I've long been very familiar with the 1st Marine Division's history at the Chosin, but until I read Roy Appleman's book I didn't realize just how much I didn't know about the Army's side of the conflict. This tale of desperation and bravery should be required reading amongst all American service personnel and perhaps even in High Schools. Excellently written, this book holds your attention despite the huge amount of very detailed geographic and unit data presented.

I've read a lot of military history over the years, though I'm definitely not as well-read as some. This book and the others in Appleman's Korean War series really helped me understand small unit operations. They can be dry and a little tough going, but if you give them a chance you may discover a side of battle often overlooked. Making great use of original after action reports as well as interviews and the more common types of sources, Appleman reminds us that (unlike the movies) often ammunition and rations run out and what happens when they do. (Real men have to be sent to get more.) He shows us how and why troops are moved from one nondescript hill to another. (Almost never due to command brilliance.) And better than anyone else he shows us how great battles are built up from squad and platoon actions.

You may lose track of which regiment "L Company" is a part of, but you will come to care what happened to L Company.

A very engrossing account. Despite the level of detail on the geography, personnel and their units it holds your attention. Also provides comment on areas of uncertainty over what actually happened. One of the most successful books on warfare in putting you there - to the point where it was difficult to read ( in this case an indication of the author's success ). One really sensed the isolation of the units and the desperate situation in which they found themselves. Recommended.

It describes so vividly the backstreets of South Korea that you can see the pictures by reading. North Korea seems to be real axis of evel as President Bush claimed. Money is everything in South Korea and people even dream of furtune that is a pig. Leatherdale, the author/traveler describes what normal tourists can't see. You must read it.

It is written by a British traveler/writer and shows vividly the inside of the society. In South Korea, money is everything and they evern dream of money which is symbolized by a pig. In North Korea, extreme the opposite of South, there is no money even to dream of. The last Stalinist country on the earh, North Korea is a county of evel. No trourists can see the backstreets of South Korea.

It is an amazing story which describes vividly the inside of the society. Two Koreas are extremely different sides in every sense. No wonder President Bush called North Korea one of exis of evel, In Sourh, money is everything and they dream of pigs which symbolize fortunre. It tells you about every corner of back street of South Korea and what they think. Did it make South Korea a miracle of economy? You must read this book. Recommended for everybody.

The film Manchurian Candidate was held up, because JFK was killed just before it was to be released. As a suspense film, it was very good. As a history , or metaphor for American soldiers caputured in the Korean War, it was and remains false and ugly. New Yorker, a magazine long noted for good reporting, contributed to what amounted to a "black list" of our military men with stories that were, at best gross exaggerations of true stores.

This book, at last, gives the men who were incarcerated for months and years in that cold barren countr -a voice. In the tradition of Studs Turkel, they tell of their experience. Mostly men hastily trained, they faced brutal captors and brutal conditions. If few were "heroic",very very few betrayed either country or colleague. Despite the sensational blather that followed. Worse!. When freed, they were put on ships and rather than receive care & TLC they were subject to interrogation Even back home, the Army , the FBI hounded some. This was the time of our own "red terror" I was drafted to the USMC-- and am proud to read that the Marines did not harass their men after they were freed.

Care & treatment floundered . I know, I worked at the VA Hospital in Dayton Ohio for 20 years. Nearly 30 years later the government made rules that made sense. Former Prisoners of War received a special focus, with the presuption that after such lengthy exposure to brutal contidions, many medical & emotional problems were very likely to show up.

Combat vets do not often talk about the events that lead to PTSD. Former POWs. have an additional memory bank of horror This book is not a "plea for help". It is a bit late anyway. But if you can put aside your need for mere flag waving, this book will give insights about war and it cosequences. I found a new respect for these men. I thought I had some understanding, but my vision was nearly that of a blind man

What a beautiful book about such a horrible experience. I cant recommend this book enough. I should have been working today but I just got this book yesterday and decided to finish it today.
This book contains interviews with POWs who have been forgotten over the years. There nightmare has continued to this day. This book gives them the chance to tell there story and debunk some myths about the Korean POW.
Often criticized for being soft and weak, the Korean POW was seen as a failure of American society. Yet as the soldiers tell there story, you can judge for yourself. What is bravery? What is courage? What do these conditions do to a human being?
This book ultimately shows the humanity of the soldiers. The errors, horrors, and joy that they experienced. Its a good story.

THE AUTHOR MANAGED TO PLACE THE PROPER TONE AND ETHOS
GIVING A TRUE EXPERENCIAL VIEW OF THE POW'S EXPERENCE.

IT IS THE FIRST BOOK I READ FROM AN AUTHOR AND NOT A EX-POW
WHO PROVIDED THE TRUTH IN THIS TIME OF OUR MILITARY HISTORY.

AS AN EX-POW OF THAT WAR I FEEL IT SAID AND INDEED GAVE A PROPER
ACCOUNT OF THE EARLY PART OF 1950-1951, AND THE HERRENDOUS
CONDITIONS THAT EXISTED.

IT IS MY HOPE SCHOOLS WILL SECURE THIS BOOK FOR THE LIBRARY AND THE HISTORY TEACHER WILL RECONMEND THE STUDENTS TO REVIEW IT FOR ASSAYS.

This must have been an interesting conference: a multinational cast of the usual suspects (Scott Snyder, Kyongman Jeon, Aidan Foster-Carter et al.) joined by some functional area specialists (Jeffrey Pilkington, Danny Leipziger et al.) for added spice.

Among the highpoints: Heather Smith's dissection of the food situation, David Steinberg's thoughtful reflections on South Korean politics, and Holger Wolf's demolition of the myths of German unification. Anthony Michell provides a heterox view of the North Korean economy. It may not be a convincing view, but it is a welcome antidote to usual recitation of Bank of Korea figures.

Today in South Korea we have "sunshine policy" toward North Korea. But we need to know what will happen. This book has many experts from South Korea and other countries. I think that the best essay is by Professor Hearther Smith. She analyses the food situation in North Korea, using many datas. There is also an essay by Dr. Danny Leipziger from the World Bank. He describes how international institutions can help North Korea based on the experience of Vietnam. The only bad thing about this book is one of the authors refers almost only to her own researches (and one author criticizes the editor). But this is an excellent book on an important topic.

Frances Park and her sister wrote a beautiful, moving story about the way families were split up during the Korean War. I bought this book initially for my daughter, but enjoyed it just as much as she did. The Korean wording interspersed throughout the book made it even more touching for me. Not only did I find the book educational for my daughter, but a great, interesting book.

The words and the illustrations condense an intense experience of family love, loss and hope into a format which can be shared and appreciated by a very wide range of readers. A beautiful work which can gently launch meaningful and memorable discussions between children, young adults and parents. The themes of sacrifice and freedom are portrayed in a manner which is realistic without being unnecessarily harsh for a younger audience. I very much look forward to future efforts on the part of the two talented authors.

Book edited by two significant american North Korea researcher had good , no propaganda picture of North Korean State and Society. This information is very needed now after Korean Summit. The book is divided for four chapters. In first part of first chapter autor prof. Suh Dae-suk presented north korean leader Kim Jong Il.He presented preconditions prsonality Kim Jong Il , Childhood ,relations with father Kim Il Sung, stepmother,family relations , education , work expierence, Study in East Germany in Air Miltary Academy interst for movie and arts. Prof. Suh Dae -suk is the best in the world knowner Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.Intersting are remarks on the future political activity Kim Jong Il. Second chapter written by prof. Marcus Noland analysed perspectives opening North Korea,s economy. Second part of book egsamineed american - North Korea relations. The authors are wide known experts like: Selig s. Harrison ,B.C.Koh ,C.Kenneth Quinnones. Third part book pay attention to security and nuclear issues . Authors are american scholars: Doug Bandow , Edward A. Olsen.They presented north korean stategy in this field. Fourth chapter egsamined the relations North Korea with China and Japan . The neighbour,s enviroment North Korea is very significant for the future interkorean dialogue . The last article tell about North South relations . Author is Lee Chong-sik. Prof.R. Scalapino in the introduction noted that North Korea have very limited possibility involve to international coopperation. That Kim Dae -jung engagement and sunshine policy give the chance open in the future Hermit Kingdom. The book is very useful for Scholars and students try understand Noth Korean Issue. Marceli Burdelski Ph. D. The Department Asia Pacific Studies Institute of Political Studies polish Academy of Sciences Warsaw Poland polmb@univ.gda.pl

