The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War by David Halberstam ($15 at Amazon) was really the first reading I have done on Korea, and it was a frustrating story to read. The writing was fine, the story of the over done downsizing of the military after WWII, the poor decisions that lead to the conflict on our side, the incredibly bad leadership shown at times. Just not fun to read. This book focuses a lot on the politics of things (fair enough to include that) and also on MacArthur’s involvement – the latter in a very negative way. I’ve read other stuff about MacArthur that wasn’t complimentary either, but I guess I need to go read more to make sure I see both sides of the story. General Ridgeway seems to be the hero – if there is one – of the story, or at least the one that displayed some leadership. Lot’s of good personal stories in the book, stories about death, barely surviving, hard decisions about what to do when things go really bad.
It’s worth reading,I just don’t know if it’s the best book to learn about the war. Anyone have other recommendations on related books?
