Product Description
Stalins Eagles is the most complete and detailed book ever published on the Soviet aces. All of the great names are here: Kozhedub, Pokryshkin, Rechkalov, Koldunov, Popkov and numerous others whose thrilling exploits were an inspiration to their comrades ... Read more

Product Description
Investigating the late sixteenth through the nineteenth century, this work looks at the shifting boundaries between the Choso'n state and the adherents of Confucianism, Buddhism, Christianity, and popular religions. Seeking to define the meaning and constitutive elements of the hegemonic group and a particular marginalized community in this Confucian state, the contributors argue that the power of each group and the space it occupied were determined by a dynamic interaction of ideology, governmental policies, and the group's self-perceptions. Collectively, the volume counters the static view of the Korean Confucian state, elucidates its relationship to the wider Confucian community and religious groups, and suggests new views of the complex way in which each negotiated and adjusted its ideology and practices in response to the state's activities.JaHyun Kim Haboush is Professor of East Asian History and Culture at the University of Illinois. Martina Deuchler is Professor of Korean Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.Harvard East Asian Monographs, 182Harvard Hallym Series on Korean StudiesOctober 6 x 9 3 tables 325 pp. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Insight Into the Past
CULTURE AND THE STATE IN LATE CHOSON KOREA is a collection of six essays, edited by JaHyun Kim Haboush and Martina Deuschler, about the middle and late period of the Yi Dynasty in Choson (now North and South Korea) between the 16th and 19th Centuries. Hidden beneath its academic exterior are some exquisite gems for scholars and students of Korean history. Recently, the study of Korean culture and history has started to improve and attract international attention. This volume is one of the best to date.

The scope of the book and the collective researches of the scholars puts Korean history in a better light vis-a vis Chinese, Japanese, and other national histories. The editors begin with the intention to approach the factional quarreling over Confucian doctrine as a legitmate area of study, instead of dismissing it as negative. These debates about Confucian orthodoxy, Buddhism, shamanism, and Christianity are treated for their impact on living Korean culture. Also, these debates are discussed in their international context and future relevance.

One point discussed is the effect the fall of the Ming Dynasty in China to the Mongols had on Choson and the Confucian, Buddhist, and Christian scholars involved. Because Choson had derived its legitimacy from the Chinese Emperor and conducted itself as a vassal, the fall of the center of civilization to barbarians caused great concern to the Choson elite. Choson Confucian scholars had to search the canonical texts and find legitimacy for Choson again.

The volume also discusses Buddhism and Christianity. the work of men, like Hyujong, Tasan, and Christian matyrs, like Peter Yun and his family, are treated in the context of Choson's Neo-Confucian elite searching for legitimacy. The last essay concerning Christianity and Neo-Confucianism provides a great service to students of philosophy and the history of philosophy, by delineating the differences between Thomism and Confucianism, and, in the process, gives insight into the conflicts between modern Korea's culture and that of the West.

The essays, concerning shamanism and Confucianism, and the rise of Confucian academies, also puts modern Korean culture in perspective. Current debates, concerning government reform, education, and gender relations, all appear different.

Although this volume, due to the six different styles of the authors, is technically difficult, it is never dry or irrelevant. The serious student of Korean and Asian studies will appreciate this volume for its depth of information, analytic acumen, and its cast of characters.

Philosophical and historical book,very difficult...
This book introduce on the 17c's Korean custum. Prof. Martina Deuchler teaching in London University. Late Choson dynusty, very changing stream priod. Korean's philosophical background also changing. This book is very special book on Korean history and philosophy. ... Read more

Product Description
In The War for Korea, 1945-1950: A House Burning, one of our most distinguished military historians argued that the conflict on the Korean peninsula in the middle of the twentieth century was first and foremost a war between Koreans that began in 1948. In the second volume of a monumental trilogy, Allan R. Millett now shifts his focus to the twelve-month period from North Korea's invasion of South Korea on June 25, 1950, through the end of June 1951--the most active phase of the internationalized "Korean War."

Moving deftly between the battlefield and the halls of power, Millett weaves together military operations and tactics without losing sight of Cold War geopolitics, strategy, and civil-military relations. Filled with new insights on the conflict, his book is the first to give combined arms its due, looking at the contributions and challenges of integrating naval and air power with the ground forces of United Nations Command and showing the importance of Korean support services. He also provides the most complete, and sympathetic, account of the role of South Korea's armed forces, drawing heavily on ROK and Korea Military Advisory Group sources.

Millett integrates non-American perspectives into the narrative--especially those of Mao Zedong, Chinese military commander Peng Dehuai, Josef Stalin, Kim Il-sung, and Syngman Rhee. And he portrays Walton Walker and Matthew Ridgway as the heroes of Korea, both of whom had a more profound understanding of the situation than Douglas MacArthur, whose greatest flaw was not his politics but his strategic and operational incompetence.

Researched in South Korean, Chinese, and Soviet as well as American and UN sources, Millett has exploited previously ignored or neglected oral history collections--including interviews with American and South Korean officers--and has made extensive use of reports based on interrogations of North Korean and Chinese POWs. The end result is masterful work that provides both a gripping narrative and a greater understanding of this key conflict in international and American history.

This book is part of the Modern War Studies series. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

It's all about context
A subordinate of the Duke of Wellington at Waterloo is supposed to have said of Napoleon that "he moves his cannon with the likeness of a pistol."Allan Millett with similiar agility and deftness maneuvers from the tactics and battlefield engagements of this internationalized Korean War to the strategic and policy debates that raged more or less continuously in Moscow, Beijing, Washington, (and to a lesser extent in coverage) in Seoul and Pyongyang.Dr. Millett has been immersed in the Korean War for over twenty years and it shows with his command of every conceivable source -- memoirs, operational reports, political reports and cables, letters and journals, official studies and books, and a vast secondary literature in Korean, Chinese, Russian, and English.The writing style is crisp, engaging, at times humorous, but always incisive in detail and analysis.

Dr. Millett's greatest contribution perhaps is to lay out the full context of the War.In this second of three volumes, the "what" is always accompanied and explained by the "how" and "why."The focus of this volume is the internationalized war beginning with the North Korean invasion in June 1950 and terminating with the initial tentative feelers for a negotiated settlement a year later.The intervention of foreign powers (North Korean, United Nations/United States, and the People's Republic of China) in the southern civil war is fully assessed with a comprehensive analysis of the military impact and the delicate political maneuvering that all parties had to manage.The deliberations of the Truman administration ought not to occasion much surprise; more notable perhaps is the policy wrangling on the Communist side.Millett shows clearly how decisions made and not made in the various capitals affected the strategy and conduct of the shooting war.(Students of U.S. Cold War policy and history will be pleased with the detailed narrative of American defense policy and the debates, painstakingly reconstructed from primary sources, surrounding rearmament and military intervention.)

The analysis of campaigns and battles is first rate and thorough.Some aspects that most histories remain obscure on but are clearly illuminated here are: the competence and preparadness of the Korean People's Army (less than presumed), the fighting ability and spirit of the ROK Army (greater than usually acknowledged), the tactical and operational handicaps of the U.S. Eighth Army, the personalities that affected tactical and strategic choices, the difficulties and real accomplishments of the Chinese People's Volunteer Force, Stalin's conundrum and his resolution to fight to the last Chinese.