This book tells about the enchanting truth of Kim Il Sung and his son Kim Jong Il. I found it amazing and surprisingly accurate with abslutly no propoganda. Dae Sook Suh is one of the best authors of our time!

Joseph Bermudez is the best expert on North Korea's military and missile programs. I first saw his previous book, North Korean Special Forces(NKSF), in a classified cover on the desk of south Korean intelligence analysts.

His new book goes into even greater depth and covers the makeup, motivation, and enviroment that has created and maintained arguably the largest deployed combat force in the world.

The book is well written. The graphics are excellent, as are references to supporting documents.

This book is a must for anyone interested in knowing more about the security risks and challenges facing Japan, Korea, China, Russia and the United States.

"It has frequently been stated by commanders in Korea that the one man they would like to meet when the war is over is the G-4 [Logistics Officer] of the Communist forces. How he has kept supplies moving in the face of all obstacles is a real mystery. He has done it against air superiority, fire superiority, gutsm and brawn."

Brigadier General Darr H. Alkire Deputy Commander for Material U.S. Far Eastern Air Forces June 1951

The war in Korea was primarily a war of logistics. The strategic and operational decisions of both sides were based largely on logistical considerations. The principle challenge faced by both sides was to provide adequate support to their forces in the field across long distances and often, through inhospitable terrain and weather.

On June 25, 1950 the North Korean People's Army (NKPA) swept south across the Korean border, shattering the Republic of Korea (ROK) Army and the myth of American military invincibility. Suffering defeat and heavy losses in their first battles against the NKPA, U.S. Army forces in Korea were thrown back to Pusan and almost off the peninsula. After massive reinforcement and a brilliant amphibious landing at Inchon (which severed the NKPA's logistical lines), United Nations forces counterattacked in September, capturing the North Korean capital of Pyongyang and driving to the Yalu River. The assault almost completely annihilated the NKPA. Only massive intervention by the Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) in October and November 1950, in the form of some 300,000 troops, saved North Korean forces from total destruction. The Chinese inflicted heavy losses on UN troops, forcing them to retreat below the 38th parallel. By mid-1951, the conflict had devolved into a static war of trenches, small patrols and limited offensives. By mid-1953, more than a million North Korean and Chinese Communist troops had fought UN forces to a standstill along the 38th parallel. The Communist forces were supported by 10,000 Soviet and East bloc advisers and backed by almost 2,800 artillery pieces and 500 tanks. An armistice was signed on July 27, 1953, bringing the conflict to an end.

During the three years of fighting, the U.S. Army suffered almost 140,000 casualties, the South Korean Army almost 273,000, and other UN forces, 14,000. Communist military casualties were horrendous: 620,000 North Korean and almost 910,000 Chinese, for a total of almost 2,000,000 military casualties on both sides. In addition, more than two million North and South Korean civilians were killed or injured and practically all of North and South Korea had been devastated.

