Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
This guy hates communists like I pretend to hate communists: a whole lot. It's actually a very good history of the Korean War. Since it was published in 1963, Fehrenbach offers a much greater sense of the moment than some latter day, albeit excellent in their own right, histories of this conflict like Halberstam's "The Coldest Winter;" I had a much stronger sense of how a rational, informed observer saw the course of events in 1963. I think that's part of the reason MacArthur comes out looking as good as he does; his status as the man who won the Pacific probably still loomed much larger than it does today and helped people look past the arrogance.
While there are some fairly broad statements about race and culture that probably wouldn't fly today, Fehrenbach is an evenhanded writer. His statements about the softness of American men and youth of that era are not mean-spirited, but are striking when seen in contrast with another book I'm reading called "Imperial Grunts" about Marines and Army Special Forces in the early 2000s, many of whom see their fellow young people as soft and unpatriotic, unlike them and their fore-bearers. I wonder what some of them would say when confronted with the truth of how American society viewed and responded (which is to say, poorly) to fighting foreign wars for unclear reasons?
An excellent read on a largely forgotten war that has insights relevant to today and the similar wars our armed forces are often called upon to fight today.
While there are some fairly broad statements about race and culture that probably wouldn't fly today, Fehrenbach is an evenhanded writer. His statements about the softness of American men and youth of that era are not mean-spirited, but are striking when seen in contrast with another book I'm reading called "Imperial Grunts" about Marines and Army Special Forces in the early 2000s, many of whom see their fellow young people as soft and unpatriotic, unlike them and their fore-bearers. I wonder what some of them would say when confronted with the truth of how American society viewed and responded (which is to say, poorly) to fighting foreign wars for unclear reasons?
An excellent read on a largely forgotten war that has insights relevant to today and the similar wars our armed forces are often called upon to fight today.
I could really do without the narrator using offensive "stereotypical" Asian accents. Reading the print version might have been better. There is also a huge amount of time where just politics and philosophy are discussed that I just didn't care for. I really don't see what it had to do with the history of the Korean War at all, and it just seemed like the author was complaining.
A unique book capturing the conduct of the Korean War from a tactical perspective. The historical aspect aside (which you will undoubtedly be able to get from thousands of books out there written about the Korean War), this book reads like one massively-long news article, almost colloquial in its entirety, the like of which I doubt we will see in today's history books.
As for the history aspect, this book spared no criticism on how we blundered our way through the Korean War, from troops' unpreparedness, the leadership's failure to understand our enemy, to us failing to understand the broader Communistic strategic picture. Despite that, the book also did a superb job at documenting our troops' ability and resiliency at overcoming these tremendous odds.
I would recommend it to anyone who's interested in learning more about the Korean War from a soldier's perspective, as well as anyone looking to learn about our "lessons learned" during the three year conflict.
As for the history aspect, this book spared no criticism on how we blundered our way through the Korean War, from troops' unpreparedness, the leadership's failure to understand our enemy, to us failing to understand the broader Communistic strategic picture. Despite that, the book also did a superb job at documenting our troops' ability and resiliency at overcoming these tremendous odds.
I would recommend it to anyone who's interested in learning more about the Korean War from a soldier's perspective, as well as anyone looking to learn about our "lessons learned" during the three year conflict.
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Fresh out of listening to the ken burns geoffrey c ward audiobook on the vietnam war, I was in the mood to learn more US history that got overlooked in my education. The aforementioned audiobook made many references to the korean war, but it was something that i remain largely ignorant of. I came to this audiobook looking for a similar experience, getting an idea of the war, the politics surrounding it, and the people involved. This book is very much not in the same vein as the ken burns book.
To start, this book was written ten years after the Korean war, in 1963. Which is kind of interesting, considering it was published while the vietnam war was going on, which even unconsciously must have had an impact on the author.
It’s pretty easy to see how dated this book is, from the unapologetic and unflinching use of slurs to the pretty insulting and demeaning ways of describing korea and koreans (i get it man, the rice paddies were STINKING).
Not only this, but the thesis of this book is very different from the ken burns book. The vietnam book was a more wholistic view of the war, from the politics, the public view, and accounts from soldiers and civilians from BOTH sides. What i was most struck by was the amount of empathy displayed in the account. There book did a good job of illustrating everything that made up the conflict and how one thing led to another. I felt like the general aim of the book was to teach people about the conflict and then to ask why it happened and what it was all for. This book does not do any of that as far as I can tell. This book still lives in the 1960s, when the US was still “the good guy” doing the right thing and standing up to the villainous commies. This book doesn’t ask questions about why we’re fighting, nor does it explore the unethical methods of war being utilized. This book is firmly a military book, start to finish. We drop in at the start of the fight and learn all about the different battles and skirmishes, and that’s it.
I don’t mean to disparage this book. I’m sure if you are into thorough accounts of war, this is right up your alley. But this really was not the book that i was looking for. Definitely a good source for people looking for accounts from the Korean war given by soldiers, but not the best for someone looking for bigger picture narratives of the Korean war.
To start, this book was written ten years after the Korean war, in 1963. Which is kind of interesting, considering it was published while the vietnam war was going on, which even unconsciously must have had an impact on the author.
It’s pretty easy to see how dated this book is, from the unapologetic and unflinching use of slurs to the pretty insulting and demeaning ways of describing korea and koreans (i get it man, the rice paddies were STINKING).
Not only this, but the thesis of this book is very different from the ken burns book. The vietnam book was a more wholistic view of the war, from the politics, the public view, and accounts from soldiers and civilians from BOTH sides. What i was most struck by was the amount of empathy displayed in the account. There book did a good job of illustrating everything that made up the conflict and how one thing led to another. I felt like the general aim of the book was to teach people about the conflict and then to ask why it happened and what it was all for. This book does not do any of that as far as I can tell. This book still lives in the 1960s, when the US was still “the good guy” doing the right thing and standing up to the villainous commies. This book doesn’t ask questions about why we’re fighting, nor does it explore the unethical methods of war being utilized. This book is firmly a military book, start to finish. We drop in at the start of the fight and learn all about the different battles and skirmishes, and that’s it.
I don’t mean to disparage this book. I’m sure if you are into thorough accounts of war, this is right up your alley. But this really was not the book that i was looking for. Definitely a good source for people looking for accounts from the Korean war given by soldiers, but not the best for someone looking for bigger picture narratives of the Korean war.
Really dry and difficult read due to military jargon and terminology (if you aren’t used to it), but a very good accounting of the period of the war and what led to it.
Holds lessons about warfare at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels that are still relevant today. Told marvelously, though I took away one star for some sections being repetitive.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
Now I think I know why they call Korea the forgotten war.
This Kind of War showed flashes of brilliance in its insightful commentary and and uncannily accurate predictions. Unfortunately much of Fehrenbach's conclusions were redundant and his accounts of events of the war itself often lacked the detail that makes military history so fascinating.
This Kind of War showed flashes of brilliance in its insightful commentary and and uncannily accurate predictions. Unfortunately much of Fehrenbach's conclusions were redundant and his accounts of events of the war itself often lacked the detail that makes military history so fascinating.
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced