The Coldest Winter

America and the Korean War

By: David Halberstam

Narrated by: Edward Herrmann

Length: 13 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

David Halberstam's magisterial and thrilling The Best and the Brightest was the defining book for the Vietnam War. More than three decades later, Halberstam used his unrivalled research and formidable journalistic skills to shed light on another dark corner in our history: the Korean War. The Coldest Winter is a successor to The Best and the Brightest, even though, in historical terms, it precedes it. Halberstam considered The Coldest Winter the best book he ever wrote, the culmination of 45 years of writing about America's postwar foreign policy.

Up until now, the Korean War has been the black hole of modern American history. The Coldest Winter changes that. Halberstam gives us a masterful narrative of the political decisions and miscalculations on both sides. He charts the disastrous path that led to the massive entry of Chinese forces near the Yalu, and that caught Douglas MacArthur and his soldiers by surprise. He provides astonishingly vivid and nuanced portraits of all the major figures: Eisenhower, Truman, Acheson, Kim, and Mao, and Generals MacArthur, Almond, and Ridgway. At the same time, Halberstam provides us with his trademark highly evocative narrative journalism, chronicling the crucial battles with reportage of the highest order.

At the heart of this audiobook are the individual stories of the soldiers on the front lines who were left to deal with the consequences of the dangerous misjudgments and competing agendas of powerful men. We meet them, follow them, and see some of the most dreadful battles in history through their eyes. As ever, Halberstam was concerned with the extraordinary courage and resolve of people asked to bear an extraordinary burden.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2007 David Halberstam (P)2007 Hyperion

Critic reviews

"Stirring....In a grand gesture of reclamation and remembrance, Mr. Halberstam has brought the war back home." (The New York Times)

"Alive with the voices of the men who fought, Halberstam's telling is a virtuoso work of history." (Publishers Weekly)

Something is missing

Some really astounding revelations concerning Douglass and his lap dog, Ned. I think National shame over a Wat “forgotten” ties in to national trauma. we build up a “Commie-fighting superhero to such an extent that we tolerate his bad behavior and megalomania until he essentially murders thousands of our servicemen through his insatiable desire to place God -like status over His duty.

Something is missing here though. Many things were screeed up going in, but once the MacArthur crime is out of the bag I needed much more. But who wants to write or film a story which has our guys getting obliterated and freezing, shamed starved, imprisoned to death - to satisfy the ego of such an American hero. From his Emperors Palace in Tokyo, This Man ordered the deaths of whole divisions

The Author calls this turn “embarrassing.” It was so much worse than that. Trauma buries memories. National Trauma uproots society. In America, we chose collective denial which made Vietnam a prelude.

If your still in denial about our place in the World don’t read this book. If you are a Korean Vet, I am total awe of your courage and refusal to give up in spite of knowing that at the top, your boss had lost his mind and soul.

The Coldest Winter

This book is well written and great account of what happened in Korea during the war.

Filled a Gap

I think my favorite thing about this book was how it filled in a huge gap in my knowledge of American history. I knew the broad strokes of the conflict, but this book really helped me understand some of the nuances and decisions, as well as the personalities.
A good solid use of the credits.

Simply awesome

I couldn't have wanted a better book on the Korean War. It gives a full account of the events surrounding the war, including the behind-the-scenes politics and personalities. Yet it reads (well, listens I guess) like a good novel. I stayed up later than I planned a couple nights because I couldn't tear myself away. The narration was pitch perfect. All in all, one if the best non-fiction books I've ever encountered.

Avoid abridged works.

Not sure why the publisher thought this work needed to be abridged. The final result is choppy and contains large holes in the main story. Recommend avoiding this work if you're after serious history of this subject. The narration was superb.

I wish audible had an unabridged version

this is an excellent book and deserves to be told wholly and completely. not truncated.

Read this to understand the Korean War

Halberstam’s final work may be his best. As with all his books, it reads like a novel even though it’s nonfiction. For military historians though, orders of battle are clearly presented so this can be used as a research document as well. It sets up as a natural companion and prequel to Best and the Brightest. I can’t recommend it enough. This is instantly one of my favorite books I’ve ever read.

the coldest war

Halberstam is my favorite author and Herrmann is my favorite reader!. I love this book!

Shocking!

Once again Mr. Halberstam rocks our perception of history with this well-told tale of our patriot's hubris and recklessness. That so many brave men died for the general's mistakes should not surprise us anymore, but in light of our current venture in Iraq, this account is particularly disturbing.

Compelling history of the Korean War

David Halberstam is one of my favorite authors. His descriptions of the Korean War battles powerfully portray the experiences of the soldiers that fought in that war.

If you like this book, I would also recommend Halberstam’s The Children, about the struggle for civil rights. Unfortunately I did not find this available on Audible.