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The Coldest War: A Memoir of Korea
by
James Brady
America's "forgotten war" lasted just thirty-seven months, yet 54,246 Americans died in that time -- nearly as many as died in ten years in Vietnam. On the fiftieth anniversary of this devastating conflict, James Brady tells the story of his life as a young marine lieutenant in Korea.
In 1947, seeking to avoid the draft, nineteen-year-old Jim Brady volunteer...more
Paperback, 248 pages
Published
June 8th 2000
by St. Martin's Griffin
(first published 1990)
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"Marine platoon leader memoir" is one of my favorite micro-genres of literature, and among stories of leadership, heroism, maturation, and fear, The Coldest War stands a cut above for its clarity, candor, and writing. More Americans died in 3 years in Korea than in 10 years in Vietnam, and the war is still not officially over, yet most civilians are entirely ignorant of the conflict, let alone what it was like to serve in the coldest war.
Sent to Korea in November of 1952, ...more
Sent to Korea in November of 1952, ...more
One of the finest combat memoirs I've ever read; Brady paid his Marine dues as an infantry platoon leader in Korea and this book covers his tour of duty there.
It was called a "police action" and "The Forgotten War" but it was a real conflict and claimed too many lives in just three short years.
It was interesting to read about former U.S. Senator and Secretary of the Navy John Chaffee, who was Brady's company commander and an admirable figure even then.
It was called a "police action" and "The Forgotten War" but it was a real conflict and claimed too many lives in just three short years.
It was interesting to read about former U.S. Senator and Secretary of the Navy John Chaffee, who was Brady's company commander and an admirable figure even then.
This may be a great memoir, but a bit too grimy for me. Engaging, yes. Had to read for school. I was also hoping to better understand my papa's adventures during the Korean War, but the experience of a Marine in action in Korea is a far cry from working on a supply ship in sunshiny New Caledonia....
James
rated it
Recommends it for:
Anyone interested in military or Asian history, the Korean conflict especially
A strongly written and very personal memoir of the author's service as a Marine officer in the Korean War. For those who haven't heard much about that conflict compared to World War II, Vietnam, and others, this is an enlightening read which does as much as any book could to help the reader see the war through the eyes of the young men who served there, to feel their terror, physical misery, occasional humiliation, and tedium. This sets the stage for Brady's newly published book looking at Kor...more
Matt Howard
added it
There aren't many books on the Korean War, so its always nice to find something on the subject. I really enjoyed this book, and thought that the author did a good job at relaying his experiences in the second half of this conflict. The book was easy to read and follow, and enjoyable.
I enjoyed this book. Brady did a great job of trying to capture the essence of warfare, including the boring, mundane details. It was also good to see a book written about the Korean War. We have had the tendency to let this pre-Vietnam conflict become all but forgotten since it was sandwiched between the WWII and Vietnam. Kudos to Brady on a good book. He needs to get a better editor though because there were many words not spelled correctly, and sometimes the grammar took on the tone of an ema...more
A coming of age memoir about Tom Brady's marine experience on the Korean penisula during America's forgotten war. For those of us that grew up with this war, Brady's book offers an unvarnished view of men in war in an inhospital environment. Brady is not filled with bravado and readily admits to lack of experience and maturity as a leader, however, his sincerity is heart-felt. I would recommend the book for anyone interested in the logistics and strategies of this "police action."
Madelaine Landry
added it
Another novel-in-progress research book, but Brady's style is too engaging and the book was hard to put down once i got started.
Steffi
marked it as to-read
This was for a class, of course I didn't finish it for that--but I do want to finish this; I'm a sucker for a good memoir.
Great memoir of a grunt in Korea.
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James Winston Brady was an American celebrity columnist who created the Page Six gossip column in the New York Post and authored the In Step With column in Parade for nearly 25 years until his death. He also authored numerous books about his time serving in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War.
More about James Brady...
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