Korean War/Bibliography

Please sort and annotate in a user-friendly manner. For formatting, consider using automated reference wikification.

Historiography and reference

• Armstrong, Charles K. "Divided Korea at Sixty." History Compass 2005 3(Asia). Issn: 1478-0542 Fulltext: [[Blackwell Synergy] considers how Korea became divided; the causes and conduct of the Korean War; the reasons for Korea's continued division; and in particular the nature and survivability of the North Korean regime.
• Brune, Lester H. The Korean War: Handbook of the Literature and Research, (1996) 464 pp.; comprehensive annotated guide to the scholarly literature online edition
• Edwards, Paul M. The A to Z of the Korean War. (2005). 305 pp. historical dictionary; also published as Korean War Almanac (2006)
• Matray, James I. Historical Dictionary of the Korean War (1991), the nest encyclopedia on political, biographical, and non-US subjects excerpt and text search
• Millett, Allan R “A Reader's Guide To The Korean War” Journal of Military History (1997) Vol. 61 No. 3; p. 583+
• Millett, Allan R, “A Reader's Guide To The Korean War” Journal of Military History (1997) Vol. 61 No. 3; p. 583+ full text in JSTOR; free online revised version
• Millett, Allan R. "The Korean War: A 50 Year Critical Historiography," Journal of Strategic Studies 24 (March 2001), pp. 188-224. full text in Ingenta and Ebsco; discusses major works by British, American, Korean, Chinese, and Russian authors
• Sandler, Stanley. The Korean War: An Eencyclopedia (1995), the best encyclopedia on military-operational-weaponry subjects excerpt and text search
• Stueck, William. "The Korean War As History: David Rees' Korea: The Limited War In Retrospect," Conference on the Power of Free Inquiry and Cold War International History (1998) online edition
• Summers, Harry G. Korean War Almanac (1990), not always reliable
• Tucker, Spencer C. et al. Encyclopedia of the Korean War: A Political, Social, and Military History (3 vol; 2002 also one-vol edition) the best reference source; 600 entries; vol 3 contains primary documents
• West, Philip. "Interpreting the Korean War" The American Historical Review, Vol. 94, No. 1 (Feb., 1989), pp. 80-96 in JSTOR

Surveys

• Halliday, Jon and Bruce Cumings. Korea: The Unknown War (1988); hostile to US & ROK; well illustrated
• Heller, Francis H. ed. The Korean War (1977)
• James, D. Clayton. Years of MacArthur vol 3, 1945-64 (1985), the standard scholarly biography
• James, D. Clayton with Anne Sharp Wells, Refighting the Last War: Command and Crises in Korea, 1950-1953 (1993)
• Kaufman, Burton I. The Korean Conflict(1999) excerpt and text search
• Malkasian, Carter. The Korean War (Essential Histories) (2001), brief summary excerpt and text search
• Millett, Allan R. The War for Korea, 1945-1950: A House Burning (2005), major history by leading scholar excerpt and text search
• Sandler, Stanley. "The Korean War: An Interpretive History," in Richard Jensen et al., eds. Trans-Pacific Relations: America, Europe and Asia in the Twentieth Century (2003) excerpt and text search; also complete edition online
• Sandler, Stanley. [The Korean War: No Victors, No Vanquished (1999) excerpt and text search
• Stueck, William. The Korean War (1997) excerpt and text search
• Stueck, Jr., William J. The Korean War: An International History (1995), diplomacy
• Summers, Harry G. Korean War Almanac (1990), not fully reliable
• Varhola, Michael J. Fire and Ice: The Korean War, 1950-1953, (2000) excerpt and text search

