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Enter the Dragon: China's Undeclared War Against the U.S. in Korea, 1950-1951
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Reissued to coincide with the 60th anniversary of U.S. involvement in the Korean War, this gripping, dramatic military classic re-creates six pivotal months in the conflict, told from both the Chinese and Allied sides.
The Korean War was, years before Vietnam, the first great East-West military misadventure, eventually engaging sixteen countries under the U.N. flag in war a ...more
The Korean War was, years before Vietnam, the first great East-West military misadventure, eventually engaging sixteen countries under the U.N. flag in war a ...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
June 24th 1999
by William Morrow Paperbacks
(first published 1988)
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Well-written, deeply engrossing account of the early period of the Korean War. Spurr follows the action largely from the North Korean and Chinese side, focusing on Chinese observers with the NK forces at the siege of the Pusan Perimeter and then following a Chinese special operations unit ("the Sharp Swords") from the Chinese entry into the war until the Chinese advance came up against Matthew Ridgway's defensive lines.
There are powerful images here--- a Chinese observer at Pusan listening to h ...more
There are powerful images here--- a Chinese observer at Pusan listening to h ...more

A unique perspective on the Korean war, this book examines it in detail from the Chinese side.
China really cannot be faulted for taking part in the Korean war. They told, warned and warned the "UN" to not go too far north in Korea but they were ignored.
The stories told in this book are incredibly detailed and really show the Korean war in a way few other authors have ever done.
A terrific edition to any serious Korean War library.
My Rating: 5 stars
This review first appeared: https://www.n ...more
China really cannot be faulted for taking part in the Korean war. They told, warned and warned the "UN" to not go too far north in Korea but they were ignored.
The stories told in this book are incredibly detailed and really show the Korean war in a way few other authors have ever done.
A terrific edition to any serious Korean War library.
My Rating: 5 stars
This review first appeared: https://www.n ...more

Russel Spurr was a British-Australian journalist who spent most of his life reporting from East Asia (20 years in Hong Kong), during which time he made many trips to China and Taiwan and interviewed multiple veterans of the Chinese intervention in Korea to write what was probably the first book covering the Korean war from the Chinese perspective (published in 1988). The book (Enter the Dragon. China’s undeclared war against the US in Korea 1950-51) provides a great introduction to the “other si
...more

This was an excellently written book. Spurr is not a historian but rather a journalist, having covered the Korean War on the ground; as such the book is not written in an academic tone though Spurr did do his research. The book is written primarily from the viewpoint of the Chinese who did the fighting against the American, South Korean, British and Turkish forces. He was able to get interviews with them by traveling to Taiwan where many had been expatriated to following the war. (Alluding to th
...more

I thoroughly enjoyed this book as it presented these early years of the war from the Chinese perspective. All in all this seemed to have been a war driven by hubris on all sides at varying times - The North Koreans for starting the war and then being allowed by the Chinese to save face by acting like they pushed America back, the Americans (MacArthur) for driving north to the Yalu and inciting the Chinese, followed by the Chinese attempt to push the US (and South Koreans) out of Korea entirely o
...more

Written more as a journalistic account than a scholarly work, Russell Spur’s book stands as an important backdrop to today’s situation on the Korean Peninsula. With the succession from Kim Jong-il to his son Kim Jong-eun, an economy habitually tittering on the edge of near collapse, and an impoverished, oppressed population, there is growing concern about the stability and longevity of the North Korean regime. Would a collapse precipitate a Republic of Korea-led intervention, which would certain
...more
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