The Korean War

November 15, 2013

Although 19 nations were involved militarily in the Korean War, Wada (former director, Univ. of Tokyo Inst. of Social Science) focuses his attention primarily on the actions of the Koreas, China, the Soviet Union, and the United States in this first English translation of his highly esteemed Japanese history of the war. He provides an in-depth analysis of the decisions various government and military officials from those countries made during the course of the war, revealing in detail the disputes that allies on both sides had during the armistice talks. The author's use of Soviet documents helps to shed light on the decision-making processes of the Soviet Union, China, and North Korea. Readers will also learn the ways in which Japan and Taiwan participated in and were impacted by this conflict. VERDICT This meticulously researched work will serve as valuable reading to students and scholars of both the Korean and the Cold War. For a book that includes personal accounts of how the conflict affected individuals on the ground and provides a more extensive examination of how this war impacted subsequent events, see Sheila Miyoshi Jager's Brother at War: The Unending Conflict in Korea.--Joshua Wallace, South Texas Coll. Lib., McAllen

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 15, 2013
Western historians often view the Korean War through the prism of the Cold War, which can reduce Koreans, north and south, into players and pawns in a much larger chessboard. This excellent work by a Japanese historian reminds readers that it was Koreans who bore the brunt of the suffering, fighting, and dying. In its origins and in the initial phase of the Korean conflict, it was a civil war, triggered by the ambitions of two contemptible leaders. In the North, Kim Il Sung had already begun imposing a brutal, totalitarian regime. In the south, Syngman Rhee, proclaimed by some Americans as a democratic champion, was a highly authoritarian and inflexible politician. Both men were determined to unite their nation by military force. Following the North Korean invasion and the American intervention, the war was internationalized, and Wada Haruki eloquently recounts the roles played by political and military leaders on both sides. His description of the peace negotiations is particularly riveting as American negotiators were as frustrated by their South Korean allies as they were by their opponents. This fine rendering of the conflict provides an important perspective on an unresolved war.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)