Origins, politics and diplomacy

• Beisner, Robert L. Dean Acheson: A Life in the Cold War (2006), 800pp
• Chen, Jian. China's Road to the Korean War (1995) excerpt and text search
• Condit, Doris M. The Test of War, 1950-1953. (1988) on the Pentagon leadership.
• Cumings, Bruce. The Origins of the Korean War, Vol. 1: Liberation and the Emergence of Separate Regimes, 1945-1947, (1981), ISBN 0-691-10113-2; The Origins of the Korean War, Vol. 2: The Roaring of the Cataract, 1947-1950, Princeton University Press, 1990, ISBN 0-691-07843-2, prewar; stress on internal Korean politics
• Dingman, Roger. "Atomic Diplomacy During the Korean War." International Security 13 (1988-89), how Eisenhowwer threatened to use nuclear weapons
• Foot, Rosemary. The Wrong War: American Policy and the Dimensions of the Korean Conflict, 1950-1953 (1985)
• Foot, Rosemary. A Substitute for Victory: The Politics of Peacemaking at the Korean Armistice Talks (1990).
• Foot, Rosemary, "Making Known the Unknown War: Policy Analysis of the Korean Conflict in the Last Decade," Diplomatic History 15 (Summer 1991): 411-31
• Goncharov, Sergei N., John W. Lewis; and Xue Litai, Uncertain Partners: Stalin, Mao, and the Korean War, Stanford University Press, 1993, ISBN 0-8047-2521-7, diplomatic
• Hu, Wanli. "Mao's American Strategy and the Korean War." PhD dissertation U. of Massachusetts 2005. 247 pp. DAI 2005 66(2): 716-717-A. DA3163675 Fulltext: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses* Jervis, Robert. "The Impact of the Korean War on the Cold War" The Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 24, No. 4 (Dec., 1980), pp. 563-592 in JSTOR
• Hunt, Michael H. "Beijing and the Korean Crisis, June 1950-June 1951," Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 107, No. 3 (Autumn, 1992), pp. 453-478 in JSTOR
• Jian, Chen. China's Road to the Korean War: The Making of the Sino-American Confrontation (1994) excerpt and text search; online edition
• Kaufman, Burton I. The Korean War: Challenges in Crisis, Credibility, and Command. (1999), politics of war;online edition
• Lowe, Peter. "An Ally and a Recalcitrant General: Great Britain, Douglas Macarthur and the Korean War, 1950-1." English Historical Review 1990 105(416): 624-653. Issn: 0013-8266 in Jstor
• Malkasian, Carter. Toward a Better Understanding of Attrition: the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Journal of Military History 2004 68(3): 911-942. Issn: 0899-3718 Fulltext: Project Muse
• Matray, James I. "Truman's Plan for Victory: National Self-Determination and the Thirty-Eighth Parallel Decision in Korea," The Journal of American History, Vol. 66, No. 2 (Sep., 1979), pp. 314-333 in JSTOR
• Roe, Patrick C. The Dragon Strikes: China and the Korean War, June-December 1950 (2000). 466 pgs. online edition
• Shen, Zhihua. "Sino-Soviet Relations and the Origins of the Korean War: Stalin's Strategic Goals in the Far East," Journal of Cold War Studies Volume 2, Number 2, Spring 2000, pp. 44-68 in Project Muse
• Stairs, Denis. The Diplomacy of Constraint: Canada, the Korean War, and the United States (1974), esp ch 4 on containing America's militarism
• Stueck, William. Rethinking the Korean War: A New Diplomatic and Strategic History (2004) excerpt and text search
• Stueck, Jr., William J. The Korean War: An International History (1995), diplomacy
• Stueck, William, ed. The Korean War in World History (2004) excerpt and text search includes:
  • Allan R. Millett, "Korean People: Missing in Action in the Misunderstood War."
  • Kathryn Weathersby, "Soviet Role in the Korean War."
  • Chen Jian, "China's Road to the Korean War Revisited"
• Thornton, Richard C. Odd Man Out: Truman, Stalin, Mao and the Origins of Korean War (2001) excerpt and text search
• Whiting, Allen. China Crosses the Yalu (1960), out of date
• Wilkinson, Mark F., ed. The Korean War at Fifty: International Perspectives. (2004). 297 pp.
• Zhang Shu-gang, Mao's Military Romanticism: China and the Korean War, 1950-1953 (1995)

US Domestic politics

• Bernstein, Barton J. "The Truman Presidency and the Korean War," in Michael James Lacey, ed. The Truman Presidency (1989) pp 410-43 online edition
• Caridi, Ronald James. "The G.O.P. and the Korean War." Pacific Historical Review 1968 37(4): 423-443. Issn: 0030-8684 in Jstor
• Casey, Steven. Selling the Korean War: Propaganda, Politics, and Public Opinion in the United States, 1950-1953 (2008)
• Casey, Steven. "Selling NSC-68: The Truman Administration, Public Opinion, and the Politics of Mobilization, 1950-51." Diplomatic History 2005 29(4): 655-690. Issn: 0145-2096 Fulltext: Ebsco
• Fautua, David T. "The 'Long Pull' Army: NSC 68, the Korean War, and the Creation of the Cold War U.s. Army." Journal of Military History 1997 61(1): 93-120. in Jstor
• Donnelly, William M. "'The Best Army That Can Be Put in the Field in the Circumstances': the U.S. Army, July 1951-July 1953." Journal of Military History 2007 71(3): 809-847. Issn: 0899-3718 Fulltext: Ebsco
• Hamby, Alonzo. Man of the People: A Life of Harry S. Truman (1998) excerpt and text search
• May, Ernest R. American Cold War Strategy: Interpreting NSC 68 (1993), with complete text of NSC-68, the hardline American strategy for the Cold War
• Ohanian, Lee E. "The Macroeconomic Effects of War Finance in the United States: World War II and the Korean War" American Economic Review. 87#1 (1997) pp 23-40 in JSTOR
• Pierpaoli, Paul G. Truman and Korea: The Political Culture of the Early Cold War (1999)