A cliche in the business is that the Korean War is "the forgotten war."This label is not true as there are dozens of Korean War histories.However, it is true that the war is generally misunderstood -- then and now.Too much effort has traditionally devolved on the American-Chinese confrontation, which has skewed many interpretations of the conflict.Millett brings us back to the reality that this was a Korean conflict (it was their war first).Intervention ensured that a general status quo would prevail.How that status quo would be settled, and whether (and how) it could be maintained is only hinted at in this volume, but will be the central question of volume three, covering the years 1951-1953.

An impressive look at Korea and its wars
This book is the second volume of a planned trilogy of the Korean conflict. The first volume deals with the post WWII friction that began after the super powers carved the country up in August 1945. Its about the Communist faction in the south stirring up anarchy and revolt in order to unite the two halves into one Communist state.

In this second volume, after a brief summary of the first volume, the author quickly moves into the first year of war which will turn out to be the busiest military wise. The story begins with Kim Il-sung, with the help of Stalin, mobilizing for war with the south. Stalin didn't expect much of a response from the US and thought the war would be over in weeks but as it turns out this war will escalate more than he or probably anyone else expected. In addition to the battles between the NKPA and the ROK, there will be the war between the US and her Allies and China. And there is the political war between Stalin and Truman, Communism against Democracy.
It will cover the lead up to war in early 1950, the invasion in June and the subsequent battles on and off the battlefield through July 1951 when the first peace conference is attempted at Kaesong. This overview, this worldview will cover both political and military history of the two Koreas and all the key international players that will be involved in the conflict.

In the political arena there are many people discussed, probably a hundred. The list includes Stalin, Mao, MacArthur, Rhee, Kim, Atlee and especially Truman. President Truman and his administration play by far the biggest part in this story. While Stalin and Mao are included their roles are much smaller in this book. For books with greater coverage of these two antagonists read Alan J Levine's "Stalin's Last War" and Jian Chen's "China's Road to the Korean War".
The military commanders that receive the most attention are MacArthur, Walker, Ridgeway, Almond and Peng Dehuai. The Corps and Divisional commanders have smaller parts. Though key incidents of the British and Turkish forces are discussed, their commanders receive little attention.
Both the military and political spheres are covered well, but from my perspective the political is more comprehensive. It appears that every key political event that is caused by or influences the war with regards to Truman, his administration or Congress is discussed. After reading these two books, you can tell the author has gained an appreciation of Koreans and their history and as such has covered the ROK better than some books. The coverage on the military side seems to me a little uneven but no event is drastically slighted.
On the military side, you'll read about the KPA invasion, the capture of Seoul, the Pusan Perimeter and breakout, the Inchon landings, the recapture of Seoul, the drive to the Yalu River, the Chinese counterattack and its subsequent offensives, the UN retreat to the south, Ridgeway's influence on 8th Army, the expulsion of the Chinese from the south. As an overview which also includes the air and navy engagments, the details of the tactical engagements are not presented.

As an overview for the first year of the war which was the busiest time, this is an excellent read. The author not only describes the many events, both local and international, but also presents the repercussions of these events and an accurate appraisal of the key people's performance in performing their jobs. New and intermediate students of this conflict will be able to get a real understanding of it.
In additions to the narrative, the author provides 20 good maps covering the key offensives. These maps were quite helpful. A small assortment of photos of key people and the battlefield are also included.

The final volume will cover the few remaining battles and the acrimonious negotiations that will last until 1953.
To gain even more knowledge, study the impressive 107 page Notes section, the 33 page Bibliography and the comprehensive 33 page Index. This section is one of the best I've ever seen and will definitely be helpful if further study is desired.
When you consider the whole package, the competent political and military overview plus the tremendous wealth of opportunities in the final section, this book deserves your serious consideration. ... Read more

Product Description

As pungent and concise as his short histories of both world wars, Stokesbury's survey of "the half war" takes a broad view and seems to leave nothing out but the details. The first third covers the North Korean invasion of June 1950, the Pusan perimeter crisis, MacArthur's master stroke at Inchon and the intervention by Chinese forces that November. At this point, other popular histories of the war reach the three-quarter mark, ending often with a cursory summary of the comparatively undramatic three-and-a-half years required to bring the war to its ambiguous conclusion on July 27, 1953. Stokesbury renders the latter period as interesting as the operational fireworks of the first six months: the Truman-MacArthur controversy; the political limitations on U.S. air power; the need for the Americans to fight the war as cheaply as possible, due to NATO commitments; the prolonged negotiations at Panmunjom over the prisoner-exchange issue; and the effect of the war on the home front. Whether the United States could have/should have stayed out of the war in the first place comes under discussion: "no" on both counts, according to the author.

Customer Reviews (12)

A Great Overview with Enough Detail
I sometimes worry that one-volume overviews are too simplistic.That's not a problem here.Stokesbury's book offers plenty of detail on the political background that led to the war and the campaigns/various stages of the Korean War.Pusan Perimeter, Inchon, MacArthur's dismissal -- it's all there.Read this book first if you want to learn about the Korean War.I've read many others and this one strikes the best balance of detail v. overview.

`The War over Korea'
Time line

46 March: Iron Curtain speech by Churchill
46 Fall: Greek Civil War started by Greek communists
47 June: Truman Doctrine/Marshall Plan
47 Winter: Manchuria falls under control of Mao's forces
48 February: Communist coup in Czechoslovakia to prevent govt from accepting Marshall Aid.
48 February: "People's Republic of North Korea" proclaimed
48 June: Berlin blockaded (at a time when only 1 USA division remained in all of Western Europe)
49 April: NATO formed
49 May: Federal republic of Germany proclaimed
50 January: USSR walks out UN Security Council (in protest over not seating Mao over Chiang Kai-shek)

50 June 25: North Korea invades South Korea, with an estimated 135,000 men under arms and between 120 and 150 Russian-made T34 tanks.South Korea on day one of the invasion had 95,000 men."It had no tanks, few antitank weapons, and no heavy artillery."

What happened next is then thoroughly detailed: how the US intervened; how MacArthur righted the situation and how the situation stabilized.Most of the book concerns the first year of the war, but that's owing to the fact that the front line barely moved between July 1951 and July 1953.(Post-MacArthur, the policy was, in effect, to build a defensive wall and let the commies bang their heads against it until exhaustion and, thus, this period, in some respects, was less dramatic and/or eventful, from a military perspective, than the first year of the war.)

This book is basically thus a military history of the Korean War.And, toward that end, the author actually does a fine job characterizing the strategies of various campaigns; with the relevant details of which army did what, when, and for what goal.It is, moreover, a military history for the general reader, nevertheless.The book is a very manageable 218 pages (258 pages if maps and title pages are counted) and pretty much gives you enough detail on most campaigns, as well as an adequate treatment of General MacArthur and his subsequent dismissal by America's commander in chief at the time.

