The Coldest Winter

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 Up until now, the Korean War has been the black hole of modern American history. The Coldest Winter changes that, giving readers 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, 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 heart of the book are the individual stories of the soldiers on the front lines who were left to deal with the consequences of the dangerous misjudgments and competing agendas of powerful men. We meet them, follow them, and see some of the most dreadful battles in history through their eyes. As ever, Halberstam was concerned with the extraordinary courage and resolve of people asked to bear an extraordinary burden. Contemporary history in its most literary and luminescent form, The Coldest Winter provides crucial perspective on the Vietnam War and the events of today. About The Author: David Halberstam was one of America's most distinguised journalists and historians. After graduating from Harvard in 1955, he covered the beginnings of the civil rights movement, then was sent overseas by the New York Times to report on the war in Vietnam.

Author: David Halberstam

Publisher: Pan

Released Date: 2009

ISBN: 9780330458504