Retrieving Bones: Stories and Poems of the Korean War [Paperback]

W. D. Ehrhart (Editor), Philip K. Jason (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"It is the rare anthology which achieves both literary and historical significance. Retrieving Bones is a superb collection of short fiction and poems that forcibly reminds us that the United States did not go directly from the 'good' World War II to Vietnam. In between there was Korea, and Jason and Ehrhart demonstrate why it is so important that we remember and understand it." -- Marilyn B. Young, author of The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990

"Responsibly selected and authoritatively introduced, this collection is a worthy reminder of the facts and costs of an almost-forgotten war." -- Paul Fussell, author of Wartime: Understanding and Behavior in the Second World War.

From the Back Cover

The Korean War was a major event in American history. It marked an abrupt end to the euphoria Americans felt I the wake of victory in World War II and turned out to be the harbinger of disaster in Vietnam a decade later.

Though three years of brutal fighting resulted in millions of casualties, the final truce line of 1953 corresponded almost exactly to the positions the opponents held when the fighting began. Back home, the returning veterans met with little interest in or appreciation of what they had endured. Consequently, literary responses to the Korean War did not find an eager readership. Few people, it seemed, wanted to read about what they perceived as a backwater war that possessed neither grand scale nor apparent nobility, a war that ended not with a bang, but a whimper.

Yet an important literature has come out of the Korean War. As we mark the fiftieth anniversary of the war, these writings are well worth our attention. Many of the twelve stories and fifty poems assembled in Retrieving Bones have long been out of print and are almost impossible to find in any other source. The editors have enhanced this collection by providing maps, a chronology of the Korean War, and annotated lists of novels, works of nonfiction, and films. In a detailed introduction, Ehrhart and Jason discuss the milestones of the Korean War and place each fiction writer and poet represented into historical and literary contexts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press; 1St Edition edition (June 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813526396
• ISBN-13: 978-0813526393
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #545,865 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Literary Approach to the Korean War, July 16, 2000

By 

Chip Biernbaum (Charleston, SC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Retrieving Bones: Stories and Poems of the Korean War (Paperback)

This is an exceptional book. For anyone with any interest in creative literature arising from warfare, whether narrative or poetic, this is a book to have. I have read hundreds of books of military history, stories, and poetry. This, by far, is the best I've seen. I am very familiar with Ehrhart's work -- and he's creative, thoughtful, and a consumate literary pro. All of this shows through here. Of the 204 pages of text, 157 pages consist of twelve stories by different authors. The rest of the book includes 39 poems by six poets. The stories and poems are all of very different styles and complement each other beautifully. One story in particular, "The Trapped Battalion," by William Chamberlain, will blow you away (pardon the pun)! There are two additional excellent and unusual aspects to this volume. First, the two editors give you a brief personal introduction to each author and poet, highlighting their connections with the Korean War and mentioning their personal and literary history as well as prominent themes in their works. Second, at the end of the book they have a detailed annotated list of recommended books, films, and poetry of the Korean War. This is one book I know I will read many times as the years go by.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting survey, good context, hit-and-miss on quality, September 28, 2009

By 

Edison McIntyre (Durham, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Retrieving Bones: Stories and Poems of the Korean War (Paperback)

RETRIEVING BONES is a solid, if not outstanding, anthology of literature about a "forgotten" war, and it probably will mean more to the veterans of that war, and to their families, than to most younger readers. W.D. Ehrhart and Philip K. Jason have done a fine job in finding representative works by authors both celebrated (at least among writers and poets) and unfamiliar, and they do an even better job in placing these writers and their works in the historical context of the Korean War.

For the record, the short stories are: "Rice" (Henry Steiner), "A Long Way From Home," (Vern Sneider), "We Build Churches, Inc." (James Lee Burke), "Cold Day, Cold Fear" (Eugene Burdick), "The Trapped Battalion" (William Chamberlain), "Hoengsong" (from "The Useless Servant" by Rolando Hinojosa), "Lost Soldier" (Stanford Whitmore), "Sailors at Their Mourning: A Memory" (John Deck), "Graves," (Mark Power), "Indigenous Girls" (Donald R. Depew), "A Matter of Price" (Robert O. Bowen), and an excerpt from "The Secret" (James Drought). The poems are by Thomas McGrath, William Childress, Hinojosa, James Magner Jr., Reg Saner, William Wantling and Keith Wilson. Only a few of the stories deal directly with combat, and, non-combat stories like those by Hinojosa and Deck are among the strongest in the book. I'll not cast stones here, but at least a couple of the stories are just mediocre.

Perhaps because of its relatively short length and murky aims, perhaps because of the U.S. political climate of the 1950s, perhaps because some gifted writers who experienced the war came home to a country largely indifferent to the non-victory that ended the fighting, the Korean conflict hasn't generated near the amount of celebrated literature that emerged from America's two world wars or the Vietnam War. RETRIEVING BONES is another well-intentioned effort, among many in recent years, to remember the "forgotten" warriors of Korea and what they sacrificed. Frankly, those who need to inform themselves about the war should start with one or more of the many excellent histories (David Halberstam, Max Hastings, T.R. Fehrenbach, Clay Blair Jr.) and first-person accounts of the war, before delving into the fiction and poetry. But for the knowledgable, RETRIEVING BONES is worth some time to read (selectively).