• Spanier, John W. The Truman-MacArthur Controversy and the Korean War (1959).
• Wainstock, Dennis D. Truman, Macarthur, and the Korean War (1999) online edition

The two Koreas

• Cumings, Bruce. The Origins of the Korean War, Vol. 1: Liberation and the Emergence of Separate Regimes, 1945-1947, (1981), ISBN 0-691-10113-2; The Origins of the Korean War, Vol. 2: The Roaring of the Cataract, 1947-1950, Princeton University Press, 1990, ISBN 0-691-07843-2, prewar; stress on internal Korean politics
• Lankov, Andrei, and A. N. Lankov, From Stalin to Kim Il Sung: The Formation of North Korea 1945-1960 (2002) excerpt and text search</ref>
• Zhihua, Shen. "Sino-North Korean Conflict and its Resolution During the Korean War." Cold War International History Project Bulletin 2003-2004 (14-15): 9-24. online edition

Ground operations

• Appleman, Roy E. South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu (1961); official US Army history of fighting in 1950 online edition
• Appleman, Roy E.. East of Chosin: Entrapment and Breakout in Korea (1987); Escaping the Trap: The U.S. Army in Northeast Korea, 1950 (1987) excerpt and text search; Disaster in Korea: The Chinese Confront MacArthur (1989); Ridgway Duels for Korea (1990). narrative and analysis of combat operations
• Appleman, Roy E. Disaster in Korea: The Chinese Confront MacArthur (1989) online edition
• Appleman, Roy E.. Escaping the Trap: The U.S. Army in Northeast Korea, 1950 (1987)
• Appleman, Roy E.. Ridgway Duels for Korea (1990).
• Blair, Clay. The Forgotten War (1988), revisionist study that attacks senior American officials
• Farrar-Hockley, General Sir Anthony. The British Part in the Korean War, HMSO, (1995), 528 pp, official British history ISBN 0-11-630962-8
• Flint, Roy K. "Task Force Smith and the 24th Division." in Charles E. Heller and William A. Stofft eds. America's First Battles: 1776-1965 (1986), 266-99. A wide-ranging look at the Army and its weak fighting ability in 1950.
• Grey, Jeffrey. The Commonwealth Armies and the Korean War: An Alliance Study. (1988).
• Halberstam, David. The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War, (2007), oral histories excerpt and text search
• Hamburger, Kenneth E. Leadership in the Crucible: The Korean War Battles of Twin Tunnels and Chipyong-Ni. (2003). 257 pp. excerpt and text search
• Hastings, Max. The Korean War (2000), British perspective excerpt and text search
• Hermes, Walter G. Truce Tent and Fighting Front (1962) Official US Army history of 1951-53, including combat and truce talks. online edititom
• Hastings, Max. The Korean War (1987), 416pp; British perspective excerpt and text search
• Johnston, William. A War of Patrols: Canadian Army Operations in Korea (2003).
• Knox, Donald. The Korean War, An Oral History (1985) excerpt and text search
• Korea Institute of Military History. The Korean War (3 vol 2000); highly detailed narrative; official South Korean history excerpt and text search
• Marshall, S.L.A. The River and the Gauntlet: Defeat of the Eighth Army by the Chinese Communist Forces, November, 1950 in the Battle of Chongchon River, Korea (1953) based on after-action intervierws
• Millett, Allan R. Their War for Korea: American, Asian, and European Combatants and Civilians, 1945–1953. (2003). 310 pp. excerpt and text search
• Montross, Lynn et al., History of U.S. Marine Operations in Korea, 1950–1953, 5 vols. (1954–72),
• Mossman, Billy C. Ebb and Flow: November 1950 - July 1951 (1990), good official US Army history online edition
• O’Neill, Robert. Australia in the Korean War, 1950-1953. 2 vols. (1981, 1985)
• Russ, Martin. Breakout: The Chosin Reservoir Campaign, Korea 1950 (2000), 464 pages, ISBN 0-14-029259-4 excerpt and text search
• Schnabel, James W. U.S. Army in the Korean War: Policy and Directions: The First Year (1972), official US Army history, focused on Pentagon online edition
• Schnabel, James F. United States Army in the Korean War: Policy and Direction: The First Year (1972). official US Army history; full text online
• Stolfi, Russel H. S. "A Critique of Pure Success: Inchon Revisited, Revised, and Contrasted." Journal of Military History 2004 68(2): 505-525. Issn: 0899-3718 Fulltext: Project Muse argues Germans did a better job in a comparable campaign in the Baltic in 1941
• Stanton, Shelby. America's Tenth Legion: X Corps in Korea, 1950. (1989). 342 pp.
• Toland, John. In Mortal Combat: Korea, 1950-1953 (1991), combat narratives
• Watson, Brent Byron. Far Eastern Tour: The Canadian Infantry in Korea, 1950-1953. 2002. 256 pp.