Why North Korea chose to invade, however, or even why it chose to invade at the time it did are questions pretty much ignored by the author.What did, if anything, the Soviet Union and/or China have to do with this? Interestingly, Stalin only merits 5 mentions in this book.4 of the mentions are basically asides.

The fifth mention is the only relevant one:

"The precise relationship between the North Korean regime and the Soviet Union remains murky.One authority maintains that Joseph Stalin, appraised of Kim Il Sung's intention to invade South Korea, came back with a "Do it but I don't want to know about it" type of reply.Yet whether it was coincidence or not, the first big break in the logjam came shortly after Stalin's death.This occurred on March 5."

What about the Chinese?How had they affected, or not affected, the start of the war?The author has little to say about the Chinese either.He does point out though that the Chinese shortly thereafter really were running the war.The Korean War, one could easily argue, was not between Koreans, but between the USA and China, although it was started by Koreans (from the North) and stabilized by the south's forces after America was able to check the 400,000 Chinese that came to "the aid of North Korea."Initially the Korean Communists from the North were extremely successful, of course, but then almost were routed by MacArthur's Inchon landing masterstroke and counterattack.Then it became a war between the Chinese on one hand and Americans and Koreans from the south on the other side.In 1951 China had upwards of four hundred thousand soldiers engaged in the war, four times the number of soldiers that North Korea was able to keep in the field, whereas the division between American and Korean forces from the south was approaching 50-50 at around this juncture.To boot, the Chinese had many more forces just north of the Korean border in Manchuria to draw upon through rotations or what have you; from a Manchuria it should be highlighted that was a safe haven.The title Korean War thus is somewhat of a misnomer.Yes, it was a "police action" to be legalistic, but it was far from a war between Koreans, as popular culture seems to think of it as, wherein America bucked up one side to keep it from falling to the other side.If it wasn't for the Chinese there wouldn't be such a sad state as North Korea now and while the Korean War was started by Koreans (from the North) it was in great measure, after the initial period, fought by the Chinese Army.`The War over Korea' would be a more accurate classification of the conflict as this book makes clear, since for most of the time the war was between China on one side with America and Koreans from the South on the other side. (09Aug) Cheers

Nice Overview of this Forgotten War
James L. Stokesbury's "Short History of the Korean War" is an excellent overview of this forgotten conflict.Stokesbury does an excellent job setting the stage for the Korean War, explaining it in sufficient detail (despite the title "short history"), and commenting on its importance.

Stokesbury focuses most of the book on the military conflict on the ground in Korea, and most of that on the first year of the war (before the war petered out into a static conflict).Stokesbury discusses the military and political triumphs and foibles of MacArthur during the war.He also covers the diplomatic side of the conflict, the air war, the naval war, and the home front.

This is a very well-written book and is a good starting point for anyone interested in the Korean War.

Another Look at the Forgotten War
Professor Stokesbury has developed a cottage industry in churning out these short histories of all the major wars.I have not read the others but can without reservation, recommend his Short History of the Korean War.

Stokesbury presents new analysis in several areas.The early part of the book looks at the situation in Korea in 1945 and how the seeds of war were sown.Korea had been a playground for the great powers of Asia for more than a century when it was partioned in 1945, with the Russians taking the North.Ironically the UN forces were almost driven off the peninsula in the summer of 1950 because the Communists had more armor, especially tanks that the UN could not stop.

Next McArthur launched his invasion at Inchon, which Stokesbury describes magically as the general's final great moment, an invasion that he alone could envision and implement.Now the action slows to a halt as various negotiators make no progress for three years until the status quo ante is re-installed and everyone goes home, except the 40,000 UN troops still there 50 years later.

Stokesbury brings to life some little remembered pieces of the action, like the prison riots where the US commandant is briefly taken hostage by his own captives; the political stirrings back home where Eisenhower sweeps to power, partially by promising to go to Korea and end this thing; and the confused state of friend vs. foe that is created when the lines change so dramatically in a short time. As in the USSR in 1945, there were a lot of POW's held by the Allies that did not want to go home, either to Stalin in 1945 or to the North in 1953.

There is a lot in here for us to chew on in 2007 also, as Korea is the closest analog to what is happening now in Iraq.Both were police actions, blessed by the UN, that became more difficult to win than ever envisioned by those who promoted initial involvement. In both Korea and Iraq, the US had few (external) allies, no attractive democratic leadership or traditions, and an enemy with hidden allies (Soviets in Korea and everyone that hates us, here in Iraq).

Temendously Articulate Book on the Korean War
Stokesbury writes a readable, informative and articulate book on the Korean War that covers the war in great detail surprisingly in a mere 250 plus pages. The author has a great gift for economy of words, saying a lot with a few sentences. One example is his brief discussion of the relationship between Syngman Rhee, Chiang Kai-Shek and MacArthur where the author notes they all got along well because each was a megalomaniac. Stokesbury covers the political situation before the war and notes that the unfinished business of WWII causing the division of countries led to the future wars of Asia. The political issues of supporting Rhee, more of a dictator than a leader of a democracy, are very well discussed. The author also articulates well that up to that time, the US was never ready for wars and Korea is a prime example of out dated equipment and under supported troops, The author covers the MacArthur controversies, the great Inchon move and the odd split command between Generals Walker, west side and Almond (MacArthur protégé) on the east that is virtually over run when the Chinese amazingly hide their large forces in the mountains dividing both main columns. Stokesbury describes battles strategically along with the command structure as well as the movement of divisions and corps to give you the overall picture. In this small book, he even describes well the problems of prisoner exchange, North Korean prison riots, and the abuse of prisoners by the North Koreans. Stokesbury even covers the pain staking negotiations well and utilizes great quotes such as a negotiator representing the UN stating that the North Koreans were very obstinate in that they could insist that "Two plus two equals six and only after intense negotiations would they relent and then agree that it equals 5". This book is a great short history giving you a lot of information, allowing you the economic choice of learning the basics or cuing your interest into more detailed reading. A great point Stokesbury makes is the difficulty that open societies that place a high value in human life have in fighting wars against dictators that are willing to lose thousands of their people in return for their central gains. The only negative, there is not any references to the recently declassified information that indicates that several American POWs were never released and that Eisenhower was aware of that fact. ... Read more

Product Description

By expanding the definition of "epistle" to include any writing that addresses the intended receiver directly, JaHyun Kim Haboush introduces readers to the rich epistolary practice of Chos?n Korea. The Chos?n dynasty (1392-1910) produced an abundance of epistles, writings that mirror the genres of neighboring countries (especially China) while retaining their own specific historical trajectory. Written in both literary Chinese and vernacular Korean, the writings collected here range from royal public edicts to private letters, a fascinating array that blurs the line between classical and everyday language and the divisions between men and women. Haboush's selections also recast the relationship between epistolography and the concept of public and private space.

Haboush groups her epistles according to where they were written and read: public letters, letters to colleagues and friends, social letters, and family letters. Then she arranges them according to occasion: letters on leaving home, deathbed letters, letters of fiction, and letters to the dead. She examines the mechanics of epistles, their communicative space, and their cultural and political meaning. With its wholly unique collection of materials,Epistolary Korea produces more than a vivid chronicle of pre- and early modern Korean life. It breaks new ground in establishing the terms of a distinct, non-European form of epistolography.

