The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War - Softcover

Halberstam, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0786888628 ISBN 13: 9780786888627

Publisher: Hachette Books, 2008

Synopsis

"In a grand gesture of reclamation and remembrance, Mr. Halberstam has brought the war back home."---The New York Times

David Halberstam's magisterial and thrilling The Best and the Brightest was the defining book about the Vietnam conflict. More than three decades later, Halberstam used his unrivaled research and formidable journalistic skills to shed light on another pivotal moment in our history: the Korean War. Halberstam considered The Coldest Winter his most accomplished work, the culmination of forty-five years of writing about America's postwar foreign policy.

Halberstam gives us a masterful narrative of the political decisions and miscalculations on both sides. He charts the disastrous path that led to the massive entry of Chinese forces near the Yalu River and that caught Douglas MacArthur and his soldiers by surprise. He provides astonishingly vivid and nuanced portraits of all the major figures--Eisenhower, Truman, Acheson, Kim, and Mao, and Generals MacArthur, Almond, and Ridgway. At the same time, Halberstam provides us with his trademark highly evocative narrative journalism, chronicling the crucial battles with reportage of the highest order. As ever, Halberstam was concerned with the extraordinary courage and resolve of people asked to bear an extraordinary burden.

The Coldest Winteris contemporary history in its most literary and luminescent form, providing crucial perspective on every war America has been involved in since. It is a book that Halberstam first decided to write more than thirty years ago and that took him nearly ten years to complete. It stands as a lasting testament to one of the greatest journalists and historians of our time, and to the fighting men whose heroism it chronicles.

About this title

Review:

"I could hardly put this book down. Meticulously and thoroughly researched, it is splendidly compelling reading. The Coldest Winter is a superb conjoining of all the factors of this tragic war: the military tactics and strategy of both sides; the international diplomacy; the internal politics; the personalities of the various players. A great work."--Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (Ret.), co-author of We Were Soldiers Once . . . and Young

"Halberstam is at his very best."--The Wall Street Journal

"An instant classic look at the people, power and politicsthat created a dangerous stage...and then acted on it."--Chicago Sun-Times

"He is a peerless reporter of events and facts--with a signature human touch."--The Seattle Times

"In a grand gesture of reclamation and remembrance. Mr. Halberstam has brought the war back home."--The New York Times

"His most operatic war story."--The New York Times Book Review

Book Description:

A magisterial and compellingly readable history of the Korean War from the acclaimed author of The Best and the Brightest, the defining account of the Vietnam War

About this edition

• Publisher: Hachette Books
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0786888628
• ISBN 13: 9780786888627
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 736