Asia Books

Easy reading, good personal story of Operation Babylift. I had previously read "War Cradle", a very wordy, messy retelling of the story. This one is much more elementary and not as detailed, but follows one boy through his life. Fascinating.

I also could not put this book down and had to read it straight through. Andrea Warren does a compelling and balanced job in telling Long's story. Not only do we gain real insight into how the war affected families and children in Vietnam, but we also learn the thoughts and hopes of children living in orphanages. As an adoptive mom, I found this to be a valuable book on many levels.

I read this straight through on an airplane and had to turn away from my seatmates so they wouldn't see me cry. As usual, Warren has written a compelling, evocative story about one child's experience, and in it has distilled an era and a place. The main character, Long, suffers through poverty and loss, then winds up in an orphanage where he vaccilates between grief over the loss of his own family and hope for a new mother. I got tears in my eyes as he said good-bye to his grandmother, who was his last surviving family member, and then again when he learned he had a new home in America. As a reader I felt his excitement and anxiety as the day approached when he would see his new family, and then his fear as the war moved from the countryside to the streets of his city. The drive to the bombed airport and the flight on the transport plane were terrifying, followed immediately by the joy as Long ran into the arms of his new mother. This story will stick with readers, both adults and children, leaving a personalized image of an otherwise hard-to-comprehend world event.

Once you start reading, you probably won't be able to put it down. This is an amazing story, with wonderful photographs. I cried twice and made my husband read it. He loved it too!
Teachers will find this useful in the classroom, for teaching about the war in Vietnam, and Long/Matt is a role model we'd be delighted to see any kid follow.

If you've loved Warren's earlier books about children surviving in difficult new circumstances (the two Orphan trains books, Surviving Hitler, and the one about the girl growing up on the prairie) you'll love this one, too. In this one, Long, the young hero, is half Vietnamese, half American. His survival depends on a pivotal airlift of Vietnamese orphans "tainted by the blood of the enemy" as the North Vietnamese are about to take over Saigon. But even before that the reader is caught up in the story of Long's mother and grandmother struggling to survive in a wartorn country.

The story works on one level for children and on another for adults -conveying how America's withdrawal from Vietnam affects the family of a boy whose young life is shaped by war. It has all the virtues of nonfiction wrapped up in a charming, moving, and compelling story. Adults and children may want to read this one together. It's a tribute to parenting, in whatever form it comes, and to the resilience of children.

This is an excellent guide to Afghanistan. Both for the expert and the newcomer. Given the current security situation in Afghanistan, I would recommend the Essential Field Guide as a must to all US and Coalition soldiers and peacekeepers. It could save their lives and US policy.

The guide provides exactly the sort of quick understanding with excellent overviews and infobriefs on culture, economies, health, environment, ethnic groups etc. that would prove more than useful through a more thorough understanding of this country and its people. Edward Girardet, who has written for the Christian Science Monitor and National Geographic, is also one of the top experts on the country since first reporting it at the beginning of the Soviet invasion. Apart from its information, the guide is simply a joy - and incredibly interesting - to read. Anyone serious about Afghanistan - aid worker, journalist, diplomat, academic, traveller, human rights advocate...should have a copy if not in their pocket then certainly on their bookshelves. Political science and journalism students should also study this as a must. It beats most other books on Afghanistan. Girardet and Walter and the Crosslines publishers should definitely do other books on humanitarian and conflict zones elsewhere. If they can do the same for Africa or the Middle East as they have with Afghanistan, they are doing an incredible service to all concerned.

CROSSLINES ESSENTIAL FIELD GUIDE TO AFGHANISTAN

Published by CROSSLINES Global Report and Media Action International (formerly the International Centre for Humanitarian Reporting-ICHR)

The Crosslines Essential Field Guide to AFGHANISTAN Is the only detailed guidebook dealing with the current situation of the country available in English. Although certain elements in the book have been overtaken by recent events, the field guide is still essential reading for all journalists, aid workers, diplomats and military personnel operating in the region or otherwise interested in Afghanistan. Journalists and relief workers from the BBC, TIME, UNHCR, UNICEF and other media or aid groups have already informed us that the Essential Guide to AFGHANISTAN is the best thing going for quick and informed background information.