Customer Reviews (1)

Korean Literary History Vital
While I have not read this book as yet, I look forward to getting it.My studies in the area of literary Korea (mostly poetry and linguistic issues) has shown me that there is a wonderful body of human expression which the so-called western academic tradition is ignorant of and is therefore missing a great deal.The possibility of reading the 'letters' from the Choson period is immensely exciting, and I hope that many will take advantage of this work. ... Read more

Product Description
The book explores the implications of the democratic movement that took place in Gwangju, a southwestern city of Korea, in May 1980 when military paratroopers brutally crushed a group of protesters who demonstrated against General Chun Doo-hwan, who was about to become the country¡¦s president. Because of the event now known as the Gwangju Uprising, 191 people perished and 852 were wounded.In The Gwangju Uprising, Choi Jungwoon analyzes various discourses and motives of the uprising and vividly paints the demonstrators¡¦ street battles against paratroopers. He gives an in-depth scrutiny of the participants¡¦ mentalities and incentives, and the type of brutality involved. He also examines the stages the participants went through during the uprising, from the peace and togetherness they had at first, to the internal conflict that soon followed, to the lessons they learned in the uprising¡¦s aftermath. Choi argues that the united front experienced by the participants during the uprising was a driving force that changed modern Korean history. ... Read more

Product Description
Master embroiderer and world-renowned textile historian Young Yang Chung brings a wealth of new information to light in Silken Threads, to date one of the most authoritative and comprehensive guides to the origins, history, aesthetics, and cultural context of embroidered textiles in East Asia. Lavishly illustrated with photographs of magnificent dragon and bridal robes, rank badges, kimonos, and other gorgeous embroidered textiles, this book is not only an indispensable reference in the field but also a delight to the eye.

The reader will discover in greater detail than ever before the fascinating evolution of the elaborately embroidered rank badge, a crucial element of clothing for all government officials at court in East Asian cultures. Chung's recent findings about Korean and Vietnamese embroidery traditions are also new to this book. The author's many revelations, uncovered through intensive research since the publication of her 1979 book The Art of Oriental Embroidery, should settle longstanding debates among textile scholars.AUTHOR BIO: Young Yang Chung, world-renowned embroiderer, is the author of Abrams' Painting with a Needle. Her 1979 book, The Art of Oriental Embroidery, was the first English-language book devoted to the development of silk embroidery in East Asia. She divides her time between her native Korea and New York. Robert D. Mowry is the Alan J. Dworsky Curator of Chinese Art at the Harvard University Art Museums. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

IF YOU LOVE FIBER ARTS
I discovered this book at the library, renewed it several times, and then decided I just had to have it.I love fiber arts.The work from the countries of Asia stupefies the mind with its intricacy, delicacy, and sheer beauty.The book explains the meanings of many of the designs and weaves history with aesthetics.The author is an accomplished needle artist herself.

Stunning Beauty
I splurged and ordered this book, and am I glad that I did.It was a jaw-dropping feast for the eyes, and well-worth ever penny spent on it.

The photographs are absolutely amazing, the details are brought to light
exceptionally well, and the text illuminates this Asian craft world just
perfectly.

One of the best features of this volume is that one can readily SEE in detail the various works of the needleworker's arts from each timeper-
iod, providing as an added bonus, inspiration for one's own embroidery.

I highly recommend this book, forneedleworkers and designers and for
the aficionado of handwork arts.

Textile Treasures - a review by Jocelyn Chatterton.
This comprehensive account of East Asian embroidery is a must for any textile collector.Beautifully illustrated throughout and wonderfully informative it educates and feasts the eye. The photographic details are very clear and provide a good indication of the different textures.There is also a useful, fully comprehensive bibliography encouraging further exploration of this fascinating subject.

Silken Threads reviewed by Judith Rutherford
Silken Threads leads the reader through a wonderful journey charting the evolution of the embroidery of the East Asian region.

Dr. Chung apart from being a Master Embroiderer, and probably the only women in the word who has had a Museum named after her in her native Korea, is also a well respected Art Historian.This is not a "how to" book but a serious study of the history and art as it relates to the embroidery of China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam.

It is well illustrated and reflects the many years of study that Dr. Chung has spent researching this absorbing area of study.

Silken Threads reviewedby MarilynGardnerHamburger
Silken Threads is real winner ! Collectors, Asian Art scholars ,and Costume designers ,both fashion and theater,will find this book anindispensable reference work in the field of East Asian embroidered textile and costume. What this book is NOT is a"how-to" on embroidery.

Dr.Chung gives a comprehensive historyof the evolution of East Asian embroidery and the significant contributions it has made to the cultural history of the region. The influence of China and the dissemination of Chinese techniques , motifs and artisticconvention on other regions in East Asia are thoroughly discussed. The author examines in depth a wide variety of embroidered costume ,accessories,household furnishings and religious textiles.

Perhaps the most valuable aspect of this book,and there are many,is its pioneering effort in the field of Vietnamese textiles and
costume,a subject largely ignored before this publication .

Silken Threads is a exemplary production of scholarship,beautifully illustrated and completely documented .Dr.Chung's grasp of her subject represents the culmination of many years of extensive research by a leading authority on East Asian embroidered textiles . ... Read more

Product Description

This fully updated second edition of The Making of Modern Korea provides a thorough, balanced and engaging history of Korea from 1910 to the present day. The text is unique in placing emphasis on Korea’s regional and geographical context, through which Buzo analyzes the influence of bigger and more powerful states on the peninsula of Korea.

Key features of the book include:

• comprehensive coverage of Korean history
• up-to-date analysis of important contemporary developments, including North Korea’s controversial missile and nuclear tests
• comparative focus on North and South Korea
• an examination of Korea within its regional context
• a detailed chronology and suggestions for further reading.

The Making of Modern Korea is a valuable one-volume resource for students of modern Korean history, international politics and Asian Studies.

Product Description
This comprehensive narrative history of Korean literature provides essential information for scholars and students as well as others. Combining history and criticism, the study reflects the latest scholarship and includes an account of the development of all genres. In 25 chapters, it covers twentieth-century poetry, fiction by women, and the literature of North Korea. It will be a major contribution to the field and a study that will remain for many years the primary resource for studying Korean literature. ... Read more

Product Description
East Asia from 1400 to 1850 was a vibrant web of connections, and the southern coast of the Korean peninsula participated in a maritime world that stretched to Southeast Asia and beyond. Within this world were Japanese pirates, traders, and fishermen. They brought things to the Korean peninsula and they took things away. The economic and demographic structures of Kyongsang Province had deep and wide connections with these Japanese traders. Social and political clashes revolving around the Japan House in Pusan reveal Korean mentalities towards the Japanese connection. This study seeks to define 'Korea' by examining its frontier with Japan. The guiding problems are the relations between structures and agents and the self-definitions reached by pre-modern Koreans in their interaction with the Japanese. Case studies range from demography to taxation to trade to politics to prostitution. The study draws on a wide base of primary sources for Korea and Japan and introduces the problems that animate modern scholarship in both countries. It offers a model approach for Korea's northern frontier with China and shows that the peninsula was and is a complex brocade of differing regions.The book will be of interest to anyone concerned with pre-1900 East Asia, Korea in particular, and especially Korea's relations with the outside world. Anyone interested in early-modern Japan and its external relations will also find it essential reading. ... Read more

Product Description
In examining the influence of historical analogies on decisions to use--or not use--force, military strategist Jeffrey Record assesses every major application of U.S. force from the Korean War to the NATO war on Serbia. Specifically, he looks at the influence of two analogies: the democracies? appeasement of Hitler at Munich and America's defeat in the Vietnam War. His book judges the utility of these two analogies on presidential decision-making and finds considerable misuse of them in situations where force was optional. He points to the Johnson administration's application of the Munich analogy to the circumstances of Southeast Asia in 1965 as the most egregious example of their misuse, but also cites the faulty reasoning by historical analogy that prevailed among critics of Reagan's policy in Central America and in Clinton's use of force in Haiti and the former Yugoslavia.

