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North Korea is not wholly opaque. Dr. Armstrong shines a spotlight on this place for those who care to understand the hermit kin
on May 5, 2014
This book is excellent for people who want to better understand North Korea. It is well written and scholarly. I recommend it, as a person who has lived on the Korean peninsula for a decade and a half and is embedded in the culture.
on February 5, 2014
I am fascinated by the Koreas - both North and South. A divided country, with a South Korea now a mini superpower in the economics of the world, and a North Korea a rogue state with nuclear weapons. How did this happen? What brought the Koreas and the world to this strange juncture?
History, of course, history. Armstrong is an academic, and yet this is a very readable, engaging book that is at once both a history of North Korea and a conceptual framework of how a "weak" state has been able to "wag the dogs," namely the United States, the Soviet Union, and China (and to some extent South Korea).
Unfortunately, because of Armstrong's historical analysis, "everything makes sense." By reading this book you'll understand that there is a "method" to the "madness" of North Korea, and that as a tyranny it "makes sense" for the regime to starve its own people, arm itself with nuclear weapons, and fuse Stalinist totalitarianism with the Korean respect for family.
A great read and I highly recommend it to anyone who would like to understand North Korea.
PS - I purchased the physical book, so I can't speak to the technical issues of the Kindle. I don't think one should give a book a "one star" review because of technical problems that are clearly beyond the control of the author.
History, of course, history. Armstrong is an academic, and yet this is a very readable, engaging book that is at once both a history of North Korea and a conceptual framework of how a "weak" state has been able to "wag the dogs," namely the United States, the Soviet Union, and China (and to some extent South Korea).
Unfortunately, because of Armstrong's historical analysis, "everything makes sense." By reading this book you'll understand that there is a "method" to the "madness" of North Korea, and that as a tyranny it "makes sense" for the regime to starve its own people, arm itself with nuclear weapons, and fuse Stalinist totalitarianism with the Korean respect for family.
A great read and I highly recommend it to anyone who would like to understand North Korea.
PS - I purchased the physical book, so I can't speak to the technical issues of the Kindle. I don't think one should give a book a "one star" review because of technical problems that are clearly beyond the control of the author.
on October 31, 2013
I thought this kindle edition would be the same as the original printed edition. However, finally I found that there is no index in the kindle edition. I even want to return the kindle edition book.
