This is a very good book, indeed. It's a history of the Korean War, but in the hands of a writer like Halberstam it becomes much more. It chronicles how domestic politics and influences can direct events in a way none of the participants can imagine. In 1948 Mao defeated the nationalist Chinese and took over China. At the time the Democrats had been in power for almost 20 years and the Republicans were desperate. They used the 'loss' of China as a wedge against the Truman administration. This was driven mostly by the China Lobby, which was made up of people whose only contact with China was from the description of missionaries who painted a idealistic picture of a nation dying to become Christian. Add to this the complimentary charge that the Truman administration was 'soft' on Communism and you have the stage set for the McCarthy hearings and a terrible war against Communism that killed thousands of young Americans and hundreds of thousands of young Chinese.

This is history at it's very best. The forces that led to Korea also led to Vietnam and even to Iraq. What we saw in 1950 is what we are seeing today in our national politics. None of it was good for our country then and none of it is good now.

What a shame Halberstam was killed in an auto accident. He could have shown us so much more.