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The Korean War

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The Korean War

By: Max Hastings
Narrated by: Cameron Stewart
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About this listen

On 25 June, 1950, the invasion of South Korea by the Communist North launched one of the bloodiest conflicts of the last century. The seemingly limitless power of the Chinese-backed North was thrown against the ferocious firepower of the UN-backed South in a war that can be seen today as the stark prelude to Vietnam.

Max Hastings drew on first-hand accounts of those who fought on both sides to produce this vivid and incisive reassessment of the Korean War, bringing the military and human dimensions into sharp focus. Critically acclaimed on publication, The Korean War remains the best narrative history of this conflict.

©1987 Max Hastings (P)2014 Audible Studios 20th Century Asia Military Modern Korean War War China Imperial Japan Socialism Russia

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Knowing only the broadest outlines of the Korean War, this title kept me company for a week out walking the dogs and more than once I found myself finding a bench or a gate to sit on a while and listen closely. I was expecting this to be a bit of a dutiful job, filling in a big gap in my personal knowledge but it turned out to be an extremely well-written, well-read piece of work which was from time to time as gripping as a novel for anyone not knowing what happened next. Not bad for a depiction of a war which was, I now understand, frequently a wretched, freezing stand-off.

Further reading reassures me that Hastings has not missed out anything worth fretting about so my admittedly inexpert opinion would be that I would heartily recommend this to anyone wanting to understand a major piece of recent history in one excellent volume.

Comprehensive, informative & genuinely interesting

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insightful appraisal of the politics, military realities and differences between the principals' and participants' viewpoints.

Very informative overview, ...

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As with all of Max Hastings' books, this was very informative and well written. Wasn't a fan of the narrators American accent which was used a fair bit.

A very good and well researched book

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A very comprehensive and objective account of the Korean conflict. I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in military/political history. The narration is also excellent.

Great historical insight

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Excellent narrator, well researched and balanced perspective. Shows importance of learning quickly from mistakes. Vietnam could have been avoided if this had happened.

Important to understanding of geopolitical order

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