The Korean War at Fifty: International Perspectives (review)

This collection of essays growing out of one of the numerous conferences held to acknowledge the fifty-year anniversary of the Korean War covers a wide range of subjects related to the event and includes a similarly wide array of authors. Although, as is often the case with such volumes, coherence is not a strong suit, the editor groups the essays into four sections: "Nations at War," which includes essays by Burton I. Kaufman on President Harry S. Truman's leadership during the war, Alexandre Y. Mansourov on Soviet leader Joseph Stalin's and North Korean leader Kim Il-sung's maneuvers leading up to the initiation of war on 25 June 1950, and Chen Jian on trends in understanding the Chinese side based on a wealth of new documentation; "Fighting and Negotiating," which includes essays by Paul F. Braim on General Van Fleet's efforts to build the South Korean army, John Kieh-chiang Oh on the contribution of the South Korean army to the war effort against North Korea and China, Lieutenant General Edward L. Rowny on his experiences fighting in Korea, Brigadier General Edwin H. Simmons on the Inchon landing—with special attention to the role of VMI graduates—Li Xiaobing on the role and experience of the Chinese People's Volunteers in the war, and James I. Matray on the lengthy armistice talks; "Homefront, U.S.A.," which includes essays by Paul G. Pierpaoli, Jr., on the impact of the war on the American industrial base, Marilyn B. Young on American war movies and American sentiment towards the war, and Colonel Henry G. Gole on a combination of his own experience with the war and how it has been and is remembered by Americans since 1953; and "The Impact of the War," which includes essays by Colonel To-Woong Chung on the impact on the Republic of Korea, Michael Seth on the impact on East Asia, by Xia Liping on the impact on Sino-American relations, and Priscilla Roberts on the international impact.

All the contributions have merit, but several deserve special mention in either providing particularly interesting new material or pointing out truths that should be more widely recognized, at least in the United States. In the former category, Mansourov's analysis of Stalin's and Kim's machinations and motives in the final weeks before the outbreak shines through. Much is speculative here, but Mansourov is clever and plausible in most cases, especially on the junior partner's efforts to manipulate his sponsor. Chen operates over a broader chronological landscape than Mansourov and is more interested in synthesis than original analysis, but he manages to provide up-to-date and at times fresh insights into alliance relationships on the Communist side. Oh and Braim provide important reminders of South Korea's essential contribution to the UN war effort. Matray advances some intriguing interpretations of the early stages of the armistice talks. Pierpaoli suggests linkages between the war and evolving regional concentrations of industry in the United States. Finally, although Kaufman, Seth, and Roberts put forth little that is new, their essays provide useful syntheses for the nonspecialist on their respective topics.