MiG Alley: The US Air Force in Korea, 1950-53

In this technical military history, historian Cleaver (The Frozen Chosen) aims to bring readers past the myths to the truth of the Korean War. Following WWII, as sole possessors of the atomic bomb, the U.S. believed traditional warfare was over, so it began severely reducing defense spending. While the Army and Navy dealt with large cuts, a new branch of the armed forces rose to the top: the U.S. Air Force. When North Korean forces invaded South Korea, the U.S., UN, and South Korea fought North Korea and China on the ground; American and Soviet pilots (the latter wearing North Korean uniforms) fought another war in the air in so-called MiG Alley, an area of northwestern North Korea between the Chongchon and Yulu rivers, where U.S. pilots escorted bombers to their targets. Exaggerated stories abounded; the U.S. claimed a kill ratio of 10 to one. Cleaver%E2%80%99s research, which draws on declassified Soviet military records, U.S. Air Force records, and firsthand pilot accounts from both sides, indicates it was closer to three to one. In a work often heavy with technical and aeronautical detail, Cleaver nonetheless effectively conveys the sheer destruction wrought by the U.S. bombing missions on North Korea and its citizens. Still, this account is probably mainly of interest to students of military history. (Nov.)