Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)When I found this book I did not have much interest in the Korean conflict, but since I enjoyed this author's history of WWII very much, I gave this book a try. I am glad I did. It explained the politics, the negotiations, the battles, some personalities and it was an enjoyable read. After reading this book, I read Henry Kissinger's Diplomacy. (Actually, I'm only about 2/3rds of the way through now. By the way, that is a truly excellent book.) The chapter in that book on the Korean War includes a discussion of the perspectives of the Chinese, Stalin, and N. Korea and the relations between these parties, whereas Stokesbury's book is basically just about the American goals, fears, etc. It is a pity that Stokesbury did not really explore these topics in this book, because it would have added so much more to our understanding of the story. Why did the Chinese get involved?; Could that have been prevented? What role did the Soviet Union play in encouraging the invasion? How did this conflict affect Sino-Soviet relatons? Whose idea was it to invade S. Korea anyway?; etc. Maybe the role of the Korean conflict in the overall containment of communism could also have been explored. Still, a very good book that accomplishes what it sets out to do very well.
The Korean conflict seems so contemporary in a way that earlier American wars do not. Think of N. Korea as Saddam's Iraq and you have a very contemporary story of trying to contain a dangerous rogue state, even if American leaders thought of their job more as containing communism.
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