The Korean War Audiobook By Max Hastings cover art

The Korean War

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It was the first war we could not win. At no other time since World War II have two superpowers met in battle. Max Hastings, preeminent military historian, takes us back to the bloody, bitter struggle to restore South Korean independence after the Communist invasion of June 1950.

Using personal accounts from interviews with more than 200 vets, including the Chinese, Hastings follows real officers and soldiers through the battles. He brilliantly captures the Cold War crisis at home, the strategies and politics of Truman, Acheson, Marshall, MacArthur, Ridgway, and Bradley, and shows what we should have learned in the war that was the prelude to Vietnam.

©1987 Roma Data (P)1997 Blackstone Audiobooks Wars & Conflicts Cold War Military Korean War War Self-Determination Vietnam War Imperial Japan Socialism China Soviet Union Imperialism Inspiring Russia

Critic reviews

"Must reading for any American who wants to understand one of the watershed events of the post-World War II period." (Richard M. Nixon)
"Rings true and will surely stand the test of time....Max Hastings has no peer as a writer of battlefield history." (Stephen E. Ambrose)
Comprehensive Historical Coverage • Balanced Perspective • Dignified Voice • Meticulous Research • Political Context Depth

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I really loved this book! The author did a great job of being balanced in his presentation, not from the political side, but in giving just the right amount of detail, but not too much to overwhelm you.

Before reading this, I only knew that the two Koreas had a "civil" war in the 50's. I had no idea of what precipated this or how the war progressed.

This book really filled in the blanks for me and was a real pleasure to read.

Well done!

Fantastic - Good Balance!

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Excellent book. Well told. Interesting because of the lessons that we did not learn and also the narrative which includes personal statements by those involved. What ever criticisms we may have had all of the handling of the war, looking back now it was one of whom is great accomplishments only clouded by his inability to rain inMacArthur ." Our mission was to stop communist aggression and not to do the same by proceeding to the Yalu river. This was done at great cost to the lives of many soldiers and civilians. But on balance. A good varmint of war which is not always rational, if ever.

Those who don't learn from their experience are doomed to repeat it

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while I appreciate that the narrator tried to do different voices for the different people being quoted, doing "Asian" accents for the Koreans and Chinese wasn't necessary and really was a huge distraction/annoyance. If this is going to offend you, skip this audiobook.

the narration hasn't aged well...

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I should have known… I’ve read a couple other Hasting books and for whatever reason, his writings don’t resonate with me. I was hoping this time would be different, but no. The Korean War isn’t one of the conflicts I knew a lot about and sadly, after listening to this.. my ignorance continues.

A good account but not my cup of tea

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I'm conditioned to Hasting's works be exhaustive and thorough. I'm not disappointed in what he said, but in what he didn't. He gave the Naval services short shrift, and while decrying lack of tactical CAS on the part of USAF, he only mentioned in passing the critical CAS on the part of Navy and Marine units, and completely ignored Naval Gunfire, it's use and misuse. And while he did talk about the army's aversion to special operations, there was no mention of the numerous raiding parties put ashore behind enemy lines by both USN and RN. Last chapters sounded more like a summary of notes made for chapters not written, like was the war winnable, how was winning to be defined, why did US make the same mistakes in Vietnam they made in Korea--with same effect (and made in Iraq and Afghanistan too)? The narration was great, just the right mixture of British superciliosness and amazement that everything turned out as well as it did--all things considered. I wouldn't recommend this for the beginner, T.R. Fehrenbach's This Kind of War is the seminal work, everything else is just texture. what Hasting's did say was excellent, but a lot could have used more context and I couldn't help feeling he was pulling his punches and being way too tactful on his American cousins!

Somewhat disappointed!

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