The author's findings show generational experience to be a key influence on presidential decision-making: Munich persuaded mid-twentieth-century presidents that force should be used early and decisively while Vietnam cautioned later presidents against using force at all. Both analogies were at work for the Gulf War, with Munich urging a decision for war and Vietnam warning against a graduated and highly restricted use of force. Record also reminds us of the times when presidents have used analogies to mobilize public support for action they have already decided to take. Addressing both the process of presidential decision-making and the wisdom of decisions made, this well-reasoned book offers timely lessons to a broad audience that includes political scientists, military historians, defense analysts, and policy makers, as well as those simply curious about history's influence. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Very important read for leaders and citizens alike
I don't know if Jeffrey Record had the then-impending, now underway, war against Iraq in mind when he wrote this important book, but I don't think he could have made this any more timely if he had. From politicians to talk radio, the metaphors of "appeasement" and "avoiding another Vietnam" loom large in the debate over Iraq. I would suggest that this title be made required reading for anyone who dares send those metaphors into battle.

Record argues that Munich and Vietnam have been the dominant historical memes in White Houses deciding whether or not to employ American power around the world. For better or worse, what various Presidents and their advisors have taken to be "the lessons of Munich" and/or "the lessons of Vietnam" have been important, sometimes deciding, factors. Not surprisingly, Record finds that those "lessons" have often been misinterpreted and mis-applied by our political leaders, many times with serious consequences.

While this book is especially useful for anyone in, or who fancies themselves someday being in, a position of political influence, Record's work is also valuable reading for the rest of us. That's because he also analyzes how those same historical memes have been used by Presidents and their spokesmen to justify particular courses of action to the American people. It's important that we be able to recognize when that's being done, and equipped to decide whether the metaphor is valid. This title is a very useful tool in that process.

Duff Cooper, a British politician and contemporary of Winston Churchill, once wrote that one of the problems with democracy is that too few democratic leaders read history. The corollary of that, Record might argue, is that even the ones who have read history are apt to misinterpret it, or color their interpretations to justify actions they have already decided are desirable. An attractive metaphor can exert powerful force on decision-makers. Few things are more seductive ... or potentially more dangerous. Jeffrey Record is to be commended for helping the reader see though the seductiveness and apply the cold light of logical thought. ... Read more

Product Description

Mr. Palais theorizes in his important book on Korea that the remarkable longevity of the Yi dynasty (1392-1910) was related to the difficulties the country experienced in adapting to the modern world. He suggests that the aristocratic and hierarchical social system, which was the source of stability of the dynasty, was also the cause of its weakness.

The period from 1864 to 1873 was one in which the monarchy attempted to increase and expand central power at the expense of the powerful aristocracy. But the effort failed, and 1874 saw a rebirth of bureaucratic and aristocratic dominance. What this meant when Korea was "opened" two years later to the outside world was that the country was poorly suited to the attainment of modern national objectives--the aggrandizement of state wealth and power--in competition with other nations. Thus any sense of national purpose was subverted, and the leadership could not generate the unified support needed for either modernization or domestic harmony. The consequences for the twentieth-century world have been portentous.

Product Description
North Korea remains the most mysterious of all Communist countries. The acute shortage of available sources has made it a difficult subject of scholarship. Through his access to Soviet archival material made available only a decade ago, contemporary North Korean press accounts, and personal interviews, Andrei Lankov presents for the first time a detailed look at one of the turning points in North Korean history: the country's unsuccessful attempts to de-Stalinize in the mid-1950s. He demonstrates that, contrary to common perception, North Korea was not a realm of undisturbed Stalinism; Kim Il Sung had to deal with a reformist opposition that was weak but present nevertheless.

Lankov traces the impact of Soviet reforms on North Korea, placing them in the context of contemporaneous political crises in Poland and Hungary. He documents the dissent among various social groups (intellectuals, students, party cadres) and their attempts to oust Kim in the unsuccessful "August plot" of 1956. His reconstruction of the Peng-Mikoyan visit of that year--the most dramatic Sino-Soviet intervention into Pyongyang politics--shows how it helped bring an end to purges of the opposition. The purges, however, resumed in less than a year as Kim skillfully began to distance himself from both Moscow and Beijing. The final chapters of this fascinating and revealing study deal with events of the late 1950s that eventually led to Kim's version of "national Stalinism." Lankov unearths data that, for the first time, allows us to estimate the scale and character of North Korea's Great Purge.

Meticulously researched and cogently argued, Crisis in North Korea is a must-read for students and scholars of Korea and anyone interested in political leadership and personality cults, regime transition, and communist politics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A rare insight
It is unfortunate that one of the reviewers here decided to judge the merits of this book by its writing style rather than its substance. Yes, Dr. Lankov's English is not his first, nor his second language (Korean), but his third. Still, despite some shortcomings in style, Dr. Lankov's insight on North Korea is unparalleled in the modern Western study of the subject: he had an exceptional opportunity to spend several years inside North Korea as a scholar. I've read many of his articles in Russian and in English and have come to only admire his acute observational skills within a system known to be extremely hostile to any attempt to be judged or evaluated. Especially by an outsider. Kudos to Dr. Lankov.

excellent
If the reviewer above can only "guess" that the author is not a native English speaker, then he/she is obviously unfamiliar with North Korean studies, in which field the Russian-born Dr. Lankov has been the pre-eminent scholar for about a decade now. I am baffled that such a reviewer would have even bought a relatively pricey book with a subject matter like this.
In any case, the style is not difficult to read at all; Dr. Lankov is, after all, a scholar who writes very regularly for popular newspapers and magazines, and therefore knows well how to get his point across as straightforwardly as possible (and with no jargon whatsoever). His work can easily be found online, so you can confirm the smoothness of his prose for yourself, and its utter lack of pomposity, before buying the book.
On to Crisis in North Korea itself. Those with only a casual interest in North Korea might find it heavy going. For scholars, on the other hand, it is an invaluable study of what has perhaps been the most neglected period in the history of the country - the period after the Korean War and before the cultural revolution of the mid-1960s. Making the book particularly invaluable is not only the author's access to Russian-language sources, but his obvious lack of any polemic or ideological axe to grind. One comes away from the book with the realization that a lot more was going on behind the scenes than one dreamed. My only quibble is that Crisis in North Korea might have benefited from more of a definition of Stalinism/de-Stalinization etc. Dr. Lankov appears to be using it in the popular Western sense as a synonym for "totalitarianism with a personality cult" and not in the sense of a specific political ideology derived from Marxism-Leninism. (If the word were used in the latter sense, North Korea could be said to have been de-Stalinized almost as soon as the Soviets pulled their troops out!)
I can heartily recommend the book to all North Korea scholars and everyone with a serious interest in Cold War studies. Those who are new to North Korean history should first read something more general, like Dae Sook Suh's biography of Kim Il Sung or Bradley Martin's Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader, and then move on to Dr. Lankov's book about the Soviet occupation of North Korea.

