FORGOTTEN WAR

Rating:
Summary: a qualified great accomplishment
Review: A very finely written book, that delves into the people that shaped the war. The first chapter, that deals with all the characters and events that broght about the demobilization of the armed forces after WWII is absolutely riveting. The final chapter on the settlement talks is also as comprehensive as any book on the subject that I've read. Throughout the book, there is great attention to all the figures that shaped the war. There is only one caveat. That is, the bulk of the book on the war itself, is a case of overkill. I literally found myself skimming parts, simply because it seemed like I had read it all before. While technially a great achievement. I think that a 500 page book, with the first and last parts left intact, may have had a greater impact. Nonetheless, this is a definite must read on this war.

Rating:
Summary: The Real Story told by a Real Soldier
Review: Korea was a tragedy. What makes it such a great tragedy is that so many men died and suffered due to the incompetence and egos of men like Douglas McArthur who was rarely if ever under fire or understood the big picture what he was throwing men into. Yet it was a real success of sorts as the Koreans did want us --unlike Vietnam -- and we did succeed in keeping half of Korea as a free democratic (such as it is) country. Unlike Vietnam, we bothered to listen to those we were there to help and our objectives were highly compatible, definable and achievable. Precisely because they wanted to be free and not because of force of arms they were free. The will to be free was the real weapon, the force of arms was the means or one means to get there. This book gives a highly factual accurate riveting account of what was at stake in the world, for Korea, for us, for Japan, etc. and shows how important the actions of individuals - omissions (e.g., McArthur's weak G-2) and commissions (Matt Ridgway's real leadership of the men after McArthur's dismissal) can be to the outcome in history. The landing at Inchon was probably the luckiest landing in history and it made McArthur look good, but it was not the key to what eventually happened. Read on. You will be amazed how poor our intelligence was, how poorly equipped in the way of weaponry and clothing our men were. How nieve many of our commanders and McArthur was about the greatly limited ability to use tanks and heavy artillary (Korea is a rugged tough, mountainess country, not the rolling hills of WWII European mainland. Korea was perfect for ambushing and massacring larger forces. If you want the inspiring and heart wrenching truth of Korea told in a highly readable book, then this one is for you and all lovers of those who attempt to write accurate history (i.e., complete, factual renderings of the key parties, feelings, actions, and philosophies involved).

