Play Audiobook Sample
The Korean War Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(3.07) - 306 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
It was the first war we could not win. At no other time since World War II have two superpowers met in battle. In this extensive history, preeminent military historianMax Hastings 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 two hundred 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.
Download and start listening now!
"I read this book while stationed in Korea, Suwon to be specific. It opened with a view of Task Force Smith over-looking the road between Suwon and Osan, as the North Koreans made their way south. I understood why we were really there and put a perspective on my presence in the country."
— Matt (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
-
“Must reading for any American who wants to understand one of the watershed events of the post-World War II period.”
— Richard M. Nixon -
“Fair and immensely readable…a major contribution to more than just military history…Max Hastings is among the ablest of the younger generation of British military historians…He now illuminates the struggle that changed all perceptions of the post-1945 world.”
— Alistair Horne, author of The Price of Glory -
“Rings true and will surely stand the test of time…Max Hastings has no peer as a writer of battlefield history.”
— Stephen E. Ambrose -
“Admirable…penetrating.”
— New York Times
The Korean War Listener Reviews
-
—
Matthew M. , 4/6/2023
-
—
Michael Barrett, 11/23/2021
-
" Classic study of the Korean War, takes you from the high level strategy to the unit level tactical actions. One of the best overviews of the entire conflict. "
— Mike, 12/19/2013 -
" Stared out okay but became tedious in style and repititive, not enough plausable well told witness acounts. Adjectives were poor and rolled out in a cycle of mediocrity. "
— James, 11/28/2013 -
" Max Hastings is one of the best wartime writers. Explained a lot of things that happened that I had never read about before. Time well spent learning more about America's "Forgotten War". "
— Beth/Chuck, 3/31/2013 -
" Read on the plane over to Korea en route my new position as the Navy Chief for USFK J2. It was a good introduction to the Korean War. "
— Renee, 10/9/2012 -
" The author interviews Chinese and North Korean Veterans. The book discusses how the Korean War served as a prelude to the Vietnam War. The strategies taken by the commanders are discussed in detail. "
— Matt, 10/7/2012 -
" Seems like Hastings could have been a bit more objective in regards to the American role instead of glorifying the British angle. However, I did like the commentary on the possible use of atomic weapons in Korea and Douglas MacArthur's role in that. "
— Randy, 9/17/2012 -
" This is the best-written of all the books about the Korean War. It gives a great overview and is a good book to start off with to get a feel for the period. To learn more detail about the different campaigns, however, go to other books. "
— David, 5/18/2011 -
" masterful account of a terrible, forgotten war "
— Rod, 5/16/2011 -
" A somewhat dated but still very servicable narrative history. As might be expected, Hastings gives more of a British flavor to the war than most other studies. "
— Grant, 1/24/2011 -
" This is the best-written of all the books about the Korean War. It gives a great overview and is a good book to start off with to get a feel for the period. To learn more detail about the different campaigns, however, go to other books. "
— David, 9/21/2010 -
" Max Hastings is one of the best wartime writers. Explained a lot of things that happened that I had never read about before. Time well spent learning more about America's "Forgotten War". "
— Beth/Chuck, 2/2/2010 -
" The author interviews Chinese and North Korean Veterans. The book discusses how the Korean War served as a prelude to the Vietnam War. The strategies taken by the commanders are discussed in detail. "
— Matt, 5/22/2008 -
" Classic study of the Korean War, takes you from the high level strategy to the unit level tactical actions. One of the best overviews of the entire conflict. "
— Mike, 11/28/2007
About Max Hastings
Sir Max Hastings is the multiaward-winning author of more than twenty books, most about conflict, and several made the New York Times bestsellers list. He has served as editor-in-chief of the London Daily Telegraph and the Evening Standard. He has won many prizes both for journalism and his books, including the Somerset Maugham Award, the Westminster Medal, and the Pritzker Military Library Literature Award. He chronicles Vietnam with the benefit of vivid personal memories: first of reporting in 1967-68 from the United States and then of successive assignments in Indochina for newspapers and BBC TV. He rode a helicopter out of the US Saigon embassy compound during the 1975 final evacuation.
About Frederick Davidson
Frederick Davidson (1932–2005), also known as David Case, was one of the most prolific readers in the audiobook industry, recording more than eight hundred audiobooks in his lifetime, including over two hundred for Blackstone Audio. Born in London, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and performed for many years in radio plays for the British Broadcasting Company before coming to America in 1976. He received AudioFile’s Golden Voice Award and numerous Earphones Awards and was nominated for a Grammy for his readings.