Turgid and pretentious writing style
I purchased this book hoping to learn more about North Korea. Sadly the book is almost impossible to read. The author has a poor command of the English language and his pompous style makes it difficult to keep your eyes open. My guess is that the author writes in English as a second language.

I returned the book to Amazon. ... Read more

Product Description
Operating from a clandestine camp on an island off western North Korea, Army lieutenant Ben Malcom coordinated the intelligence activities of eleven partisan battalions, including the famous White Tigers. With Malcom’s experiences as its focus, White Tigers examines all aspects of guerrilla activities in Korea. This exciting memoir makes an important contribution to the history of special operations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Unsung Hero
COL Malcom's book tells the story of Fifth Column operations behind enemy lines during the Korean War.He is one of several
U.S. Army officers who salvaged "special operations" lessons from WWII and applied them with a minimum of high-level support
from the orthodox allied military commands. It is really a tale of a two-front war, facing the North Koreans on one side and
the establishment military bureaucracy on the other. He often worked with Korean partisans, alone, a hundred miles inside North
Korea when capture was certain death and he had no place to hide and no support.The courage, audacity, and intelligence
displayed in these operations were extraordinary even among soldiers for whom courage was a given.He earned the credit for
being one of the "Fathers of modern Special Operations" a hundred times over.

His legacy gave us the modern Special Forces (Green Berets) with their ability to "reach out and touch" Al Queda and other
terrorist threats to western civilization."White Tigers" is readable, engaging, and informative and a story that will be
admired by anyone who roots for freedom.

White Tigers
This was a very exiting book about the adventures of Lt.Ben Malcom operating behind enemy lines during the Korean War. It is very eye-opening to see that some of our greatest heros were unsung heros at the time these events actually happened. It is good to see now after so many years the sacrifices that they made.

Good Read and Accurate
Excellent read for Korean vet's.Without these Korean partisans the peace agreement would have taken a lot longer and more Americans would have died.

I was there at about the same time period but on the East Coast.It reflects my own views about the U.S. Army operations and attitudes.

Courage and Unequaled Valor
When I received my May, 2002 VFW magazine I was overwhelmed by the story of guerrilla operations that were successfully carried out in North Korea during the Korean War.When I had finished reading Colonel Ben S. Malcom's "White Tigers" I knew that I had read a story that would touch the minds and hearts of all who had been placed in harm's way. I was able to sense his frustration, his anger, his fear, his disappointments, his elation at success, but more important, his love for his country.He dared to expose his depth of compassion and deep commitment to the partisan force placed under his charge.By relating his personal experience, he brought to light the danger for having a short sighted reluctance within the upper echelon of the army in finding merit in unconventional warfare.I am extremely grateful for his leadership and an intimate knowledge of the brave service and sacrifice made by him and members of the White Tiger donkey units.As his story continued to unfold, I was drawn to recall my own expreience that took place but a scant few miles from where Ben's White Tiger operations were being carried out.I had been a member of Operation Broken Reed, an intelligence mission that took place during January, 1952.I was rescued along with two other surviving team members following the mission. I recalled the bitter cold, the fear of being captured and what that would mean, the extreme fatigue resulting from a thirty-mile forced march to the Yellow Sea, the deteriorating physical and mental condition of my two comrades, the difficult terrain and the rescue. As I read Ben's book I realized that the point of our rescue from a ledge overlooking the Yellow Sea was but a few miles from Wollae and Paengnyong Islands, the White Tiger base of operation.When I wrote the colonel in June, 2002 I received a warm immediate reply. He stated that there was no doubt in his mind that "Operation Broken Reed" was a CIA operation. Colonel Malcom's encouragement was instrumental in my publishing the story of Broken Reed that has been published by Da Capo Press.In my estimation, Colonel Malcom's silver star is inadequate to acknowledge the level of his bravery and service.I highly recommend the reading of White Tigers.

Arthur L. Boyd, Lt. Col, US Army, Retired.

A story long un-told
In the world of foreign military advisors, Ben Malcom's name is not a household word in comparison to Joe Stilwell, John Glubb, Edward Lansdale, and, of course, T E Lawrence.His short memoir of life with North Korean guerrillas during the Korean War deserves to be read along with those of his more famous colleages.

Ben Malcom was trained as a traditional military officer, but was thrust into a highly unusual role as an advisor to a small group of North Korean guerrillas fighting against the North Korean government.Until the 1990s, the missions the so-called White Tigers undertook were still classified.While their contribution to the overall war effort can be disputed, Malcom's lessons cannot be ignored for what they teach us about the US Army and its abiding discomfort with non-traditional warfare.

Malcom demonstrates convincingly that the US Army forgot many of the lessons derived from working with partisan forces from Burma to Greece to France during the Second World War.Those lessons would have proved invaluable to young Lieutenant Malcom as he took on a role he was not trained for, but for which he demonstrated great aptitude.His book takes us from his ROTC days, to instructor at Fort Knox, through his time in Korea, and finally to Vietnam, where he experienced a nasty case of de ja vue.His memoir is short, but exciting and written with great verve.

Much has been written about the current conflict in Iraq and how the the US military is adapting to re-learn the lessons it forgot after Vietnam about insurgency, counter-insurgency, and partisan warfare.Many authors have applauded the adaptability of the US military; Malcom's book is a cautionary tale that shows we have been down this path before and failed to institutionalize the lessons of previous conflict.For that alone, his memoir is worth the price. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Young West Pointers in Korean War
This book is about the experiences in the Korean War of members of the West Point class of 1949. Just one year after graduation these young officers found themselves in the middle of fierce fighting in rugged Koreanterrain. The onset of winter and the entry of the Chinese into the war soonadded two new parameters of hazard and difficulty. The author was himselfan infantry officer during the fighting and has fashioned the book from hisown experiences and those of his classmates. This is how it was.

Theearlier review by the cyclist has a number of shortcomings. I will addressthree of the most notable. The quotations below are from thatreview.

"... it behooves them ["a West Pointer/Officertype"] to remain a certain distance from the reality of War." Ifthe reviewer actually read the book, he must realize that the heroes of thebook are West Pointers who maintained a zero distance from "thereality of War": they engaged the enemy directly, face to face, insome cases with only bare bayonets when ammunition ran low.

