Believing it could act with impunity in a world exhausted by war, communist North Korea decided to invade and annex Western-allied South Korea in June 1950. President Harry Truman, who feared from the beginning that Korea was "the opening round of World War III," committed U.S. troops to repulse the invaders. America's first "limited" war—and the first armed conflict of the cold war era—had begun. Three years of brutal fighting followed, leading to the deaths of more than half a million North Korean and Chinese soldiers, and more than 50,000 Americans. Korean War, Revised Edition recalls this momentous but largely forgotten event from recent American history through riveting full-color and black-and-white images, informative sidebars, suggestions for further reading, a glossary, and an index. A new chapter to this edition focuses on the new military tactics and innovations used during this armed conflict.
Maurice Isserman received a B.A. in history from Reed College in 1973 and his Ph.D. in American history from the University of Rochester in 1979. He is Publius Virgilius Rogers Professor of American History at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York.
The revised edition (2010) of "Korean War" goes into quite a bit of detail about military strategy, although political considerations are also addressed. Part of the "America at War" series, it would be most suitable for high school students or older.