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 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. ( )

Really 3.75.... ( )

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 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. ( )

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. 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. ( )

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 general reader about the reasons for and consequences of the war, but does not provide this in great depth. ( )