The book features over 500 pages of political, humanitarian and military analysis, biographies of key Taliban and opposition players, essential information briefs on agriculture, medical relief, environment, culture etc. as well as all regions of the country, street maps, advice on health and security, phrasebooks in Persian and Pashto, contact details for diplomats, aid agencies and journalists. Specially commissioned essays written leading experts analyse the country's political, military, humanitarian, and cultural situation. All country data was collated through first hand field research the editors.

The editors are Edward Girardet (a journalist and former correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor; also author of Afghanistan - the Soviet War) and Jonathan Walter (a former officer with the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas, and editor of the World Disasters Report)

The new (2005)edition of this guide brings the story up to 2004 and contains ample documentation regarding the struggling new democracy of Afghanistan. The writing is rich in colorful, touching, scary, revealing details that tend to get filtered out of official and semi-official reports. I found the discussions of deforestation, landmines, and security particularly helpful. Written from a European perspective, the book provides many useful suggestions for travel in Afghanistan that usefully complement advice from American sources.

This book was made for the use of relief workers working in Afghanistan. Aid for Aid participated in helping provide the maps for this book .

Crosslines Essential Field Guide to Afghanistan tells the full story about Afghanistan in a way I can't find in any other book. Whether it's politics, culture or humanitarian information you're after - it's all in there. I never realised how big those Buddhas were that the Taliban blew up until I saw a picture in this book! If you want to understand more about the country at the centre of world news, this is the book to buy!

I first came across this book in my local library. I was so enchanted by the different designs, that after tiring of renewing it, I have decided to order my own copy. I recommend it to any person interested in needlepoint, as well as global designs...

Must add my praise for this book. Gorgeous colors in clear graphic designs plus various colorways so you can see what would happen if you use different colors. I get a feeling of generosity from the authors who obviusly love their craft and want to share it.

In addition to bold and unusual patterns, Mary Norden has an extremely good eye for colors. I use patterns and parts of patterns from this book all the time.

There are many lovely needlepoint books with an emphasis on romantic or Victorian designs. This book consists of designs with Asian, African and Latin and Native American influences. The photographs are beautiful, the instructions and charts are clear, and the colors dazzling! Highly recommended for all needleworkers---knitters, cross stitchers, crocheters, etc.---not just needlepointers.

This book brings the beauty of the various international fabrics to your needlepoint canvas. It's not your grandmother's needlepoint - no cats or flowers, just bold and exciting designs with great color graphs and ideas. I highly recommend this book - I even ordered a copy for my sister although it was out-of-print.

I just bought a copy of this book because I saw the lecture Dr. Maguire gave on CSPAN and was riveted. The book is unbelievably important in these times when the United States claims to be doing things for international justice. But when you read this and see how Pol Pot got away with so much and what's going on in Asia you won't be able to understand why we were so consumed with a man like Saddam Hussein (oil). Everyone should read this book.

Peter Maguire's mix of personal travelogue and historical study works well, with the author lingering on the question of impunity and the ineffectual international community, whilst interviewing victims and perpetrators of Khmer Rouge crimes on many visits following his first trip to Cambodia in 1994. That first exciting yet unnerving visit in 1994 is something the author and myself have in common, as we do the loss of a close Cambodian friend in recent years. His loss was Sok Sin, well known as every journalist's 'fixer' and Maguire's tale of his demise is poignant. His interviews with the suvivors of Tuol Sleng such as Bou Meng, Vann Nath and Im Chan contrast sharply with the soul-less KR photographer Nhem En and guard Him Huy, whilst DC-Cam and Youk Chhang rightly emerge as a beacon of light in the chaos that is Cambodia. He also tracked down Mai Lam, the Vietnamese colonel who'd turned Tuol Sleng into a Genocide Museum though ultimately their discussions were stymied. I found the book stimulating, frustrating, insightful and vexing in equal measures, with Maguire admitting up front that he ultimately failed to come to any clear-cut conclusions. However, the journey to get to nowhere is an interesting one.

