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 long-misunderstood war, one that risks involving the world’s superpowers—again. Her sweeping narrative ranges from the middle of World War II, 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. Drawing on newly accessible diplomatic archives and reports from South Korea’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Jager not only analyzes top-level military strategy but also depicts the on-the-ground atrocities committed by both sides that have never before been revealed.
The most accessible, up-to-date, and balanced account yet written, rich with maps and illustrations, Brothers at War will become the definitive chronicle of the struggle’s origins, aftermath, and global impact for years to come.
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"This is a magnificent book—deeply researched and written with real feeling and insight into the complex internal and external conditions that produced a brutal war and perpetuated Korea’s division to the present day." William W. Stueck, professor emeritus, University of Georgia
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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 of the Korean peninsula since the Second World War." Akira Iriye, Charles Warren Research Professor of American History, Harvard University
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"Sheila Miyoshi Jager has managed an astounding feat—an extremely readable yet rigorously objective and brilliantly researched history of the Korean War from all sides." Rana Mitter, professor of the history and politics of modern China, Oxford University
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"Jager . . . skillfully covers international affairs, politics, and society in a first-rate comprehensive presentation of all the big issues facing North and South Korea." Ezra F. Vogel, Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences Emeritus, Harvard University
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"This book is the best one-volume study of the war in all its cultural, political, and military aspects." 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 compelling human story." Carter J. Eckert, Yoon Se Young Professor of Korean History, Harvard University
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"A stark reminder that… the Korean War is far from over… This gripping book at last gives the big picture and the full story of a tragic and terrible conflict." Aidan Foster-Carter, Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Sociology & Modern Korea, Leeds University, UK
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"Essential reading for all students of recent North and South Korean history. Though scholarly and meticulously researched, the book is written in prose that is accessible to experts and novices alike." Library Journal
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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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"Superb." Mark Atwood Lawrence
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"Magisterial history." New York Times Book Review
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"Sheila Miyoshi Jager's does an exceptionally good job of bringing the conflict to life, and in ways not always comfortable for today's readers." Andrew J. 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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"An important contribution to Cold War scholarship." Paul French
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"An important contribution to the literature on this conflict... highly recommended." J.P. O'Malley Toronto Star
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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." William Donnelly Military History Quarterly
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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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" 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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"[A] magisterial history of the Korean War." The Wall Street Journal
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"Superb... Elegant and balanced." Andrew Nathan Foreign Affairs
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"Compelling [and] wonderfully researched." J.P. O'Malley Toronto Star
Synopsis
A major historical account of the Korean War, its origins, and its evolving impact on the world.
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.