were an effective deadlock (along the 38th Parallel, where it all started), Stokesbury makes clear that the small-unit actions and set-piece battles fought by US/UN and Chinese/North Korean troops were every bit as bloody as the more purposeful strife preceding the start of peace talks at Kaesong during the summer of 1951. He also probes the important if not quite pivotal roles air and sea power played in the stalemated struggle. Covered as well are sideshow tests of will on POWs and related issues that had to be resolved while the superpowers took each other's measure in ceasefire negotiations. Nor does the author overlook some of the Korean War's less celebrated outcomes, including desegregation of America's armed services and Canada's first step out of the British (and into the US) orbit. A fine single-volume history of a war that Western leaders quickly decided was too risky to win in a traditional sense. The authoritative and absorbing text includes a comprehensive bibliography, plus seven maps (not seen).

Pub Date: Aug. 24, 1988

ISBN: 0688095135

Page Count: -

Publisher: Morrow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1988

Categories: NONFICTION