"...makes it sound like Korea was some sort of post graduation ritual."Indeed, it was exactly that, the kind of ritual for which West Pointprepares its graduates: service to the nation, unto death if necessary. Inthe Korean War, 30 West Pointers from the class of 1949 gave their lives,and many more were wounded: a grim ritual indeed.

"I am tempted toask if Mr. Maihafer was in the same Korean War I have read aboutelsewhere." There we have it: the reviewer has read about the KoreanWar, whereas Col. Maihafer saw it up close, close enough to earn a SilverStar (for valor), a Bronze Star Medal for Valor, and a Purple Heart, whichthe reviewer's reading may have informed him means that Col. Maihafer waswounded in action. Whose view of the war is likely to be more valid, thatof the cyclist or that of the soldier who was there?

It is unfortunatethat Col. Maihafer was not able to present the war in a way that pleasedthe cyclist. However, I believe the book will be rewarding to anyone whowants to see the war as it was experienced by these young officers, as theygrew from greenhorns to hardened veterans.

Duty, Honor, Country in Combat
One evening in 1948 or early 1949, General Alfred M. Gruenther gave a no-notes talk to the members of West Point's class of 1949 in one of theMilitary Academy's lecture halls."You may think you've just wasted fouryears," I recall him saying, "that you're graduating into an army that thecountry no longer needs.If so, you are wrong.Every class that has evergraduated from West Point has had to fight in at least one war.Your classwill not be an exception."

Within only two years, certainly three,General Gruenther's statement had been validated by the outbreak of abitter war in a place few Americans had ever heard of and by theparticipation of a great many members of West Point's class of 1949. Entering combat we were still second lieutenants -- infantry platoonleaders, artillery forward observers, co-pilots -- well aware that itwasn't IF we were going to get hit, it was WHEN and HOW BAD.MostMaihafer answers that question in FROM THE HUDSON TO THE YALU.He isuniquely qualified to tell the stories of what his classmates did becausehe was in the thick of the war's hottest campaigns himself.Accordingly,Maihafer's prose is lean, his facts authentic, his achievement therecording of what it was like to fight in a war our countrymen wereforgetting even before the fighting stopped.

It is highly appropriatethat FROM THE HUDSON TO THE YALU is still available for those who willobserve the 50th Anniversary of Communist North Korea's invasion of SouthKorea.Even so, this is a book for all occasions.

Curt Anders

Stale, clinical account of Korean War from West Point grad
This is a good book but Donald Knox's books are far better. If you want to read about Adrian Brian's 'I' company adventures, why not read about them firsthand? Compared with Knox's books, Maihafer's third hand accounts arestale and clinical. This is not to say the book is bad is not an enjoyableread, just that it is more like a silent movie, compared to Knox's virtualreality style. To be honest, I expected this from a West Pointer/Officertype, as it behooves them to remain a certain distance from the reality ofWar.

My only encounter with West Pointers was years ago, when I stayedat the Hotel Thayer for an intercollegiate debate tournament being held onthe---campus? base? I never knew what to call it. Now, if you have everread the Gormenghast Trilogy about that ponderous, gothic, byzantinecastle, i assure you, the Hotel Thayer is a fairly good representation. Thewhole place was haunted with tradition--'presidents have slept here, Gary!'my debate coach intoned.Such characteristics may mold great militaryleaders, but they do not mold great writers.

Two flaws mar this book.First,Maihafers' constant reference to the fate of Class of '49 buddiesmakes it sound like Korea was some sort of post graduation ritual. I amsure the author doesn't mean to characterize Korea as some sort offraternity right-of-passage, for it was a painful and frequently fatal one;but thats' the impression I get from the text.
Second, i am tempted toask if Mr. Maihafer was in the same Korean War I have read about elsewhere.Little is said about the poor performance of Army units in the wars' earlyweeks. The collapse of discipline and chain of command in the rout atChosin is given short shrift as well. Here was an excellent chance for Armybrass to either set the record straight, or admit to its deficiencies.Maihofers book does neither. ... Read more

Product Description
"Oh and Hassig give their readers genuine insight into one of the most bizarre and mysterious societies on earth, at the precise moment when the North Korean tragicomedy appears to be moving toward a denouement. The value and timing of this book could not be greater." - Francis Fukuyama, Hirst Professor of Public Policy, George Mason University

"No one can presume to predict the near term future of North Korea-implosion, explosion, gradual assimilation into the Asian community of nations, peaceful reunification with the South, or continuing down the current path of a hermit nation-isolated and struggling to survive. We can predict with certainty that insights into what drives this nation of 23 million people, a focus of U.S. defense planning for 50 years, will continue to be important to U.S. national interests for years to come. Kongdan (Katy) Oh and Ralph Hassig have made a rich contribution to meeting the need for these insights with a view through the looking glass into the mystery that is North Korea. This is an important book, readable and profound. It is worthy of the careful study and attention of those who want to better understand the global environment that shapes and permeates our own future." - General Larry D. Welch, President, Institute for Defense Analyses

"Neither with rancor nor sentimentality Oh and Hassig unpeel the layers of misinformation, vilification, and speculation about North Korea to provide a textured view of this enigmatic Northeast Asian State. This fine book outlines the seemingly impenetrable logic of the North Korean ideology of Juche showing how it dominates state economic and foreign policy. It is also one of the best analyses of the leadership cults of the late Kim Il Sung and the current leader Kim Jong Il. The analysis presented here is not idle punditry; it is based on painstaking research, thorough familiarity with Korean language sources, and extensive interviews of a multinational group of policymakers familiar with North Korea, as well as defectors. This book will become a standard read for those interested in why North Korea has survived the fall of the global socialist system to continue to confound the stability and evolution of Northeast Asia's economic and diplomatic relations. It will also be required reading for American strategic planners who have isolated North Korea as a major security threat to the U.S. Oh and Hassig capture the unique dynamics behind the survival and continuance of this unique system whose future resides at the very heart of the Northeast Asian state system and its future." - Michael E. Robinson, Indiana University ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

The Queen of Hearts family name is Kim
An informative, well written sojourn into one of the most bizarre lands on the planet. The only place where the book tends to bog down is when it makes a game try at explaining Juche, the governing philosophy of North Korea, a mystifying blend of doublethink, the divine right of kings, divinely inspired governmental infallibility and socialism (sort of). The rest of the book provides a fascinating glimpse into a culture that is so foreign to western minds that explaining it as an import from another planet almost sounds reasonable. The reader may find it troubling after finishing the book to reflect on the fact that North Korea is such a sealed culture that what the book presents is most likely just ripples on the surface of a very deep cenoté.

Excellent analysis of North Korea
This book contains very solid analysis of North Korea's society and political structure. However, I believe that if the authors had relaxed their anti-North Korea stance a touch the book may have helped me understand North Korea a bit more. I wouldn't recommend this to be the first book you read about North Korea - it's a bit too dense and analytical for that. But it's a great resource for further study.

Yet another alcoholic despot
The title suggests an "Alice in Wonderland" fantasyland, but a huge dose of Edgar Allen Poe must be added to the cauldron to get a feel for the horrors of this most bizarre of lands.

