The Korean War (Twentieth Century Wars) by Peter Lowe - 9780312233037 - Compare Discount Book Prices & Save up to 90%

This volume reassesses the origins, nature, and aftermath of the war which was fought in the Korean peninsula between 1950 and 1953. Attention is focused particularly on the extraordinary first year of the war, which witnessed profound variations in the fortune of both sides. This included the initial North Korean attack, the counter-offensive launched by the United States Command, China's dramatic entry into the war, the retreat of UN forces, the controversy over the conduct and dismissal of General MacArthur, and the decision to commence armistice negotiations.

		The Korean War (Twentieth Century Wars) by Peter Lowe ISBN-10: 9780312233037 ISBN-10: 0-312-23303-5 ISBN-13: 9780312233037 ISBN-13: 978-0-312-23303-7 Hardcover 2000-08-05 Palgrave Macmillan Find Lowest Price
Editorials

Product Description This volume reassesses the origins, nature, and aftermath of the war which was fought in the Korean peninsula between 1950 and 1953. Attention is focused particularly on the extraordinary first year of the war, which witnessed profound variations in the fortune of both sides. This included the initial North Korean attack, the counter-offensive launched by the United States Command, China's dramatic entry into the war, the retreat of UN forces, the controversy over the conduct and dismissal of General MacArthur, and the decision to commence armistice negotiations.
Book Description This volume reassesses the origins, nature, and aftermath of the war which was fought in the Korean peninsula between 1950 and 1953. Attention is focused particularly on the extraordinary first year of the war, which witnessed profound variations in the fortune of both sides. This included the initial North Korean attack, the counter-offensive launched by the United States Command, China's dramatic entry into the war, the retreat of UN forces, the controversy over the conduct and dismissal of General MacArthur, and the decision to commence armistice negotiations.
Reviews

Quite good, if you're mostly interested in diplomacy This book is essentially a diplomatic history of the war, including before, and a little after the fighting. After finishing reading the book, I checked back and judged that fewer than a dozen pages (less than ten percent of the book) discussed actual military operations. For example, Task Force Smith is not even mentioned, and the Inchon landing is covered in a couple of sentences. Similarly with the UN retreat after the Chinese intervention--from the book, I hardly knew it happened. Since I've read several books on the Korean War, I could fill in the blanks on the military moves, and I did learn much new about the diplomatic and political environment of the times. However, this book is in a series about 20th Century WARS, and I feel wars are more than just ten percent about fighting. Other books in the series certainly spend more time on combat. So my judgment is, if you want a good, brief introduction to the diplomatic background of the Korean War, get this book; if you want to learn something at all in depth about the military moves, you will need to get another book as well.