This remarkable book takes the reader deep inside the minds of a culture so hard to penetrate that I am returning this year to Cambodia just to attempt to understand the obvious - here is a country in a state of denial. "Facing Death in Cambodia" very effectively analyses Cambodia's culture of compliance, a nation meek to authority, and seemingly paralyzed by a recent past so convulsive that to even think about it is an invitation to "bad karma" - even among survivors and the unindicted killers of their children who sometimes share the same street. Mr Maguire excells at the job of rendering the 75-79 story in human terms. His portraits of the familiar figures like the photographer of those shattering Tuol Slong ID pictures are very important to our understanding of what sort of mental gymnastics many at the heart of the genocide are capable of. The heroic Vann Nath, whose miraculous survival is powerfully and touchingly explained in the book, emerges as a beacon of clear sightedness.Yet even here there is paradox - the survivor is eager to greet the photographer almost as an old friend. The author's tenacious search for the mind set and value system of the killers, and how D.K.'s perverted ideology can be effortlessly justified in Cambodia's "culture of impunity", make for provocative reading. I was particularly impressed by the author's descriptions of lurking violence. The weserner's stereotypes of the smiling Khmer do not long survive exposure to present reality. When Mr. Maguire takes you through the marketplaces and cafes of Phnom Penh, don't expect a comfortable ride. In one shattering passage,we are told how quickly peasant vengeance in the street over seeming trifles turns to horror in a blink. Overall, this book is one of the most important documents of Cambodia's modern history. Mr Maguire has no illusions that this beautiful, tormented country's battle to start over is going to be over soon. Here is a writer of compassion and power, and his book is an excellent one.

This is a clear and concise book about the horrendous regime of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge (1975-1979)and the aftermath. The author asks the question: why haven't leaders of the Khmer Rouge been prosecuted for the mass murder they perpetrated on their own people. He finds a partial answer by looking at international politics and the machinations of Cambodian leaders, the UN, and the US and everyone's lack of priority in seeking justice in Cambodia.

The author, along the way, adds his personal experiences and interesting observations about Phnom Penh and Cambodia in the 1990s and up until 2003. He interviews a large number of Cambodians, including guards and survivors, about the goings on at the notorious S-21 prison. As many as twenty thousand entered the prison; fewer than a dozen survived. There are photos of some of the murdered and the survivors and several historic photos of Khmer Rouge soldiers. The author delves into the mentality of the mass murderers and present day Cambodians who still suffer the trauma of that horrific era.

Chapter two in this book is one of the best brief descriptions of the Khmer Rouge takeover of Cambodia and its consequences that I have read. All in all the book is a readable introduction to the sordid history of the Khmer Rouge and the half-hearted international efforts to cope with mass murder and its perpetrators.

Smallchief

I've often wondered about the genocide in Cambodia. The amount of material available on the Holocaust is emmense. We basically went to war to stop the "Ethnic Clensing" in the Balkans. But in Cambodia, almost noting, even while it was going on it seemed to be largely ignored. The famous pictures of the piles of skulls seemed to have no effect.

When this was happening we had just ended our participation in the Viet Nam war. I asked a Viet Nam protester why they weren't protesting what was happening there, why are we building a Holocaust museum when something of almost horror was happening in Cambodia. There was no answer.

For a time I thought that it might be an issue of race/color. The Jews were white, the Cambodian brown. Then the happenings in Rawanda got a fair amount of press coverage. And I can only conclude that it was just a matter of time. Viet Nam took all the energy the protestors had, perhaps combined with such a contempt/hatred for our own government that they couldn't see the evil in the Khmer Rouge. Maybe it was the left's "love" for communism that made them blind.

Peter Maguire's book puts a personal and human face on this genocide. He has talked to the people all over Cambodia, he has analyzed the international response and concluded that "international law, human rights, and international criminal courts are little more than sonorous fictions without political will."

There is no political will to even think much about Cambodia, not while it was happening, not now.

Ages 4-8 will love Dick Cole's warm and realistic drawings in The Falling Flowers, a celebration of a child and grandmother's urban trip and relationship. The two take a train to the heart of Japan to see something special, but Grandmother won't say what it is until they get there: when they do, Mayumie discovers something special in the very heart of modern-day urban Japan.

