Friday, July 23, 2010

60 Years On - The Korean War in Literature

60 Years On - The Korean War in Literature: "The Korean War raged from the summer of 1950 until July 1953. It made a huge impression on the world’s political landscape and the ramifications from the conflict are still being felt today. As well as the halves of Korea, the United States, China, the Soviet Union and United Nations’ forces were involved in what became a bloody stalemate.

There are hundreds of books describing every aspect of the war from biographies of the leaders and generals, to maps and analysis of the battle tactics, and breakdowns of the political situation that turned a civil war into a multi-nation struggle for strategic footholds in Asia.

The Korean War also had a surprisingly heavy influence on fiction. The most famous stories range from the medical adventures of the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (M*A*S*H) unit 4077 to traditional tales of ordinary Joes being turned into war heroes. The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon stands out as a political thriller that has influenced numerous books stretching through the Cold War into the current era."

4 comments:

Ron Scheer said...

My favorite Korean War novel, THE HUNTERS by James Salter.

Unknown said...

Salter wrote several good ones. A forgotten writer now, though.

Gerard Saylor said...

Russ's THE LAST PARALLEL was good. Russ was there during the static trench warfare. I enjoyed MARINES OF AUTUMN.

I also liked the novel DOG COMPANY SIX, which was not listed, that covers the Inchon through the Chosin retreat.

mike shupp said...

James Michener THE BRIDGES AT TOKO-RI

Don Fehrenbach THIS KIND OF WAR

Richard Kim THE MARTYRED