Korea at War: Conflicts That Shaped the World

by Michael Seth

An engaging history covering a century of conflict on the Korean Peninsula

Korea at War recounts how two separate nations emerged on the Korean peninsula as the result of devastating conflicts involving provocative personalities and superpower intrigues. The topics covered in this fascinating book

The brutal years of Japanese colonial rule which began with Japan's annexation of Korea and ended with its defeat in World War II—and which still dominate Japanese-Korean relations todayThe division of the country into a totalitarian North and a prosperous, democratic SouthNorth Korea's invasion of the South, motivated by Stalin, which led to the bloody Korean War—a conflict that is still not settled to this dayThe irascible General Douglas MacArthur, who was relieved of his command by President Truman when he disobeyed a direct order and attempted to expand the war into ChinaThe rise of the Kim regime in North Korea and the continuing threat of nuclear war today
Historian Michael J. Seth explores these and other themes including the complete story of North Korea—a nation and a people who for three generations have lived under the world's most repressive regime. He also discusses how South Korea has made the incredible leap from one of the world's poorest nations to one its richest and most dynamic.

Korea at War is the story of two nations with a shared past that could hardly be more different today. With over 50 color photographs and maps, this book is a must-read for anyone wanting to understand contemporary Asian politics and current affairs.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

288 pages, Paperback

Published June 6, 2023

Reviews

[Lee Hollenbeck · Rating 2 out of 5]

Made it about a quarter of the way through before putting it down. Simple, easy to understand ideas (helpful regarding a foreign culture) but the grammar, punctuation and in some cases spelling are at a high school level (author is a professor at JMU??). If you don't mind that, it probably is a decent short history.

[Ddspears · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good choice for someone want to know the detail on Korean war from start until present day, but some detail was easy end, not gave me deep enough. Example within book, it skipped most important event before Korea got annexed, Battle of Namdaemun on 1907. By the way, it's good book, good for reference.

[Rudi Opperman]

One of the best history books I have read. Also one of the most unbiased ones. So informative.

[Lyndsey Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent history of Korea and the war that has been going on for decades. Very informational.