In Mortal Combat [Paperback]

John Toland (Author), Carolyn Blakemore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 29, 1993

In this brilliant narrative of America's first limited war, John Toland shows yet again why, for over two decades, he has been one of this country's most respected and popular military historians. Toland lets both the events and the participants speak for themselves, employing scrupulous archival research and interviews as the bases for the drama and accuracy of his writing. In Mortal Combat reveals Mao's prediction of the date and place of MacArthur's Inchon landing, Russia's indifference to the war, Mao's secret leadership of the North Korean military, and the true nature of both sides' treatment and repatriation of POWs.

In addition to being the first Westerner to gain access to Chinese records and combatants, Toland interviewed numerous North and South Korean veterans and over two hundred members of the American military, many of whom had never been approached before. The result is a signal work of compelling readability and lasting importance.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this Korean War history, Toland ( Infamy ) makes skillful use of material gathered in Chinese and North Korean archives and through interviews with Chinese and North Korean veterans of the 1950-1953 war. In crisp, lucid prose he relates the familiar chronology from Pusan to Panmunjom, personalizing the course of events through well-chosen anecdotes and quotes, examining from a fresh perspective the controversial aspects of the conflict, including Chinese allegations that the Americans used germ warfare, the Truman-MacArthur confrontation and American brutality against Korean civilians. The relatively static last half of the war, usually given short shrift, is here fully developed, with Toland explaining how critical the POW issue was for both sides during the truce talks. In a book full of impressive features, the most noteworthy is this: Toland has gathered previously inaccessible material enabling him to describe Mao Zedong's direct role in the war as well as that of his field commander Peng Teh-huai. The "forgotten war," in which four million people perished, has never been described more interestingly. Photos.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Toland, author of Adolf Hitler ( LJ 12/15/78), Infamy ( LJ 3/15/82), and The Rising Sun ( LJ 3/1/71), applies his skills as a popular historian to the Korean War. There is little historical background; some of the ongoing analysis is weak and poorly documented (e.g., when dealing with Chinese motives and policy-making); and there are also a few omissions and errors. Of the almost 20 maps, many are confusingly drawn and not very helpful. These problems are generally minor, however, and the story is well worth reading. Toland makes good use of participants' interviews (from both sides) to enrich the secondary literature in a lively, moving, and at times disturbing presentation. He covers strategic and tactical maneuvers, correspondents, political struggles, behind-the-lines activities, prisoners of war, and numerous acts of combat and leadership heroism (and failure) in a fluid style certain to hold the reader's attention. Highly recommended for public libraries and subject collections. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/91.
- Kenneth W. Berger, Duke Univ. Lib., Durham, N.C.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 656 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (June 29, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688125794
• ISBN-13: 978-0688125790
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #923,781 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A detailed and chilling account of a war so often overlooked, November 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: In Mortal Combat (Paperback)

Toland depicts the Korean War with such detail and accuracy that it becomes impossible to romantisize war. The soldiers were against overwhelming odds in extreme conditions, and constantly in a struggle to stay alive. By retelling the war from the perspective of all the key generals in the war, or from a close observer of a general, Toland gave us their insight to why they made the decisions that they did. He also captured many of these key decisions in the epilogue detailing the weaknesses and mistakes of the key leaders. His historical accuracy of the carnage produced on both sides made it a chilling reminder of the horrors of war. The lengthy cat and mouse game played between the governments of the United States, North Korea, and China to sign the peace agreement lasted over a year while American soldiers suffered in POW camps. I wasn't born at the time, but reading it now made me angry as the battles continued to produce casualties as did the POW camps. Very good book!

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Poorly Researched, August 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: In Mortal Combat (Paperback)

Toland has written some outstanding books to include, THE RISING SUN and BUT NOT IN SHAME. However, IN MORTAL COMBAT is sloppy. He routinely makes mistakes when describing Anerican Army combat units and their role in the war. Moreover, he has lionized ceratin commanders, like Gen Walker, who were at best mediocre commanders. The book's only strength is that he made an attempt to tell the story of the North Koreans, too, and for that Toland deserves some credit. Still, for a better history of the war, its hard to beat Roy Appleman's SOUTH TO THE NAKTONG, NORTH TO THE YALU.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Book and somewhat like the real War ..., December 8, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Mortal Combat (Paperback)

due to the fact that it has a strong and interesting beginning, a somewhat "vanilla" middle , and a rather "limp" ending.

I am not a military historian, but am an analyst. I am not a veteran, but do understand the difference between the various types of "histories",i.e. academic military history, journalistic military history, popular military history ("coffee table" books, etc.), "official histories", oral history, etc.

This book definately falls into the journalistic history category, with all it pitfalls and advantages. One pitfall is that Mr. Toland is FAR too easy on the press in general and he doesn't spend much time at all on faults of the forementioned press. On the other hand, one of the advantages is that this book is a wonderful "read", i.e. the book has a definite flow to it (along with being easy to read).

In my opinion, the book, like some of his other books, starts off very strong and detailed and then proceeds to a somewhat bland middle and finishes with a rather "limp" ending. [The book of his that epitimizes this is: The Rising Sun!] His discussion of Generals Walker and MacArthur are very good indeed and better than most other books (considering that he does it better in FAR less space/wording). Another strong suit of this book is the insight and discussion of POWS and their treatment. He also, does give a view of the "other side of the hill", which other so-called "histories of the Korean War" fail to do. However, in the middle of the book I would have liked to see more detailed discussion on some of the "nitty-gritty" tactical battles once the Chinese entered the war (as by this pt. in the book he just covers entire campaigns at the division and Corps level, with just "snippets" of tactical action). Finally, the last group of chapters in the book, "WAR & PEACE", could have been much better. He only covers the political bickering between the two sides and almost completely ignores ANY of the many interesting tactical struggles going on all along the "static" front line (MLR). IF he would have covered more than just the one he did, it would have GREATLY enhanced the book for me.

Thus, my real rating for this book is as follows:

1st 1/3 of book ***** (5 stars) Middle 1/3 of book ***1/2 (3.5 stars) Final 1/3 of book ** (2 stars)

Overall rating = 5 + 3.5 + 2 = 10.5/3 = 3.5 Stars or rounding to 4 Stars.