Air and sea operations; logistics

• Crane, Conrad C. American Airpower Strategy in Korea, 1950-1953. (2000).
• Field Jr., James A. History of United States Naval Operations: Korea, (2001), official U.S. Navy history
• Futrell, Robert Frank et al. The United States Air Force in Korea, 1950-1953 (1961), the best military analysis
• Heinl, Robert D. "The Inchon Landing: a Case Study in Amphibious Planning." Naval War College Review 1998 51(2): 117-134. Issn: 0028-1484
• Hallion, Richard. The Naval Air War in Korea (1986)
• Huston, James A. Guns and Butter, Powder and Rice: U.S. Army Logistics in the Korean War (1989)
• Werrell, Kenneth P. Sabres over MiG Alley: The F-86 and the Battle for Air Superiority in Korea. (2005). 318 pp.

Biographies and memoirs

• Domes, Juergen, Peng Teh-huai (1985), Chinese commander
• James, D. Clayton. Years of MacArthur vol 3, 1945-64 (1985), the major scholarly biography
• Leitich, Keith. Shapers of the Great Debate on the Korean War: A Biographical Dictionary (2006) covers Americans only
• Ridgway, Matthew B. The Korean War (1986) memoir by US ground commander excerpt and text search
• Weintraub, Stanley. MacArthur's War: Korea and the Undoing of an American Hero. (2000). 385 pp. hostile

Intelligence

• Aid, Matthew M. "US Humint and Comint in the Korean War: from the Approach of War to the Chinese Intervention." Intelligence and National Security 1999 14(4): 17-63. Issn: 0268-4527
• Cohen, Eliot A. "'Only Half the Battle': American Intelligence and the Chinese Intervention in Korea, 1950." Intelligence and National Security 1990 5(1): 129-149. Issn: 0268-4527 Argues analysts underestimated the size and effectiveness of Chinese forces. They mistakenly assumed that the Chinese would fight like the North Koreans, with heavy units dependent on major logistic support fighting a conventional war. In the event poorly equipped Chinese forces actually fought according to historic Chinese principles: by night infiltration and envelopment as light forces free from heavy logistic needs.
• Knight, Peter G. "'MacArthur's Eyes': Reassessing Military Intelligence Operations in the Forgotten War, June 1950-April 1951." PhD dissertation Ohio State U. 2006. 443 pp. DAI 2007 67(7): 2722-A. DA3226313 Fulltext: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

