The Korean War: The West Confronts Communism

A former self-described ""insignificant packhorse"" in Britain's contribution to the Korean War, historian Hickey (Gallipoli, etc.) first set out to compile an account of the final joint military campaign of the old-line Commonwealth nations. But soon after beginning the project, Hickey ""became aware of the sheer size of the American involvement and the sacrifice it entailed."" Shortlisted for the Westminster Medal for Military Literature when it was published in the U.K. last year, this Brit's-eye-view of Korea generally supports the American posture during the war. North Korea is presented as an aggressor who employs, among other things, cheap propaganda tactics, such as presenting phony evidence that the U.S. Air Force unleashed bubonic plague and other bio-warfare agents on North Korea and Manchuria. But the work also doles out considerable criticism of the Yanks and their leaders. Hickey takes a particularly strong bead on the ""American Caesar,"" Gen. Douglas MacArthur, portraying MacArthur's famous ""old soldiers never die"" speech as little more than crafty propaganda from a master manipulator. Not one to hoard his venom, though, Hickey is also highly critical of the two Korean leaders of the day, the North's Kim Il Sung and the South's Syngman Rhee. Extensive photo sections portray rarely seen elements of the South Korean campaign, wherein police rounded up Communist sympathizers for execution. In one haunting image, political prisoners seem to plead to the camera as they await death. Buttressed with maps and fact-filled appendices, this fine, opinionated contribution to Korean War literature is not to be missed. (July)