The Great Leader and the Fighter Pilot

February 2, 2015
Harden delivers another page-turner about a North Korean who got out alive, despite staggering odds, in this real-life thriller that unfolds during the Korean War. (The author’s previous title, Escape from Camp 14, about Shin Dong-hyuk, a North Korean political prisoner who escaped from a concentration camp, generated some controversy recently when the author and publisher admitted that parts of the bestselling book are inaccurate, due to false representations on the part of Dong-hyuk.) Harden weaves together narratives of “Great Leader” Kim Il Sung and No Kum Sok, who harbored a childhood dream of coming to the U.S., even though “at 19 he became the youngest jet fighter pilot on either side of the Korean War.” The book opens with brief bios of both men, covering the battles and No’s defection. Although the title is a tip-off to a happy resolution, No’s road to the West is a circuitous one that starts with the U.S. secretly promoting a financial reward for defection, dubbed Operation Moolah, in Communist nations shortly after Stalin’s death in 1953. With access to No and newly released intelligence, Harden presents fresh insights into North Korea.

January 1, 2015
The carnage of war, the rise of a dictator and one North Korean defector's life story all come together in this combination of biography, military history and expose.Harden (Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West, 2012, etc.) skillfully fuses all his narrative threads into one united chronicle. In narrating the rise of North Korea's first communist dictator, Kim Il Sung, Harden ties Kim's story to that of defector No Kum Sok. The once-privileged son of a factory owner under Japanese rule, No disliked communism and its constraints from the start and began planning his escape the first time he heard Kim speak in person. No spent five years pretending to be zealously committed to the party in order to protect himself long enough to put his plan into action. He joined the navy and volunteered to become a fighter pilot in hopes of flying his way out of North Korea. Eventually, he did just that, crossing the border to South Korea in a MiG-15 and leaving Kim and communism behind for good. To complement both No's and Kim's stories, Harden keeps the Korean War in the foreground. He includes details that were left out of American news and military reports, using recently disclosed military documents and No's eyewitness testimony. The U.S looms large in this book, both as a dream destination for No and a terrifying agent of death and destruction for his homeland. Using this multifaceted view, Harden explains how Kim, though laughably inept regarding military strategy and in fulfilling his nation's needs, was able to build a lasting dictatorial dynasty. A rewarding book with much to offer, including the likely spark of new interest in how singular choices made by both men and nations can reverberate for generations.

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Starred review from April 1, 2015

In September 1953, North Korean fighter pilot No Kum-Sok flew his Soviet built MiG-15 jet across the demilitarized zone and defected to U.S. forces in South Korea. Journalist Harden (Escape from Camp 14) tells the fascinating story of No's life from his birth in Japanese-controlled Korea up to his life as a retired engineer in Florida. However, the main focus is the Korean War years and No's motivations for defecting. Readers will also find interspersed throughout a complementary biography of former dictator Kim Il-Sung, which helps to place No's experience into the larger context of North Korean events. No didn't understand that his defection made him rich, as the U.S. government had promised $100,000 for anyone who could deliver a MiG-15. This caused new complications for No after he arrived in America. VERDICT An enjoyable read that is highly recommended for those interested in Cold War or North Korean history, or for anyone who likes a strong narrative. Readers who enjoy this book might also appreciate No Kum-Sok's A MiG-15 to Freedom.--Joshua Wallace, Ranger Coll., TX

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2015
Harden (Escape from Camp 14, 2012) takes his time, giving the reader a blow-by-blow account of the rise of North Korea's Great Leader, Kim Il-sung, the grandfather of current leader Kim Jong-un. As Harden explains, Kim's rise to power is the only way to understand today's government and its belligerence, paranoia, and sustained mistreatment of its own people. Harden makes a startlingly sympathetic case for Kim, whose hypernationalism and egomania grew from fighting Korea's utter lack of cohesion or autonomy; annexed under a strict Japanese reign, pillaged and occupied by the Russians after the war, Korea became a pawn to the whims of Mao and Stalinconstantly pitted between superpowers. But Harden's true sympathies go to Kim's opposite, No Kum-sok, the young fighter pilot who prepares and plans for his escape from North Korea, who dreams of becoming an American even as General Douglas MacArthur's troops bomb his comrades (though credited as a brilliant military strategist, MacArthur is revealed to have startling similarities to Kim: his love of flattery, inability to hear criticism, and notions of self-importance). All in all, this is as rich a lesson in history as it is in empathy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)