Shrader's study focuses primarily on how the North Korean and Chinese Communist were able to sustain their forces in the field for three years against the well equipped and more technologically advanced forces of the U.S. Army and the UN Command. It addresses logistical organization, methods, requirements and operations of the North Korean and Chinese armies from June 1950 to July 1953. It concludes that, although the numerically superior NKPA and CCF were never strong enough logistically to employ their maximum combat power to defeat the UN Command and eject it from Korea, they were able to maintain an almost uninterrupted flow of supplies to frontline units. This flow was sufficient to enable them to conduct a static defense strong enough to prevent a UN victory and, in the last months of the war, to mount strong, sustained offensive operations. Indeed, just prior to the signing of the armistice, the CCF savaged the ROK Army, inflicting some 50,000 casualties while incurring an estimated 108,000. Despite an intense UN air interdiction campaign of over 250,000 sorties, the NKPA and CCF were stronger than ever when the armistice was signed.

Schrader's study is based primarily on declassified documents of the NKPA and the CCF assembled by the UN Command during and immediately following the war. Using these sources, the author puts to rest a good many myths about the Communist forces, most notably, that their logistics doctrines, organizations, and methods were primitive and incapable of supporting large formations in modern warfare. Shrader shows that Communist logistics were, in fact, characterized by flexibility and innovation, which allowed them to compensate for their comparative lack of material resources and modern technology as well as restrictions on their freedom of action imposed by UN forces.

I enjoyed this book immensely for the unique perspective it provides on the Communist armies of the Korean War. I was surprised to learn just how professional, well-trained, well equipped, and relatively well-supplied the NKPA and CCF really were. Also, there is too often a tendency to believe that China's intervention in Korea was of an ad hoc nature and poorly planned and supported. Shrader shows convincingly that it was, in fact, an extremely well planned and supported endeavor. He does so in a style that is very readable.

The Korean War was America's first unpopular war and has been relegated to the dustbin of history. For this reason, it is often called "The Forgotten War." Yet as we approach the 50th anniversary of the beginning of that war, we owe it to ourselves, our children, and more importantly, all those who served, to come to terms with our involvement in Korea. Shrader's study, sure to become one of the standard works on the conflict, reinforces the lesson that one should never underestimate an enemy's willingness or ability to fight and continue fighting.

Although I am an avid reader of American military history, I read few first-person accounts of war because I tend to prefer books about geopolitics, grand strategy, and decisive weapons systems. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this book about a marine officer's experience during the Korean War. It was easy reading, its narrative was straightforward, informative, and, I believe, honest, and it provided some valuable insights into the harsh realities of the first of the Cold War's regional conflicts.

The United States' "forgotten war" began on June 25, 1950, when the People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) invaded the Republic of Korea (South Korea). At the time, Author Joseph Owen was a Marine Corps lieutenant stationed in North Carolina, living with his wife and their two young children. According to Owen: "Nobody at Camp Lejeune had expected a shooting war. Nor were we ready for one." A captain who had been an adviser to the South Korean Marine Corps predicted Korea would be "[o]ne lousy place to fight a war. Too hot in summer, too cold in winter, and straight up and down mountain terrains all year round. Except for those stinking rice paddies down in the valleys. Human manure they use. Worst stink in the world." Nevertheless, according to Owen: "The possibility of American Marines in a combat role excited us." Owen writes: "The North Koreans continued to overpower the meager resistance offered by the South Korean soldiers....Seoul, the South Korean capital, fell with hardly a fight, and the Red blitzkrieg rolled southward. In response, President Truman escalated American involvement in the war. He ordered General MacArthur, America's supreme commander in the Far East, to use U.S. Army troops stationed in Japan to stem the invaders." And: "General MacArthur called for a full division of Marines to help him turn back the North Koreans. According to Owen: "The Marine Corps welcomed the call, but we did not have a full division to put in the field;" and "More than seven thousand of us at Camp Lejeune received orders to proceed by rail to Camp Pendleton. There they would form into companies and embark for Korea." Owen's unit, "Baker-One-Seven became one of three rifle companies if the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment....Our ranks were filled by 215 men and 7 officers who had never before served together....Many of [the privates] were beardless teenagers with little training beyond the basics of shouldering a rifle and marching in step." While training, there was much concern about the readiness of the Marines for combat. At one point, after a sergeant remarks that the troops need more training in boot camp, Owen succinctly invokes reality: "They are not going to boot camp. They are going aboard ship. And they are going to fight." On September 1, the company boarded a Navy transport for the three-week voyage to east Asia. According to Owen: "Ready or not, we were on the way to war." And, according to Owen, the 1st Marine Division's orders were "to go for the Yalu River," North Korea's border with China. At one point, a veteran officer provides this paraphrase of William Tecumseh Sherman's famous dictum: "War is hell, but you never know what particular kind of hell it's going to be." The Korean War hell was cold and barren. Owen writes: "We were chilled through and bone tired as we slogged our way back to battalion....The bivouac was lumpy with rocks and boulders;" "The cold weather was as formidable an enemy as the Chinese;" and "Rarely did the [daily action] reports exceed zero degrees, and there were lows of twenty below."