Rating:
Summary: Exhaustive command history of a forgotten war...
Review: The Forgotten War: America in Korea is an exhaustive study of command level combat in Korea. While the title claims to cover the war for 1950 thru its conclusion in 1953, in reality only perhaps 25 pages cover the last two years of the war.
Blair states in his introduction that he was especially interested in command level decisions, and the influence of West Pointers in specific. There is very little detail of 'soldier's stories' or any popular or oral history. To some degree, this renders the book a bit sterile although the combat descriptions, especially quite early in the conflict during the retreat to the Pusan perimeter, are thrilling. Further, every time a new commander is introduced, Blair gives a short biographical sketch. I found these redundant and annoying later on in the book. Further, Blair is not shy about criticizing political decisions behind the policy decisions. In particular, his treatment of Truman, many of Truman's political appointees, and MacArthur is scathing. To be fair, while Blair shows eventual Eighth Army commander and MacArthur's replacement, General Ridgeway, as a true hero, to the author's credit he does not refrain from criticizing Ridgeway for dangerously obstructionist behavior during the eventual peace talks. True or not, a lot of this criticism would be more effective had some attempt been made to give a 'man in the trench' perspective. Blair gives a lot of detail of Medal of Honor recipients, but not much besides that.
The basic criticism of the book is that Korea was not a vital part of America's strategic design, and that the decision to intervene was done without thought to preparedness or ramifications. According the Blair, Truman resented, mistrusted and then gutted the military... and then sent them to Korea with little thought as to 'why.' Its an interesting thought, and reading the book I couldn't stop thinking of the parallels to the present. MacArthur is treated as just being publicity hungry, irresponsible and past his prime. It doesn't sound serious until you consider the number of corpses left behind. The book never touches the interesting question of was, given 20-20 hindsight, the war a success? The U.S. didn't win per se, but South Korea is certainly a success story. I suppose each person is left to himself to reach his own conclusion as to whether it was worth it. In any case, despite the massive size, and lack of 'personal' perspectives to the war, The Forgotten War is well worth the trouble. I don't think I ever fully understood the war until after I read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Exhaustive command history of a forgotten war...
Review: The Forgotten War: America in Korea is an exhaustive study of command level combat in Korea. While the title claims to cover the war for 1950 thru its conclusion in 1953, in reality only perhaps 25 pages cover the last two years of the war.
Blair states in his introduction that he was especially interested in command level decisions, and the influence of West Pointers in specific. There is very little detail of 'soldier's stories' or any popular or oral history. To some degree, this renders the book a bit sterile although the combat descriptions, especially quite early in the conflict during the retreat to the Pusan perimeter, are thrilling. Further, every time a new commander is introduced, Blair gives a short biographical sketch. I found these redundant and annoying later on in the book. Further, Blair is not shy about criticizing political decisions behind the policy decisions. In particular, his treatment of Truman, many of Truman's political appointees, and MacArthur is scathing. To be fair, while Blair shows eventual Eighth Army commander and MacArthur's replacement, General Ridgeway, as a true hero, to the author's credit he does not refrain from criticizing Ridgeway for dangerously obstructionist behavior during the eventual peace talks. True or not, a lot of this criticism would be more effective had some attempt been made to give a 'man in the trench' perspective. Blair gives a lot of detail of Medal of Honor recipients, but not much besides that.
The basic criticism of the book is that Korea was not a vital part of America's strategic design, and that the decision to intervene was done without thought to preparedness or ramifications. According the Blair, Truman resented, mistrusted and then gutted the military... and then sent them to Korea with little thought as to 'why.' Its an interesting thought, and reading the book I couldn't stop thinking of the parallels to the present. MacArthur is treated as just being publicity hungry, irresponsible and past his prime. It doesn't sound serious until you consider the number of corpses left behind. The book never touches the interesting question of was, given 20-20 hindsight, the war a success? The U.S. didn't win per se, but South Korea is certainly a success story. I suppose each person is left to himself to reach his own conclusion as to whether it was worth it. In any case, despite the massive size, and lack of 'personal' perspectives to the war, The Forgotten War is well worth the trouble. I don't think I ever fully understood the war until after I read this book.

Rating:
Summary: A very detailed book...
Review: This book on the Korean War is very complete and very detailed. The book gets down to the battalion level, getting into the battles, the cold, the terror, the heroism and the mistakes. It even touches on the treatment of the black soldiers within the American units. The only problem a reader might have is the amount of details. It is 1136 pages long, the first 976 pages cover the war, the last hundred or so covering sources and notes.
While there are few pictures, each one is powerful, no doubt carefully selected.

Rating:
Summary: A very detailed book...
Review: This book on the Korean War is very complete and very detailed. The book gets down to the battalion level, getting into the battles, the cold, the terror, the heroism and the mistakes. It even touches on the treatment of the black soldiers within the American units. The only problem a reader might have is the amount of details. It is 1136 pages long, the first 976 pages cover the war, the last hundred or so covering sources and notes.
While there are few pictures, each one is powerful, no doubt carefully selected.

Rating:
Summary: COMPREHENSIVE ORDER OF BATTLE AND UNIT HISTORY INFORMATION
Review: This book reflects a colossal effort at detailing virtually a day by day and unit by unit account of the Korean conflict. If you need to know what happened in Korea at a particular time or place or to a particular military unit or commander, this book will tell you. Although well written and organized, I personally was bothered by the author's emphasis on the command level personalities and actions. This book could more accurately be titled 'A History of West Point Graduates and Their Careers in Relation to the Korean Conflict'. Reading this book could leave the impression that there were no enlisted men, non-commissioned officers or field grade officers involved in the war. Excepting mention of Medal of Honor recipients during the conflict, there is very little use of personal accounts or activities of participants below the rank of colonel. The author's ritual of calculating average ages of commanders during every command change was at first irrelevant and then became irritating. I also would have appreciated inclusion of a little more contextural information along with the battle outlines. Despite an enormous amount of command and maneuver information, very little information is included on weapons systems, civilian populations, and the opponent forces and strategy in North Korea, China, and the Soviet Union.

Rating:
Summary: A thorough history and a must-read
Review: While very long and very detailed, Blair proves himself by not leaving anything out. What is most impressive about this book is how Blair seamlessly transitions from discussions within the National Command Authority to battalion and brigade-level combat. It took me a few months to get through this one, but it was well worth the time. Superbly written for the lay historian.