Fire and Ice : The Korean War, 1950-1953

by Michael J. Varhola

12 original maps 24 photos and illustrations 6 x 9 Michael Varhola's The Korean War covers every aspect of this overlooked conflict in an original and fast-paced style. Jammed with facts, myths, statistics and analysis, Varhola's study includes chapters on leading personalities on both sides, all of the major actions including the Inchon Landing and retreat from Chosin, and the roles of the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps. Includes a Foreword by Col. John E. Jessup, a Korean War veteran and the author of a number of books, including An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Conflict and Conflict Resolution, 1945-1996. Michael Varhola has written and edited several books, including Everyday Life During the Civil War. He has also founded or run several publications, including Living History and The Achiever magazines, and has been published in dozens of other publications.

317 pages, Hardcover

First published June 30, 2000

About the author

Michael J. Varhola has a lifelong interest in the paranormal and has conducted investigations worldwide. He is a public speaker, author of several books, and a freelance journalist with a strong background in history, research, and fieldwork. He lives in Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C."

Reviews

[Barry Mathews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full of facts about the Korean War, the non-fiction book is more a resource with information given as bullet points.

[Rebecca Crunden]

⤑ research tag: in an effort to organise my shelves, I'm going to be labelling the books I'm using for study purposes as I tend to dip in and out of these.

[astaliegurec · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0 out of 5 stars
Fully Detailed, But Not Fun to Read
November 21, 2004

I realize I'm not in agreement with all the other reviews here, but I just wanted to throw my $0.02 in. The impression I got from reading the other reviews was that this book would read something like Churchill's "Second World War" series: sort of a narrative or story covering the war. Instead, for the most part, this book is a reference book. It's got tons of information in it, but it's organized into battles within time periods. It's hard to explain. I was looking for something that said we did x because of y which resulted in these battles. Then, we did x' which led to some other battles. Instead it said something like in year x we fought battles a, b, and c. In year y, we fought battles d, e, and f. All the information is there, but the "story" part of the "history" feels lacking.

If you're studying the Korean War, I do agree that this is an excellent book. But, for a more "entertaining" study, I'd try something else (what that would be, I don't know).

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overview. Unsurprisingly, based on the author's background, reads like a campaign supplement for a tabletop wargame without any game rules. Somewhat boring for me because of its lack of detail.