By the time Owen's outfit arrived in Korea, he writes, "we were making bets that the war would be over before we got into it." Owen's Marines could not have been more wrong. While Owen is inspecting his men's weapons, a private asks: "Think we'll get shot at today, Lieutenant?" Owen replies: "We're taking the point for the regiment. If the gooks are there, they'll be shooting at us." A few pages later, after the outfit's first experience in combat, Owen comments: "We were fortunate that the enemy had not chosen a "fight-to-the-death" defense of this hill, as they would when we advanced farther north." But some fighting was hand-to-hand. At one point, Owen writes: "Judging from the noise they were making, and the direction of their grenades, the North Koreans were preparing to attack, not more than thirty yards away." The Captain tells Owen and the other subordinate officers: "The Chinese have committed themselves to this war....The people we will fight are the 124th Division of the Regular Chinese Army....They're tough, well-trained soldiers, ten thousand of them. And all of their officers are combat experienced, their very best....A few hours from now we'll have the Chinese army in our gunsights. We'll be in their gunsights. You damn well better have our people ready for some serious fighting." The combat was, indeed, brutal. According to Owen: "The Chinese attacked in massive numbers, an overwhelming weight, but they also endured terrible casualties." Owen recalls that, while waiting for one Chinese attack, the "men stacked Chinese bodies in front of the holes for greater protection." And the fighting around the frozen Chosin Reservoir may have been the most brutal of the war. Owen ultimately suffered wounds requiring 17 months of treatment, and he never regained full use of one arm.

A few months ago, I reviewed James Brady's wonderful The Coldest War: A Memoir of Korea here. This book has different charms. Whereas Brady is a gifted professional writer, there is no elegant prose here. But Owen provides an equally vivid account of this ugly war. Big, sophisticated studies of military history focusing on geopolitical principles and grand strategy rarely offer narrative moments like the ones in this book. Reader are unlikely to forget the Korean War after reading Joseph Owen's Colder than Hell.

Colder than Hell: A Marine Rifle Company at Chosin Reservoir. By Joseph R. Owen. Reviewed by Mike Davino

Army Korean War expert Lieutenant Colonel Roy Appleman has called the 1st Marine Division of the Chosin Reservoir campaign "one of the most magnificent fighting organizations that ever served in the United States Armed Forces." The remarkable and inspiring story of the division at the Chosin Reservoir has been the subject of numerous books and several films. During their fighting withdrawal, the Marines decimated several divisions of the Chinese People's Liberation Army while at the same time fighting an exceptionally harsh winter environment.

Joseph Owen's new book on the subject tells the story from the cutting edge perspective of a rifle company. The author served as a mortar section leader and rifle platoon commander in Baker Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines from its activation in August 1950 through the Inchon-Seoul and Chosin fighting where he was severely wounded.

There are many reasons given for the outstanding performance of the Marines in northeast Korea during the winter of 1950. It is clear from this book that a large measure of the credit goes to the Marines and their leaders at the small unit and rifle company level.

Owen's narrative covers the hasty activation and training of the company, its brief participation in the fighting north of Seoul after the amphibious assault at Inchon and the details of its intense fighting at Chosin. He candidly discusses the mistakes made by the leaders and Marines of Baker Company, to include his own. More importantly, Owen covers what they learned from these mistakes and how they used that knowledge to defeat the Chinese in a series of intense actions.