Soldiers and support; medical

• Bardbury, William C. et al. Mass Behavior in Battle and Captivity: The Communist Soldier in the Korean War (1968)
• Biderman, Albert D. March to Calumny (1963), best on US POWs; rebuts charges (made by Eugene Kinkead) that 1/3 collaborated
• Cowdrey, Albert E. The Medics' War (GPO, 1987)
• Crane, Conrad C. "'No Practical Capabilities': American Biological and Chemical Warfare Programs During the Korean War," Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 45.2 (2002) 241-249, shows the US did not develop biological weapons in Project Muse
• Donnelly, William M. "'The Best Army that Can Be Put in the Field in the Circumstances': The U.S. Army, July 1951–July 1953," The Journal of Military History 71#3 July 2007, pp. 809-847 in Project Muse
• Hanson, Thomas E. "The Eighth Army's Combat Readiness Before Korea: a New Appraisal." Armed Forces & Society 2003 29(2): 167-184. Issn: 0095-327x Fulltext: Ebsco Argues it was well trained and well prepared. 1) occupation duties seldom interfered with training; 2) the training cycle afforded maximum time for the creation of cohesive and proficient squads, platoons, and companies; 3) soldiers recognized the importance of the training program and strove to execute it well; 4) physical fitness was an integral part of the training program; and 5) technical training occupied a significant part of nonmaneuver training time.
• Hanson, Thomas E. "America's First Cold War Army: Combat Readiness in the Eighth US Army, 1949-1950." PhD dissertation Ohio State U. 2006. 224 pp. DAI 2007 67(7): 2721-A. DA3226301 in ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
• Huston, James A. Guns and Butter, Powder and Rice: U.S. Army Logistics in the Korean War (1989)
• Kindsvatter, Peter S. American Soldiers: Ground Combat in the World Wars, Korea, and Vietnam. (2003). 472 pp.
• Westover, John G. Combat Support in Korea (1987), oral history interviews from soldiers in of corps of engineers, transportation, chemical. signal, medical, ordnance, quartermaster and MP's; 212pp; online edition
• Witt, Linda, et al. A Defense Weapon Known to Be of Value: Service Women of the Korean War Era. (2005). 320 pp.
• Wubben, H. H. "American Prisoners of War in Korea." American Quarterly 22#1 (1970) pp 3-19 online at JSTOR

Film, fiction, culture and memory

• Axelsson, Arne. Restrained Response: American Novels of the Cold War and Korea, 1945-1962. (1990). 221 pp. excerpt and text search
• Ehrhart, W. D., and Philip K. Jason, eds. Retrieving Bones: Stories and Poems of the Korean War (1999) 225pp excerpt and text search
• Carruthers, Susan L. "The Manchurian Candidate (1962) and the Cold War Brainwashing Scare." Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television 1998 18(1): 75-94. Issn: 0143-9685
• Edwards, Paul M. A Guide to Films on the Korean War. (1997). 149 pp. excerpt and text search
• Edwards, Paul M. To Acknowledge a War: The Korean War in American Memory. (2000). 176 pp. excerpt and text search
• Kerin, James R., Jr. "The Korean War and American Memory." PhD dissertation U. of Pennsylvania 1994. 411 pp. DAI 1995 55(9): 2833-A. DA9503784 Fulltext: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
• Lentz, Robert J. Korean War Filmography: 91 English Language Features through 2000. (2003). 496 pp.
• Park, Jinim. "The Colonized Colonizers: Korean Experiences of the Vietnam War." Journal of American-East Asian Relations 1998 7(3-4): 217-240. Issn: 1058-3947 examines three novels: Ahn Jung-hyo's White Badge (1989), Park Young-han's River of Song-Ba (1992), and Hwang Suk-young's The Shadow of Arms (1994)
• Seed, David. American Science Fiction and the Cold War: Literature and Film (1999) excerpt and text search
• West, Philip; Levine, Steven I.; and Hiltz, Jackie, eds. America's Wars in Asia: A Cultural Approach to History and Memory. (1998). 286 pp.
• West, Philip. "Confronting the West: China as David and Goliath in the Korean War." Journal of American-East Asian Relations 1993 2(1): 5-28. Issn: 1058-3947
• Young, Charles S. "Missing Action: Pow Films, Brainwashing and the Korean War, 1954-1968." Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television 1998 18(1): 49-74. Issn: 0143-9685

Primary sources

• Bassett, Richard M. And the Wind Blew Cold: The Story of an American POW in North Korea. (2002). 117 pp.
• Heller, Francis H. ed. The Korean War (1977), 251pp recollections of leaders and coments by scholars
• Marshall, S. L. A. The River and the Gauntlet (1953) on combat
• Ridgway, Matthew B. "The Korean War: How We Met the Challenge: How All-Out Asian War Was Averted: Why MacArthur Was Dismissed: Why Today’s War Objectives Must Be Limited" (1967).
• Westover, John G. Combat Support in Korea (1987), oral history interviews from members of corps of engineers, transportation, chemical, signal, medical, ordnance, quartermaster and MPs; 212pp; online edition
• Yu, Bin, and Xiaobing Li, eds Mao's Generals Remember Korea, (2001), 328 pages