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Chosin: Heroic Ordeal of the Korean War
Details the heroic combat operations of the X Corps of General MacArthur's Far East Command during the Chosin Reservoir campaign of 1950 in North Korea
480 pages, Paperback
First published December 12, 1981
49 people are currently reading
301 people want to read
About the author
Eric Hammel
98 books50 followersEric Hammel was born in 1946, in Salem, Massachusetts, and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Central High School of Philadelphia in January 1964 and earned a degree in Journalism from Temple University in 1972. His road to writing military history began at age twelve, when he was stuck in bed for a week with a childhood illness. Eric's father bought him the first paperback book he ever owned, Walter Lord's Day of Infamy. As he devoured the book, Eric realized that he wanted to write books exactly like it, what we now call popular narrative history. Lord had pieced together the book from official records illuminated with the recollections of people who were there. Eric began to write his first military history book when he was fifteen. The book eventually turned out to be Guadalcanal: Starvation Island. Eric completed the first draft before he graduated from high school. During his first year of college, Eric wrote the first draft of Munda Trail, and got started on 76 Hours when he was a college junior. Then Eric got married and went to work, which left him no time to pursue his writing except as a journalism student.
Eric quit school at the end of his junior year and went to work in advertising in 1970. Eric completed his journalism degree in 1972, moved to California in 1975, and finally got back to writing while he operated his own one-man ad agency and started on a family. 76 Hours was published in 1980, and Chosin followed in 1982. At the end of 1983 Eric was offered enough of an advance to write The Root: The Marines in Beirut to take up writing books full time. The rest, as they say, is history.
Eric eventually published under his own imprint, Pacifica Press, which morphed into Pacifica Military History and IPS Books. At some point in the late 1990s, Eric realized he had not written in five years, so he pretty much closed down the publishing operation and pieced together a string of pictorial combat histories for Zenith Press. Eric nominally retired in 2008 and took up writing as a full-time hobby writing two novels, 'Til The Last Bugle Call and Love and Grace. Fast forward to 2018 and Eric was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease and on August 25th 2020, Eric passed from this life to the next at the age of 74.
Eric quit school at the end of his junior year and went to work in advertising in 1970. Eric completed his journalism degree in 1972, moved to California in 1975, and finally got back to writing while he operated his own one-man ad agency and started on a family. 76 Hours was published in 1980, and Chosin followed in 1982. At the end of 1983 Eric was offered enough of an advance to write The Root: The Marines in Beirut to take up writing books full time. The rest, as they say, is history.
Eric eventually published under his own imprint, Pacifica Press, which morphed into Pacifica Military History and IPS Books. At some point in the late 1990s, Eric realized he had not written in five years, so he pretty much closed down the publishing operation and pieced together a string of pictorial combat histories for Zenith Press. Eric nominally retired in 2008 and took up writing as a full-time hobby writing two novels, 'Til The Last Bugle Call and Love and Grace. Fast forward to 2018 and Eric was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease and on August 25th 2020, Eric passed from this life to the next at the age of 74.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 13, 2021
Looks like I am in the minority again with this book which has mostly rave reviews.
I have read several books on the battle at Chosin Reservoir and am always looking to add to my knowledge of the major defeat of the American troops in the Korean War. That is not to say that this book doesn't fill in some of the gaps but it was a very dense read due to the detail.........so much detail. Every move by every platoon, and small group of soldiers, every move by the PLA/Red Chinese, every hand-to- hand combat no matter how minute. was covered in endless narrative.
I certainly am not unaware of the valor of the troops. It was amazing under impossible circumstances and they paid a terrible price. MacArthur was heady about the victory at Inchon and overreached with his next moves. A tragic mistake as the enemy troops overwhelmed the US at Chosin.
This is an interesting book but the author's approach was not my cup of tea.
I have read several books on the battle at Chosin Reservoir and am always looking to add to my knowledge of the major defeat of the American troops in the Korean War. That is not to say that this book doesn't fill in some of the gaps but it was a very dense read due to the detail.........so much detail. Every move by every platoon, and small group of soldiers, every move by the PLA/Red Chinese, every hand-to- hand combat no matter how minute. was covered in endless narrative.
I certainly am not unaware of the valor of the troops. It was amazing under impossible circumstances and they paid a terrible price. MacArthur was heady about the victory at Inchon and overreached with his next moves. A tragic mistake as the enemy troops overwhelmed the US at Chosin.
This is an interesting book but the author's approach was not my cup of tea.
August 18, 2012
My late father-in-law lived through this and saved many lives. Reading this book made me respect his positive outlook even more. I miss him.
