Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

  • Apple
  • Android
  • Windows Phone
  • Android

To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number.

  • List Price: $23.95
  • Save: $4.30 (18%)
Free Shipping for Prime Members | Fast, FREE Shipping with Amazon Prime
Only 2 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Odd Man Out: Truman, Stal... has been added to your Cart
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.
Condition: Used: Good
Comment: Item is in good condition. May include some wear and creases on the cover. Fast shipping. Free delivery confirmation with every order.
Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon
Flip to back Flip to front
Listen Playing... Paused   You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more
See all 3 images

Odd Man Out: Truman, Stalin, Mao, and the Origins of the Korean War Paperback – August 1, 2001

3.9 out of 5 stars 8 customer reviews

See all 4 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions
Price
New from Used from
Paperback
"Please retry"
$19.65
$2.98 $0.02

Best Books of the Month
Best Books of 2016
Looking for something great to read? Browse our editors' picks for the best books of the year in fiction, nonfiction, mysteries, children's books, and much more.
$19.65 Free Shipping for Prime Members | Fast, FREE Shipping with Amazon Prime Only 2 left in stock (more on the way). Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
click to open popover

Editorial Reviews

Review

About the Author

NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE


Product Details

  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Potomac Books; 1 edition (August 1, 2001)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1574883437
  • ISBN-13: 978-1574883435
  • Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 1.2 x 9.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,294,526 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

Format: Hardcover
The conventional interpretation of the Korean War is that Kim Il Sung provoked the war, and forced a reluctant Stalin to support him, and that the United States was surprised both by the North Korean offensive of June 1950 and by the subsequent Chinese offensive of November 1950. In this important new book, Thornton offers a compelling argument for a re-examination of this version of events.
Thornton begins with a logical examination of the geopolitical interests of the principal actors: the USSR, the PRC, the USA, and North and South Korea. He shows that Mao wanted good relations "with all nations" - including the US - but needed Soviet assistance to seize Taiwan. Stalin, however, regarded a Sino-American rapprochement as his worst nightmare, and responded by unleashing North Korea against South Korea. Stalin calculated that this move would inevitably bring the US and China into conflict, and thus forestall his nightmare scenario. (In his discussion of Mao and Stalin, Thornton builds on such works as Goncharov and Lewis's "Uncertain Partners".) The US, for its part, wanted to keep Russia and China apart, and in late 1949 began backing away from support from Taiwan, which was of course the main obstacle to good US relations with the PRC. This policy was subsequently re-evaluated when Washington understood that the Soviets and the Chinese had reached an understanding of their own.
Thornton demonstrates that Stalin was the principal instigator of the Korean War, not Kim Il Sung - the tail did not wag the dog. The Soviets planned the June offensive, and supplied the North Korean Army with the weapons without which no attack could take place.
Read more ›
Comment 29 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
While this title is older now, and the events it covers obscured by time and right wing propaganda, few books are more timely for what is happening now.

This book focuses on a tight but critical time span 1948-50, the sequence of events within which are now hard to reconstruct. And they were poorly reported in that time of limited communications (esp. by the NY Times!). Truman was above all a budgetary conservative, the U.S. had experienced its first large budget deficits in WWII, and he saw it as his mission to rein in spending. The military, then as now, was the big ticket item. We were the only nation with the Magic Weapon and were exultant in our new world leader status. Military planners saw little need for future amphibious capabilities - given our nuclear monopoly who was going to mess with us? Truman sought to rationalize the military for a new nuclear age.

Three events in close succession changed the picture completely in the period herein covered. The Soviets, our war allies and until then non-hostile, suddenly shut off Berlin. Then our monitoring plane over Alaska registered a sudden spike in radiation coming from Asia - the Soviets (unannounced) had acquired The Bomb! Then, unanticipated even by Stalin, Chinese Communists swept the former KMT armies off the map in 3 quick campaigns that eliminated a half million KMT soldiers in each swipe. KMT units defected en masse to the Reds. Generalissimo Chang Kai-Shek collected the remnants on the Island of Formosa (the long-Japanese occupied Chinese province of Taiwan). This happened so swiftly that it alarmed even crafty Stalin who tried to put the brakes on his Chinese comrades without success.

The book examines in great detail how the State and newly-formed Defense Depts.
Read more ›
1 Comment 4 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
Format: Paperback
Thornton presents presents three main theories to the Korean War:

1. Stalin deliberately prodded North Korea to attack South Korea and designed the invasion to sputter out and incite American intervention only to then illicit a Chinese military response that would prevent any friendly Sino-American relations in the future and subject Mao to Soviet subordination for the near future.

2. Truman ignored the growing possibility of the Korean War and waited to intervene until the North Koreans were on the doorstep of conquering the "free people" of South Korea in order to justify the necessary American military expansion under NSC-68 to counter the USSR and communism.

3. Mao had a grand strategy to have an alliance with the USSR and also gain economic relations with the West, while at the same time annihilating Taiwan and consolidating his power in China. Mao's failure at achieving this strategy was a main reason for China's stagnation until the 1970s.

Thornton utilizes a number of primary and secondary sources to intricately prove each theory. He makes a very compelling argument in favor of #1 regarding Stalin. He points out blatant efforts by Stalin to start the war, design it to fail, and then cover it up. I actually believe Thornton on this theory at this time given all the facts he uses to support his claim. On the other hand, Thornton cannot fully prove #2 and even empowers the reader in the conclusion to look into the released intelligence records for evidence that the United States "broke the communist" codes and had prior knowledge of the imminent North Korean invasion and thus outright ignored such signs and allowed the war to happen. Alas, these theories and new perspectives Thornton creates were very interesting and deep.
Read more ›
Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

Odd Man Out: Truman, Stalin, Mao, and the Origins of the Korean War
Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway
This item: Odd Man Out: Truman, Stalin, Mao, and the Origins of the Korean War

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?

Pages with Related Products. See and discover other items: russia