Although focused at the company level, the author frames his story with the overall conduct of the campaign. Refreshingly, unlike many books about the Chosin campaign, it is free of partisan sniping about the contributions made by the various services involved. Owen gives credit to the Army units that fought at Chosin as well as the contributions of naval and air forces and our British allies.

This book is rich in lessons about small unit leadership, training and combat operations. It is an excellent addition to the personal narratives on the Korea War.

When preparing to travel to an Asian country on business, I seek context by reading of the wars the U.S. has fought there. When I look in those Japanese, Chinese and Korean eyes, I see the children of old enemies and old friends. While plowing through Fehrenbach's canonical Korean War history, "This Kind of War", I took a break and lost a weekend of yard work to "Colder Than Hell" which I ordered based on the praise given by my fellow Amazon reviewers. My thanks to the other reviewers, for this is a superb first person account of a Marine company fighting it's way up and then back down the Korean peninsula in 1950. Marines of Baker one-seven fought and froze to the death too often, but their sacrifice has let 47 million Koreans in the South build a democracy and learn the meaning of freedom. The price of freedom was huge for Baker one-seven, but the esprit de corps so crisply described by ex-Second Lt. Owen carried his Marines from hill to hill. This is an excellent book and a must read for fans of first person stories of war and sacrifice.

Ever wonder why North Korea is such a ... arrogant little country? This book will tell you exactly why. Guerrilla leaders scarred by years of eating rats, living in the hills, and butchering Japanese invaders do not necessarily possess the skills needed to run a country! This book is a must for anybody interested in the current standoff between America and Pyongyang, which North Korea seems to believe will end with the Korean peninsula being devoured by a sea of fire. Kim Il Sung's early days as a revolutionary and guerrilla fighter are given much attention, as are the purges he carried out in order to become the supreme leader. If you're looking for a play-by-play account of the Korean War, look elsewhere though- this book sweeps quickly through that period. The author focuses primarily on Kim's tight-rope act between the Soviet Union (which gave him the job in the first place), China (which saved his butt from the American-led U.N. forces), and the U.S. (which has refrained from crushing lil' Kim's summer camp of starvation in the name of East Asian harmony). Other topics addressed by the author include: Kim's frustration at not being acknowledged as the Emperor of the Third World, Kim's frustration at not being able to feed his population while spending 99.99% of his country's slight earnings on military hardware, Kim's frustration that the rest of the world didn't care much about the Korean problem (until now, of course), and Kim's frustration at not receiving a THIRD honorary degree from some university in Africa or Southeast Asia (naw, just kidding...but you get the point). The only complaint I have is this: the avalanche of names and details that sometimes disrupts the narrative. Perhaps a little too scholarly for anybody not specifically interested in the history of the North Korean Communist Party from 1946-1980's. Still, if you can get past this, the book is rewarding, and one will walk away knowing who Kim Il Sung was, how his son maneuvered into power, and why North Korea is a country with a Napoleonic complex.

This is essential for understanding North Korea and how it relates to the world of today. To undestand North Korea you must understand it's founder Kim Il Sung. The book goes on to show how he created a Stalinist State and huge army to insure it's survival. It talks about the many attempts on the lives of south korean presidents and his unpredictable nature that he passed on to his son and successor. Understandin Kin Il Sung will help the reader understand why Noth Korea is today run more like a cult than a country and why it is the most secretive country in the world today and a failed society.

In 2001 I visited North Korea and found this book very helpful because our guides would only give us the official version of their history. The book is packed full of information and the only one I have found that explains how Kim Il Sung gained and kept power. Dae-Sook Sue has put a great deal of reseach into the book and let's hope he writes another book on North Korea covering Kim Jong Il present reign and the future of the country. There is no other county like North Korea so I recommend reading the book then visiting the country.