The Coldest Winter: America's Involvement in the Korean War

anthony: A thoroughly researched book by a master journalist . The forgotten war and what led up to the invasion and decision making to fight in our first Southeastern Asia war .

United States on Dec 08, 2023

Michael P. Dolan: Enjoyed this book. The author weaves a very detailed, personal account that factors in the military and the political challenges,, including the power of MacArthur in the twilight of his career.

United States on Nov 07, 2023

Warren: Door de publiciteit rond de herdenking van het einde van de Korea oorlog 70 jaar geleden, die vreselijk was en waarin 4700 Nederlandse vrijwilligers meevochten en 122 omkwamen, leek het goed om te weten wat er toen gebeurde en wat deze mensen hebben meegemaakt. En ik heb het aan veel mensen gevraagd, maar niemand weet dat hier 4 miljoen mensen sneuvelden. Ik kwam op dit boek door een goede recensie van Jan Blokker indertijd. Het boek is overwegend zeer pakkend, maar af en toe wel erg uitvoerig. Het is echter gemakkelijk stukjes over te slaan zonder de draad kwijt te raken en het is ook minder dik dan het lijkt door vele blz. noten aan het eind. Ik hoop dat meer mensen dit zullen lezen, want dit mag niet nog meer in de vergetelheid raken.

Netherlands on Sep 13, 2023

M Tucker: A small Asian nation, divided into a communist north and a non-communist south, commences a civil war with the communists attacking the south. The US decides to send ground combat formations to protect the south and the government they installed. The war is unpopular in the US and goes badly. It costs the President a chance at a second term. This is not Vietnam, this is Korea.

The Korean War is a very bitter memory for Americans. Even though a non-communist South Korea was preserved it was a very unpopular war in America, shortened Truman’s presidential aspirations, ended McArthur’s career, and set America on the endless task of eternal military protection for that nation.

I had always thought that Korea marked McArthur’s career peak with the Inchon landing and that the Chinese invasion had been a complete surprise. In other words, McArthur did not see that China was prepared to invade until it happened and his demand to use nuclear weapons was what got him fired. Now I know that I was half right and the half I got wrong was the most important part. McArthur knew. He ignorantly, arrogantly, underestimated the resolve of the PRC. He wasted American lives because...

United States on Jan 31, 2018

robertseguin: alway a pleasure to read Halberstam.This is one of the best books about the Korean War. We learn more about the conflict between Washington & the Far East Command led by MacCarthur. A very good read.

Canada on Jan 26, 2018

Rhenus51: Es handelt sich nicht um ein rein militärgeschichtliches Werk. Vielmehr widmet der Autor den politischen Hintergründen, der zeitgeschichtlichen Situation und den Persönlichkeiten der Hauptakteure breiten Raum, so z.B. der Stimmung in den USA in den Jahren nach dem 2. Weltkrieg - radikale Kürzung des Wehretats und drastische Verringerung der Truppenstärke sowie Unschlüssigkeit hinsichtlich der künftigen Rolle der USA in der Weltpolitik, Beginn des Kalten Krieges, kommunistische Machtübernahme in der Volksrepublik China, erste koloniale Befreiungskriege, um nur einige Schlagworte zu nennen. Selbstredend wird auch der Kriegsverlauf ausführlich dargestellt, wobei es dem Autor auch hier gelingt, Hintergründe sichtbar zu machen. Beispielsweise werden die Gründe für die amerikanischen Niederlagen zu Beginn des Krieges anschaulich herausgearbeitet. Die Darlegungen des Autors sind ungemein kenntnisreich und akribisch recherchiert. Er versteht sich darauf, komplexe Vorgänge und Szenarien für den Leser nachvollziehbar zu machen. Das Werk vermittelt profunde Einblicke in eine Epoche, deren Folgewirkungen bis in unsere Gegenwart spürbar bleiben.

Germany on Oct 09, 2017

Sabyasachi De: NICE BACKGROUND..NICE DESCRIPTION...NICE AUTHOR... DAVID HALBERSTAM HAS A GREAT ARTISTIC SKILLS IN HIS WRITING

India on Jan 20, 2017

Magnitude: As the first one-volume account of this war that I've read, I found that this book has a lot to recommend it. I know that I learned a lot from it.

Halberstam skillfully combines first-hand interviews and existing second-hand sources to weave an interesting, thoughtful narrative that not only tells the story of the war (mainly its first year), but also provides some thoughtful, higher themes. He's written one of the better general histories about a war that I've read.

He covers much territory, and gives gripping combat descriptions that show what the everyday soldiers (primarily Americans) went through. Halberstam's eye for detail, and his ability to pull these stories out of men who largely have been reluctant to tell their stories to nonveterans, is commendable. In keeping with "The Best and the Brightest," he seems particularly fascinated with the foibles of the higher ups, and in this regard he covers all 4 main combatants well, with a special emphasis on the Chinese and American leaders, primarily through the use of their memoirs and diaries.

It may have been the "coldest" or "bitterest" winter of the Coldest War. As Stalin shored up his eastern border in...

United States on Jan 14, 2015

m j bailey: I like the writing of David Halberstam. At its best it is magisterial in its sweep and the 'helicopter' approach of recording and recounting events at both the highest and lowest levels of action makes it for me the ideal sort of reading material. I did not know a lot about the Korean War but Halberstam has in this work placed on the record for all time the sacrifices that were made by the men on the front line and the arrogant stupidity of some of the Senior Command involved in the decision making process which ended up causing the needless deaths of so many men.

This book should be mandatory reading for all OCS entrants in the US military and beyond.

United Kingdom on Feb 21, 2013