The Korean War

A vivid and meticulous assessment of one of the most misunderstood episodes in recent history, this is a look back to the first war we could not win--not just the big picture, but also a look inside the experience of soldiers in the battle. 76 black-and-white photos. It was the first war we could not win. At no other time since World War II have two superpowers met in battle.

Now Max Hastings, preeminent military historian takes us back to the bloody bitter struggle to restore South Korean independence after the Communist invasion of June 1950. Using personal accounts from interviews with more than 200 vets--including the Chinese--Hastings follows real officers and soldiers through the battles. He brilliantly captures the Cold War crisis at home--the strategies and politics of Truman, Acheson, Marshall, MacArthur, Ridgway, and Bradley--and shows what we should have learned in the war that was the prelude to Vietnam.