Synopses & Reviews
Sixty years after North Korean troops crossed the 38th parallel into South Korea, the Korean War has not yet ended. Sheila Miyoshi Jager presents the first comprehensive history of this misunderstood war, one that risks involving the world's superpowers--again. Her sweeping narrative ranges from the middle of the Second World War--when Korean independence was fiercely debated between Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill--to the present day, as North Korea, with China's aid, stockpiles nuclear weapons while starving its people. At the center of this conflict is an ongoing struggle between North and South Korea for the mantle of Korean legitimacy, a "brother's war," which continues to fuel tensions on the Korean peninsula and the region.
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" does an exceptionally good job of bringing the conflict to life, and in ways not always comfortable for today's reader." Eliot A. Cohen
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"“An important contribution to the literature . . . highly recommended." Military History Quarterly
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"Compelling [and] wonderfully researched." New Internationalist
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"An important contribution to Cold War scholarship." Paul French
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"A magnificent book--deeply researched and written with real feeling and insight." Literary Review
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"The author's judicious use of new material in several languages as well as her balanced way of presentation make this book an authoritative and accessible history." William W. Stueck, professor emeritus, University of Georgia
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"Essential reading. . . .
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"An astounding feat--an extremely readable yet rigorously objective and brilliantly researched history." Joshua Wallace Library Journal
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"Skillfully covers international affairs, politics and society . . . first-rate." Rana Mitter, professor of the history and politics of modern China, Oxford University
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"The best one-volume study of the war in all its cultural, political, and military aspects." Ezra F. Vogel, Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences Emeritus, Harvard University
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"Ms. Jager has written the most balanced and comprehensive account of the Korean war. Perhaps by chronicling the brutal deeds of this "forgotten war", this book will help lay them to rest." Allan R. Millett, University Research Professor and Ambrose Professor of History, University of New Orleans, and Raymond E. Mason Jr. Professor Emeritus of History, The Ohio State University
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"Written in lucid narrative prose with an eye for the telling detail and a compelling human story." The Economist
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"[A] magisterial history of the Korean War." Carter J. Eckert, Yoon Se Young Professor of Korean History, Harvard University
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"Superb... Elegant and balanced." Andrew Nathan Foreign Affairs
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"This gripping narrative is a superb study of how the battle fought between two nations, and the world's three major superpowers, over the 38th parallel--on the Korean Peninsula--molded the zeitgeist for global politics in the latter half of the 20th century." Mark Atwood Lawrence New York Times Book Review
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"Jager has produced an excellent, lucid and original contribution to the literature on the Korean peninsula based on extensive research in international archives and reference to a vast body of secondary literature. It is a must read for all who are interested in the topic." J.P. O'Malley Toronto Star
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"An authoritative record of the divided Korean peninsula." Zhihua Shen, East China Normal University China Quarterly
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"An ambitious, engrossing, and often disturbing history of the conflict... Superbly researched...an essential tool in understanding the current crisis." Kirkus Reviews
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"Insightful, in-depth, and much needed, this book is required reading for anyone who hopes to understand the situation in Korea." Jay Freeman Booklist
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"The best single volume on the Korean War... If one has any curiosity about the Korean War as a formidable event in modern Asian history... is the book to read." Publishers Weekly
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"Ms Jager has written the most balanced and comprehensive account of the Korean war. Perhaps by chronicling the brutal deeds of this "forgotten war", this book will help lay them to rest." The Economist
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"[A] magisterial history of the Korean War." The Wall Street Journal
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"Compelling [and] wonderfully researched." J.P. O'Malley Toronto Star
Synopsis
"The most balanced and comprehensive account of the Korean War."--
About the Author
Sheila Miyoshi Jager earned her PhD in anthropology from the University of Chicago. She has written extensively on modern and contemporary Korean politics and history and is the author and coeditor of two previous books on Korea and East Asia. She is an associate professor and director of the East Asian program at Oberlin College in Ohio, where she lives with her husband and children.