Ideal for children 4 to 8, The Falling Flowers is the story of a young Japanese girl and her grandmother. Mayumie and her Grandmother take a train ride into the heart of Tokyo, then walk together down a quiet street in the middle of the city and find a grove of Japanese cherry trees all in blossom. The simple, elegant text by Jennifer Reed is perfectly showcased with Dick Cole's watercolors giving this original story a timeless and universal appeal. The Falling Flowers would make a truly fine and appreciated addition to any picturebook collection.

Ideal for children 4 to 8, The Falling Flowers is the story of a young Japanese girl and her grandmother. Mayumie and her Grandmother take a train ride into the heart of Tokyo, then walk together down a quiet street in the middle of the city and find a grove of Japanese cherry trees all in blossom. The simple, elegant text by Jennifer Reed is perfectly showcased with Dick Cole's watercolors giving this original story a timeless and universal appeal. The Falling Flowers would make a truly fine and appreciated addition to any picturebook collection.

Mayumie's grandmother is taking her someplace very special. Mayumie wonders aloud, "Are we going shopping? To the museum? To the shrine? To the zoo?" Patiently, Mayumie's grandmother explains that this place is much more magical than any of those places, and it can only be viewed once a year. What kind of place could it be? Readers of this book will get their answer in this beautiful story, rich in descriptive details that will have them right there with Mayumie and her grandmother seeing, smelling, and touching The Falling Flowers. Children will enjoy Mayumie's journey and discovery, and teachers and librarians will want to share this story, especially in conjunction with an Asian studies unit.

Jennifer's story and Dick's illustrations come together to form an enchanting story that will appeal to reader's of all ages. I particularly enjoyed reading it to my granddaughter.

Even though I was not in the Vietnam War, I could not put this book down. Talking to others that were in the War, I found that this story was true for those who fought. Thanks to Paul Young I learned what it was like to be a marine fighting in the jungle.

Outstanding Book. I thought that Paul did a very good job of telling it like it was.I lost quite a bit of sleep while reading this book. Could not put it down.

I served with 1st force in vietnam in 67-68. Reading this book brought back alot of memories. Some good and some bad. The facts and stories were real and very much to the point. Great book.

I thought that this book was great in describing what Marine Recon really is which is quietly moving miles through rough terrain and then sitting around, trying to stay undetected, calling in air and artillery strikes on the enemy, and gathering information on the enemy to support the infantry. Also, Young really expressed what it was like to expierence war with the seperation from family, being fired upon with small arms fire and artillery and the loss of good friends.

Paul R Young really tells it like it happen I should know, I was a member of first recon One of Benoit's boys. As a former member of first Recon this book his been a terriffic way for us from Duckbill to tell our story.

This is the story of a mother's incredible determination, devotion, courage and strength all aimed at saving her children from the ravages of a Japanese concentration camp.

We do not get to know the role religious faith may have played in Clara Olink Kelly's mother's life prior to the Japanese invasion of Java. However, given the times, her Dutch culture and her social status, one can imagine that she lived a Calvinist role of being a submissive, demure, obediant wife. Religious faith obviously were very important to her during the three and a half concentration camp years as she read scripture stories to her children. One wonders, however, would Clara's mother have survived if she had been alone with no children dependent upon her?

The real downer of this memoir is the betrayal committed by Clara's father. It is not difficult to understand how after nearly four years of being separated from his family and all that he endured in working on construction of the railroad line over the River Kwai, that he would be most vulnerable to entering into an extra-marital relationship, especially not knowing if his family was even alive. However, once he knew they had survived, it seems he did not give a hoot. He was totally responsible for his wife and children languishing four more months in an Allied concentration camp. In the meantime he enjoyed himself exploring post-war business opportunities.

The result of his neglect was that his wife's berberi worsened and his son nearly died. We do not know but perhaps Mr. Olink was a jerk from the beginning. If so, then after the war he took being a jerk to a whole new heighth!

This reviewer is not like the others who have commented here so far. I had no relatives who experienced anything like what Clara Olink Kelly describes. However, Paul, an acquaintance of mine who is from Holland, tells how it was that his parents and younger siblings endured the Japanese concentration camp in Sumatra. Paul's father also was a forced laborer on the River Kwai rail line. Paul's mother and siblings experienced the same deprived and depraved conditions as Claras' family. Paul's family came out of the ordeal as an intact family. Clara was not so fortunate.

Some readers might wonder how Clara, nearly six decades later, could possibly remember the "exact" words uttered by the others in her life when she was but four to seven or eight years old at the time. We must remember that all autobiography's and memoirs reveal a process that we all go through as we tell our life stories. We repeat those stories over and over again until we get them "right."

We were bowled over by this book! Clara Kelly presents vivid and heart rending images of the heroic acts of her mother to save her children from the devastating conditions in a Japanese concentration camp during WWII. This tribute to her mother also reveals the tenacity of the author and her older brother under unbelievably inhumane conditions. We will read it again.

I loved this book. It tells a story of courage, bravery, and family. It vividly captures an aspect of WWII that (sadly) is unknown by most people. My grandmother was also a prisoner of war in a Japanese camp in Indonesia and gave birth to my dad while in the camp. They are both gone now and this book helped fill in so many of the details of their story. Thank you Clara Kelly for telling your story, and telling it well.

...It's awesome! I am so thankful to Ms. Kelly for sharing her experience. My Grandmother was also a prisoner of the Japanese in Indonesia during WWII. She had 2 babies (my dad, 6 months, & uncle, 1.5 years). I have heard 'pieces' of my Grandmothers story, but she has never been able to speak of it all. Now I know why. This book is truely a favorite of mine and always will be. Thank you Ms. Kelly. God Bless.

The Flamboya Tree, by Clara Olink Kelly, was very touching.
This is a part of history that people should know about. We know about Japan invading Pearl Harbor,and other places, but what we don't know is the people who became effected by the war.
Clara tells this story so well, she makes you feel like you are there seeing all the tragic events yourself.
This is one book that I would highly recommend to everyone, I think we can learn a great deal from it and have a better understanding of war itself.

Lina and Feroza, two young girls from Afghanistan living in a refugee camp in Pakistan, first meet after a frenzied crowd has jostled for used clothing that relief workers threw off the back of a truck. What could have been a misfortune, with each girl retrieving one sandal from a matching pair, turns out to be a stroke of luck as the girls take turns with the sandals and become friends. This friendship helps them to endure the hardships of their daily routines collecting water, washing clothes in the river, mourning lost family members, and caring for younger siblings while boys in the camp attend school. The sandals later take on a symbolic role when one of the girls leaves camp for a new home.

This moving book provides an effective tool for teaching about what it means to be a refugee, how children in refugee camps spend their time, and how the experiences can differ for girls and boys. Although the topic may be weighty and difficult, the tone is relatively subtle and hopeful so as to appeal to young readers. Intertwined with the touching story are valuable economics lessons about scarcity, human resources, wants, and needs. The dramatic artwork and compelling text work well together to make reading this book a memorable experience.

A realistic, powerful and touching children's story that takes a lesson on sharing what we have on a deeper level than most children experience in the States.

"Four Feet, Two Sandals" is a powerful book,
introducing readers to the experience of
refugee children in Pakistan. This is an
excellent teaching tool for having conversations
about sharing, donating and receiving clothes
and shoes, and developing friendships. Bravo!

This book deals with the concepts of friendship, hardship, sharing, and the reality of life for some children in the world. It is sad but heartwarming. The large number of children around the world being displaced because of war, famine, natural disasters and more make this book an important tool in helping to discuss this uncomfortable subject with your children.

Based on co-author Khadra Mohammed's experiences with refugees in Peshawar, a city on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, Four Feet, Two Sandals is a children's picturebook about ten-year-old Lina and her young friend who each discover one of a wonderful pair of sandals. Together they must solve the problem of how to share one pair of sandles between four feet! As they wait and hope for their names to appear on a list for a new home, the sandals become a symbol of their fast friendship - a bond that will endure even when one of them finally has the opportunity to escape the hard conditions and live in a new land. The broad brush strokes of illustrator Doug Chayka draw the reader in to the harsh and barren world of the refugees, where positive human relationships are an particular treasure amid the daily difficulty of survival. A thoughtful yet serious picturebook, highly recommended for children's public library and personal collections.

I have savored so many recipes from this book. I absolutely amaze my dinner guests with the recipes!

I find myself reaching for this book quite a bit. I've made quite a few recipes from here with great success; the flavors are fresh, bright and bold, and many of the recipes are inherently healthy. There's great stuff here for weeknight meals, but some of them are still nice enough for casual company dinners. This is not an entirely authentic cookbook, but it's still all very tasty. If you don't have an Asian market locally (or large Asian section at your local mega-mart) you might find some of the ingredients hard to source, although that's not a problem for me being in the Seattle metropolitan area. Make sure you try their recipe for Saigon cinnamon ice cream - it's foolproof and to die for.

Have you ever purchased a colorful asian cook book from the discount bin at the local bookstore, to find it's all pretty photos, but otherwise filled with aimless, unremarkable yet needlessly complicated or unclear recipes? I have.. to the point that most of my cooking involves going online, to find at least 3 recipes for whatever I have in mind that evening, and to use the best parts of each found recipe to come up with my own.. Well, I need to do so no more so far as Southeast Asia is concerned, thanks to the Laursens wonderful, concise, yet roomy-enough-to-allow-me-to-experiment recipes. As my wife knows, i HATE following recipes, as most 'exotic' recipes usually call for at least ONE vital mystery ingredient I will never stock, so I usually end up chucking the recipe and instead blaze thru my own rebellious trail. Well, the Laursens allow me the breathing room to make substitutions, letting me know which ingredients are key, and why, and how to make do when you don't have them all, and it's all very reassuring, aiming primarily at providing a basic, straightforward foundation for south east Asian cooking. Food the locals eat, yet with just the right amount of westernization, this book was written for me.. No wild look-at-me recipes that you will either make once and never again or not dare to make at all.... I was such a geek I took the book to my local asian supermarket and was found in the sauces/spices aisle thumbing thru pages to make sure I knew which soy sauces/fish sauces/chilli pastes to weed thru... Enough of my quirks.. the recipes? I've had this book but two days, and have made 2 meals, that will make my local thai/vietnamese restaurants sadly miss a good chunk of my business, as they came out flawless; amazingly so, given the simplicity and conciseness of the recipes...Again, best $15 spent.

This book is fantastic. It is practicle and easy to use. It convinced me to make my first attempt at homemade Thai and it was contagious. Our friends loved the recipes (they usually eat Mexican) and now love thai dishes. I need MORE receipes, please do another cookbook, and thanks!

From Bangkok To Bali In 30 Minutes: 175 Fast And Easy Recipes With The Lush, Tropical Flavors Of Southeast Asia is the collaborative effort of Theresa Volpe Laursen and Byron Laursen. This exciting compilation of exotic dishes ranges from Vietnamese-Style Iced Coffee; Balinese Star Fruit, Papaya, and Pink Grapefruit Salad with Avocado Dressing; and Fried Spring Rolls Filipino Style; to Bangkok-to-Bali Burgers with Grilled Onions; Laotian-Style Stir-Fried Shrimp with Crispy Lemon Grass; and Filipino-Style Potatoes Adobo. Exceptionally "kitchen cook friendly", From Bangkok To Bali In 30 Minutes is especially recommended for both its culinary diversity and ethnic meal-time authenticity.

I really enjoyed reading this book by probably the most celebrated Korean General of all time. While it is true that the Korean Army wasn't usually up to the standards of the American Army, Paik's units always seemed to be pretty close in every history of the war. Highly recommended book for anyone that wants to learn more about the Korean War.

This is a fairly important book to anyone interested in the Korean War. General Yup was South Korea's first four star general and was a field commander of various units during the war.

What makes this book important is that it covers the same war as many other books, but that it is written not from an American viewpoint but from the view of a soldier whose country was being attacked. This has made the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) through its Institute for Land Warfare put this title on their list of books that should be kept in print for study by AUSA members and others concerned about important issues.

This book was first published in 1992, the copies being sold by Amazon are reprints of the original book.

This is an excellent autobiography. The General's career and development is amazing to have reached 4-Stars at such a young age. His modesty and emphasis on the South Korean Army's development into a complete military organization while at war is remarkable.
What makes this book sobering is when the General describes how thousands of South Koreans volunteered and were sent straight into combat with little training, only to quickly become casualties themselves, sacrificing their lives for their country. Another key item from the General's writing is how only after having the time to fully train, equip, and organize into Divisions with adequate firepower, were they able to successfully conduct offensive operations.
Bravery and courage helped them hold against the North Korean Communist attack along the desperate Pusan perimeter, but it was the firepower of the attached US artillery units that were supporting his South Korean Division that allowed them to counterattack successfully and reach Panmunjom.
The personal family dangers in war is also brought out where he writes about his family, who had to be left behind in Seoul, unable to flee when the North Koreans captured the city. The additional suffering of the civilian populace is also described in this book, caught trying to flee the Communist Army.
Highly recommended reading for the South Korean view of the war. Excellent insight into how important it is to have trained and properly equipped soldiers when fighting a war rather than relying on conscripted soldiers after war has started as the conscripted soldiers will suffer excessive casualties and deaths when fighting against a motivated, trained, and fully armed enemy.

General Paik's work stands out among the many works on the Korean War because of his focus on the operations of the Republic of Korea (ROK) forces. Highly recommended to readers looking for information that goes beyond the American contributions to the struggle. The operational details and accounts of the interaction of American and ROK commanders are fascinating. The book suffers slightly from a lack of detailed maps that assist readers in following the movements of the oppossing forces.

I'm glad I found this gem of a book. I've read more then a few Korean War books and they take a decidedly American point of view. It's not to say that this is wrong, but it's certainly unbalanced. Many of these other books go on to describe the ROK army as cowardly, unreliable and prone to breaking. Finally there is a Korean commander that puts the record straight.

Yes, it was true that the ROK army at the time were not up to American Army standards, but it's not fair to put the same expectations on them. It doesn't take a genius to know what happens when militia goes against a heavily equipped professional army head-to-head in the open field. Militia loses every time, just look at how the British man handled continental armies in the first few years of the Revolutionary War. In 1950 the ROK army was the equivalent of a militia as it was very much under equipped, with no armor, air force and very little artillery (some 60mm and 80mm mortars and a few light 105mm pieces).

The U.S. had purposely left the ROK army under equipped and it was designed from the ground up as a lightly armed anti-guerilla force. The ROK army had a very poor junior officer corps, there was not school to train junior officers. The U.S. was too preoccupied in rebuilding Japan and sent very limited funds to South Korea. Proper equipment was not sent, no school for junior officers was established. Anyone who knows something about military matters knows that the backbone of an effective army are the junior officers, the lieutenants, captains and majors that lead the troops into the teeth of enemy fire. The North Korean Army (NKA), on the other hand, had an effective junior officer corps because many of the veterans were anti-Japanese guerilla fighters. Furthermore, the Russians supplied NKA with T-34 tanks, YAK fighter bombers, 155mm artillery, etc. Heavy artillery, tanks and close air support gave the NKA heavy offensive power.

It is not mentioned very often, but American trooped faired NO BETTER against the NKA during the first few months of the war. 24th ID troops ran from their positions when their antiquated WWII era bazookas just scratched the paint off NKA T-34s. It was carrier based air power that saved the Americans from being overrun.

General Paik tells stories of desperate battles, where ROK soldiers wrapped satchel charges around their bodies and threw themselves in suicide missions onto NKA tanks. ROK soldiers did the best they could with the weapons and training they had on hand. General Paik provides a fair and often underappreciated reason for why ROK units faired badly in the early part of the Korean War. As far as I'm concerned, any student of the Korean War cannot consider himself a expert unless he's read Paik's book. It is wrong to not put into consideration the viewpoint of the nation that contributed the most manpower and had the most casualties of all the UN forces. No Korean War library can be considered complete without this book (how many Korea War books have a glowing foreword by Mathew B. Ridgeway himself, huh?).

General Paik Sun Yup was the 29 year old commander of the ROK 1st division. The 1st ROK division had the distinction of the only ROK unit that never retreated from their positions without orders. It was also the only ROK unit that was attached to a U.S. Army Corp for the duration of the war and given tasks expected of a regular U.S. infantry division. General Paik was adamant about the fact that given the proper artillery, armor and air support, the 1st ROK division always performed as well, if not better then any regular U.S. infantry division. The 1st ROK also had the distinction of being the first UN unit to enter Pyongyang, beating several better equipped U.S. units in the race to the NK capital.