The Scariest Place in the World: A Marine Returns to North Korea [Large Print] [Hardcover]

James Brady (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0786278110 | ISBN-13: 978-0786278114 | Edition: 1

A New York Times Bestselling Author

Half a century after he fought there as a young Marine lieutenant, James Brady returns to the brooding Korean ridgelines and mountains to sound taps for a generation. With consummate skill Brady summons up the past and illuminates the present, be it the Korea of "the forgotten war," the Yanks who fought there long ago, or today's soldiers standing as wary sentinels over "the scariest place in the world."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This powerful narrative by the author of The Marines of Autum is an endearing piece of warrior's nostalgia, written with his accustomed skill by a seasoned writer. Returning to Korea, Brady revisits some of the places where he fought as a Marine platoon commander. In the opening, Brady finds his old battlefield of Hill 749 within sight of North Korean emplacements, although well-defended by a South Korean army vastly improved from what he remembers from 50-plus years ago. The rest of the narrative shifts back and forth, beginning with the author's nerve-wracking stroke to his going to Korea to write the Parade article on which this book is based. As Brady rides through Seoul with skyscrapers on every side, he remembers seeing it in 1951, when there wasn't a building taller than two stories left standing. Fellow Marines, from "the Skipper" (the company commander, the late Rhode Island governor and senator John Chaffee) on down, appear in their old age, and in their youth when they faced the Chinese with everything from artillery to bayonets. Brady, who expresses grave reservations about the Iraq War, sometimes moves from topic to topic fast enough to lose readers, but this book marks a highly admirable addition to his distinguished body of work. (Apr.) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Brady's latest on the Korean War takes its title from Bill Clinton's description of North Korea, which Brady looked into from the DMZ from Hill 749, which his company had assaulted in 1951, when he revisited South Korea. The place lived up to the description, although some things had changed. His escorts now included women officers, and Seoul was a mass of skyscrapers rather than of rubble. The book shifts back and forth from historical to contemporary scenes somewhat jerkily; on the whole, the historical passages are vivider, with their depictions of World War I-style trench warfare making a comeback and the Chinese proving themselves proficient, persistent opponents. The contemporary scenes become most eloquent when Brady pays tribute to old comrades, including the late Senator John Chaffee of Rhode Island, who commanded Brady's company. Marines tend to wax eloquent when saying farewell to fellow marines; Brady, a polished writer even under ordinary circumstances, is no exception. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 473 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press; 1 edition (August 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786278110
• ISBN-13: 978-0786278114
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,609,841 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The late JAMES BRADY commanded a Marine rifle platoon during the Korean War and was awarded a Bronze Star for valor. For more than two decades, he wrote the "In Step With" column for Parade. He also wrote a column for Forbes.com. He authored eighteen books, among them several on the Marines, including the nonfiction Why Marines Fight and the New York Times bestselling novel The Marines of Autumn.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Grumpy Old Men Visit the DMZ, May 3, 2005

By 

W. B Crews (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Scariest Place in the World: A Marine Returns to North Korea (Hardcover)

An extremely well-written book. However, if Seinfeld was a show "about nothing" then this book a book "about nothing."

The plot: A reluctant James Brady succumbs to the blandishments of his employer, Parade Magazine, to revisit the scene of his combat tour in the Korean War and the subject of his book, The Coldest War, and write about the experience. On this journey he is accompanied by another aging warrior, Eddie Adams, the Pulitzer Prize winning photographer (General Loan capping a captured VC in Saigon during Tet 1968). Brady hopes, apparently, to regain some of his lost youth in the experience.

Brady and Adams make the trip but Brady is disappointed at every turn. He tries repeatedly to get American officers to refer to the troops in 2ID as a "tripwire" and is miffed when they won't. The troops on the DMZ have hot food and hot showers. They live in concrete bunkers with TV and internet access. And so on and so on. The trenches and barbed wire are gone. His ROK Army host (doesn't speak English which is a disqualifier from command, apparently) tries to be polite to the traveling geezers and receives scorn for his efforts. Nothing is ever quite as hard as it was back in '52.

Brady comes across as an embittered cynic who can't resist taking gratuitous swipes at the US Army, the ROK Army, and strangely the British Army's Gloucestershire Regiment for reasons that are never really clear other than his need to be an embittered cynic.

Fortunately I checked this book out of the library so I was only out of my time.

18 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Talk about misleading titles!!, April 9, 2005

By 

Maskirovka (Alexandria, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Scariest Place in the World: A Marine Returns to North Korea (Hardcover)

I am fascinated by North Korea, so when I first spotted this on amazon.com a couple of months ago, I said to myself, "Sounds like a Korean War vet went to North Korea on a tour and got to see some interesting things or maybe it's book about the DMZ. God knows that would be interesting!!"

Was I ever wrong. I think a much better title would be, "A Korean War veteran remembers being in Korea and whole bunch of other things not terribly interesting to anyone other than fellow veterans and a few historians."

I don't like being harsh, but most of this book consists of the author's memories of the 1950s and a good deal doesn't even take place in Korea. As far as the "North Korea" part goes, I didn't see any references about him actually going into the DPRK. Going to North Korea is surprisingly not all that hard, since you can apparently step across the line in Panmunjon without getting your head blown off by the KPA guards there.

In short, I'd avoid this book if you're looking for any insights about North Korea or even what it's like to serve in the Republic of Korea today. I can only hope that someone out there is writing a book about the DMZ.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A warm look back at a cold and scary place, March 16, 2006

By 

Jack Roberts (Tuscaloosa, Alabama USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Scariest Place in the World: A Marine Returns to North Korea (Hardcover)

Man... Talk about crabby... Everyone else who's reviewed this book so far here don't seem to be impressed. But I always enjoy James Brady's writing and this book was no exception. It's a memoir, of course. The underlying theme of the book is the march of time and how one looks back at -- or in this case, returns to -- a specific geographic place where youthful impressions were made, ideals died or changed... Where a young, unsure Marine officer discovered he did, in fact, have what it took to lead Marines in combat.

Those looking for edge-of-your seat combat with Marines gunning down on-rushing human waves of Chinese infantry will be disappointed. This book is more like a love letter to youth and to the Marine Corps. And taken in that context, it's a fine book and a satisfying read.