This terrific book explains that the combination of Confucian kingdom and totalitarian socialist state allows the rulers of North Korea, Kim Il Sung from its founding at the end of WW2 to his death in 1994 and his successor-son, Kim Jong Il, to wield inconceivable power not only over peoples' actions, but also over their minds. North Koreans almost uniformly believe their rulers are the equivalent of Gods. According to the authors, in the Korean tradition of Confucianism, North Koreans willingly subject themselves to a strict hierarchical social order and absolute loyalty to and respect for the Kims, which is returned with feigned benevolence.

While the history and troubles of North Korea make interesting reading, the most fascinating aspect for students of addiction (which provides an oft-overlooked explanation for bad behaviors) revolve around the observable (sometimes, subtle) clues to early-stage alcoholism in the current "central brain," Kim Jong Il. Needless to say, the clues are few, since little escapes the "hermit kingdom." We learn that the person who is, perhaps, the highest-ranking defector ever, former North Korean party secretary Hwang Jang Yop, reported that an understanding of Kim's personal life is irrelevant to comprehending his political behavior. This is simply untrue, especially if there is alcoholism, although I don't expect (or suspect that) the authors would understand this.

Kim displays numerous behavioral indications of alcoholism, which the book goes into in great detail (and which I describe in my books as evidence of addiction). As I note elsewhere and in the calculations embedded in my on-line Substance Addiction Recognition Indicator, barring actual evidence of addictive use we're limited to ascribing an 80% likelihood of alcoholism. As I've also noted elsewhere, a diagnosis of alcoholism is essential if we are to understand the motivations of the subject under scrutiny, if there really is early-stage alcoholism.

While such evidence is scarce, it is not non-existent. According to the authors, the late-night parties of his younger days are said to be legendary. Japanese women invited to attend one of Kim's intimate parties, apparently after he became the supreme leader, report that he drank heavily and scattered hundred dollar bills (a rather ironic use of U.S. money). And, the authors say, "Kim Jong Il relies on a kitchen cabinet composed of a small group of friends and family members of approximately his own age, especially trusting a few close relatives and drinking buddies." As discussed in my book "Drunks, Drugs & Debits," merely having drinking buddies, especially when well past age 30, is a classic sign of alcoholism.

The truly frightening aspect to this surreal mess is that not only is the head of state a likely alcoholic (and, therefore, capable of anything), but also that the vast majority of the North Korean people appear to be as indoctrinated as were the citizens of George Orwell's imaginary Oceania.

"Through the Looking Glass" details the amazing propaganda used by Kim, his military amateurism, social controls and "thought" control over the North Korean people. The book is a fascinating read. For those who grasp the idea of alcoholism, it offers a unique insight as to why Kim Jong Il, possibly the only alcoholic despot other than Stalin to have access to nuclear weapons (who had them for only a short time before he died), may be the most dangerous man ever.

Authors not up to the task
Interest in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has increased since President Bush included the nation with Iran and Iraq as an "Axis of Evil" state.Further interest was generated in October of 2002, when the North Korean government confirmed that it possesses a nuclear weapons program.I, along with many Americans, are now seeking information about this mysterious hermit nation. I chose Kongdan Oh's "North Korea: Through the Looking Glass" because it seemed to be a non-technical overview of North Korean society, economics, and politics.The blurbs on the back cover described the book as providing "genuine insight" gleaned from "painstaking research." Unfortunately, the book did not live up to its promise.

One finds oneself wishing that the authors would share with the reader all of the interesting data that they discovered in researching the book. Instead, all we get are general statements about the corruption and ineptitude of the North Korean government. This could have been a much better book if the authors had elected to paint a more vivid picture by including more detail. Here's an example: on page 66 the authors make the following statement: "North Korean government and party officials also engage in many illicit activities such as counterfeiting, production of illicit drugs, and smuggling (especially conducted by the DPRK's foreign diplomatic corps). " There is no elaboration on this provocative declaration. The citation for this statement is an article by David Kaplan et al. in US News & World Report, dated February 15, 1999. I looked up the article and found it to be fascinating. The US News piece states that North Korean counterfeit "$100 bills ... are cranked out on a $10 million intaglio press similar to those employed by the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing, officials say. North Korean defectors claim the notes come from a high-security plant in Pyongyang. Kim Jeong Min, a former top North Korean intelligence official, told US News that he had been ordered to find paper used to print US currency but couldn't. 'Instead. I obtained many $1 notes and bleached the ink out of them,' he says."You can see how the authors water down the source material to a bland presentation of generalities. It as if the authors went to the same writer's school as the North Korean propagandists, from whom they endlessly and boringly quote.

I was also annoyed by the repeated jabs at the North Korean government. Readers should be allowed to come to their own conclusions about the foolishness of the North Korean dictator, rather than be pelted with parenthetical inserts about the ineptitude of the leadership. An example: "The most pressing economic problem is the food shortage. The apparent (but wrong) solution to the problem is to try to achieve economic self-sufficiency... " This style gets irritating very quickly. Sometimes, the writing becomes downright stupid. An example from chapter 8:"North Korea is half a world away in the part of the globe less familiar to Americans -- Asia rather than Europe."

I was interested in examining the 29 photographs that occupy the center of the book. Unfortunately, they all appear to be government-approved. For instance, there are several sterile photos of peoples' backs as they stand still looking at statues exalting communism.Of course, the lifelessness of theses photos probably does reflect the Zeitgeist of this unfortunate country.But I wish the photographs could have provided more insight into the difficulty of daily life in North Korea.

Despite the flaws in the book, the subject is of such intrinsic interest that I kept reading. My persistence was rewarded at the end of the book, where the authors discuss policy options in dealing with North Korea. This section was well-reasoned and shows that the authors do indeed know their topic. Too bad the preceding 200 pages were not equally as good.

A Hermit Kingdom
A great introductory insight into one of the most strange and mysterious countries on earth.The authors provide valuable examples and a good understanding as to how the bizarre North Korean government operates, and how this regime minipulates the minds of its people.The most interesting parts of the book are the insights provided by the many defectors from the North, and the stories they tell.

In my opinion, the book lacked any real insight into North Koreas military capability, it kind of leaves the reader wondering how strong this country really is.Though the author does mention that North Korea has a "military first" policy, and most of its money and resources goes into the military, we don't know what types of capabilities they really have, what types of technology they possess, and what countries are supplying them with what technological products.This lack of information may be due to lack of the authors access to this information.

After reading this book, I still don't know how the economy of this country functions, this is definetly a country that requires serious help from the outside.This book is a great read, and a very good introduction to understanding this backward nation. ... Read more

Product Description
This book vividly traces the genealogy of modern womanhood in the encounters between Koreans and American Protestant missionaries in the early twentieth century, during Korea's colonization by Japan. Hyaeweol Choi shows that what it meant to be a "modern" Korean woman was deeply bound up in such diverse themes as Korean nationalism, Confucian gender practices, images of the West and Christianity, and growing desires for selfhood. Her historically specific, textured analysis sheds new light on the interplay between local and global politics of gender and modernity. ... Read more

Product Description
Argues that a syncretic worldview encouraged the remarkable growth of Christianity in Korea. ... Read more

Product Description