August 19, 2009
Few Military Historians can write a tactical combat narrative as well as Eric Hammel. In his book Chosin he gives you a foxhole-eye view of one of the pivotal battles of the Korean War, in which approx. 30,000 coalition troops (comprised mainly of U.S. Marine and Army units) were surrounded by roughly 150,000 Chinese troops and managed to break out and survive. Hammel's writing has a visceral quality takes you right down to the foxhole level, you'll feel the anticipation as U.S. forces brace to repel wave after wave of Chinese Infantry, you'll also be astonished by the many acts of selfless heroism spotlighted in the book, most of all you'll feel the cold. He does a great job of relating the experience of the common marine/soldier, and the sheer grit, determination and will power it took for them to survive such adverse conditions. Chosin is one of the best books I've read on the conflict, absolutely essential reading.
May 10, 2007
Hammel is noted for his exhaustive research and epic narratives of important battles.
Never since Xenophon and the 10,000 marched out of Persia has a band of men faced more staggering odds, in the grip of a brutal Mother Nature, with only their collective will to live as the thread which kept them together.
One reinforced Marine division of 20,000 men face 15 times the number of Chinese troops. The Chinese, without declaring war, unexpectedly emerge from the first blinding blizzard of the year. The marines are trapped and strung out over 20 miles of tortuous mountain track. The Chinese have one mission - to destroy the American force in its entirety - in hopes of knocking America out of the Korean War.
Hammel gives us the eyewitness view of the private, the non-coms, the officers and generals from both sides. We learn how the stage is set, the players perform, the script revised and then burns into useless ashes - as minor characters play unexpected pivotal roles which turn the tide of battle.
Told with humor, pathos, and unblinking truth, "Chosin" is a a tribute to the Marine Corps, the American fighting spirirt, and the will to survive.
Never since Xenophon and the 10,000 marched out of Persia has a band of men faced more staggering odds, in the grip of a brutal Mother Nature, with only their collective will to live as the thread which kept them together.
One reinforced Marine division of 20,000 men face 15 times the number of Chinese troops. The Chinese, without declaring war, unexpectedly emerge from the first blinding blizzard of the year. The marines are trapped and strung out over 20 miles of tortuous mountain track. The Chinese have one mission - to destroy the American force in its entirety - in hopes of knocking America out of the Korean War.
Hammel gives us the eyewitness view of the private, the non-coms, the officers and generals from both sides. We learn how the stage is set, the players perform, the script revised and then burns into useless ashes - as minor characters play unexpected pivotal roles which turn the tide of battle.
Told with humor, pathos, and unblinking truth, "Chosin" is a a tribute to the Marine Corps, the American fighting spirirt, and the will to survive.
October 27, 2017
Well researched and written. Looks at the "attack in a different direction" from the perspective of the Marines and soldiers on the ground at the tip of the spear. Interviewing over 500 participates in the process of writing this book, the author is able to make the story personal at several different levels of the organizations involved; from privates up to regimental and division commanders and their staffs. The only thing missing from this tome is the true feeling you have when the mercury reaches 20 below. While he describes the cold endured quite accurately, it's just not the same as being there. Otherwise you are there on the battlefield fighting along side the Marines and soldiers as the take on the hoards of the People's Liberation Army. One of the author's better books.
December 29, 2019
Very detailed and concise account of the action around the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea during the winter of 1950. As US Marine and Army units approached the Yalu River border with China, hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops poured over the border and overran units around the Reservoir. Hammel describes the withdrawal of the troops with individual unit actions, personal accounts and tales of heroism during days and nights of sub-zero temperatures and snowfall. Pulling the Marine divisions out of the Reservoir with their wounded and dead just added another chapter to the Marines history.
July 10, 2017
Outstanding, well researched. Greatly appreciate well researched books.
November 9, 2024
I served in Korea and this book is a true history of what our vets went through
Amazing book highly recommend
Amazing book highly recommend
August 7, 2016
I wanted to read this book because my father was one of the "Frozen Chosin." I didn't know much about the war, and I soon found this wasn't the place to start. I just couldn't finish this book. It is written like a documentary, jumping from one area, one company to another. I repeatedly pulled up maps (which aren't included with this book) just to try to figure what the author was talking about. The book presumes that you already have a solid background knowledge about the war, the terrain and the situation. Maybe I will go back after I've read other books on the subject, but it's doubtful.
December 27, 2013
Another book that I didn't finish that I'm pretending I did. My Grandpa was at Chosin so I read to try to understand what it was like. However the book was written in a way that was very "Platoon 5 was on hill 1123 and flanked by company b". Probably great if you read military history often, but kept me from grasping what was going on. That said, I watched a documentary on it instead and was happy to have the grounding the book gave me while watching.
August 4, 2014
A hard read about true events.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews