100 Books Like The Coldest Winter

Hampton Sides for me is the gold standard for narrative history, whether writing about the Old West or World War II, and this book about Chosin Reservoir ranks among his finest.

What I always appreciate about his books is his ability to find humanity and wit in many dark episodes of American history. 

Max Hasting’s book described the early days of the war, for example the actions of Task Force Smith. He provides a valuable perspective on the Korean War that includes an interesting balanced account of a war that is still considered by many to be controversial. Hastings considers the perspectives of all sides of the Korean conflict and examines the various motivations of their respective actions, such as the U.S. decision to send troops to Korea in September 1945, and to send them back in June 1950, to the Chinese decision to send their own troops into Korea in the fall of 1950.  He also provides a perspective on the important decision to participate in the signing of the armistice in July 1953.

The Hidden History of the Korean War by I. F. Stone was originally published in 1952 during the Korean War and republished in 1970 at a time in which the US was engaging in the Vietnam War. This controversial book provides viewpoints that are not widely accepted historically. The author raises questions about the origin of the Korean War and makes the case that the United States government manipulated the United Nations and was critical that the U.S. military and South Korean governments extended the war by undermining the efforts to complete the peace talks.

Shortly after the beginning of the Korean War in 1950, the First Marine Division was fighting the North Korean army in the north of the Korean Peninsula. In the fall of 1950, the Chinese suddenly entered the war and the First Division Marines became surrounded and vastly outnumbered by Chinese soldiers near the Chosin Reservoir. The only way they could survive was to fight their way south through a narrow valley. Fox Company led by Captain William Barber fought a long cold struggle against the surrounding Chinese. During the relentless violence, three-quarters of Fox’s Marines were killed, wounded, or captured. Just when it looked like they would be overrun, Lt. Colonel Raymond Davis, who is fighting south from Chosin, volunteers to lead a daring mission that will seek to cut a hole in the Chinese lines and relieve the men of Fox.

This enormous biography of Douglas MacArthur mesmerized me, but I kept wondering, “Why would Manchester, a Marine combat veteran, write about such an un-Marine-like Army general?” Then I got to the part about Inchon, the daring amphibious landing MacArthur devised to alter the Korean War’s trajectory.

Manchester wrote glowingly of the Marines who executed MacArthur’s plan. However, throughout the book, he wrote more glowingly about MacArthur’s idiosyncratic genius. I realized something. The Marines were tough enough to make Inchon successful but not smart enough to think it up. It took a general from another service to provide the vision.

This book may be the best-written narrative account of Chosin, but I must include a caveat. Russ justly lionizes the performance of the U.S. Marines and their heroic breakout from Chosin, but he unfairly denigrates the U.S. Army soldiers who fought in the same campaign.

Russ was a Marine who served in Korea, so I read his book with a grain of salt. But this absorbing, funny, and deeply human account of one of the most brutal battles the U.S. ever fought is nonetheless a classic of narrative history.

With a journalist’s eye for the telling detail and a historian’s grand perspective, Clay Blair wrote what I consider the finest account of the first year of the Korean War.

I’ve gone through Blair’s papers at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, and his research was encyclopedic, with countless interviews and deep dives into archives.

While I don’t agree with all of Blair’s conclusions, his experience as a war correspondent and historian combine to make this essential reading for all interested in the war.

I consider Millett the finest historian of the Korean War, and this, Volume Two of his trilogy, makes that case abundantly clear.

The sheer scope of his research, the clarity of his writing, his grasp of the overarching strategy, and his understanding of Korean history run through this book.

White Badge was originally written in Korean and the title was Baegma (White Horse). The author, Ahn Junghyo, translated it into English himself and submitted it to an American publisher who changed the title to White Badge. White Horse referred to the White Horse Division, a unit of the South Korean army that was deployed to Vietnam during the 1960s. A force of 50,000 South Korean troops engaged in that war and saw some of the toughest fighting seen.

Ahn, an intellectual and a journalist, fictionalized his experiences brilliantly. Drafted at the age of 20, he was assigned to the White Horse Division and soon found himself in a military vehicle being chased by starving Vietnamese children. It was during a particularly brutal battle in the middle of dense jungle foliage that he says he thought of himself as an observer of the war rather than a participant. However,… show more.

Larkin has written several historical nonfiction books, especially in the Battlefield and Blessing series. His accuracy to history that shares the faith of the individuals and their stories makes reading about the war captivating. More than a researcher and author, Larkin is a decorated hero of the Vietnam War. He knows the struggles of war firsthand. My husband also served during Vietnam and my uncle served during the Korean war, so I find authors who lived what they write about have a special connection and depth in their writing.