best scholarly books about the Korean War

May 23, 2009 8:56 AM

Names of a few of the best scholarly histories of the Korean War

for a thesis paper for college as history major, with an emphasis upon the military aspect, especially about the Chinese army joining the North Koreans.

posted by Postroad to Society & Culture (4 answers total)

A Reader's Guide to the Korean War (PDF) appears to be a review of various books on the Korean War categorized by issue or viewpoint. Looks like a good place to start getting some sources together.
posted by kjars at 12:28 PM on May 23, 2009

The Wilson Center hosts the Cold War History Project which has a section on the Korean War that includes a number of contemporary documents related to China's role in the conflict.
If you know anyone who can read Chinese, this recent publication is a collection of reminiscences by various soldiers in the People's Volunteer Army, including some of who have now become research historians, so it addresses the bigger issues such as why China entered the war as well as dealing with specifics of the campaign and strategy.
posted by Abiezer at 2:25 PM on May 23, 2009

William Stueck, The Korean War: An International History (1997). A scholarly review. According to Google Scholar, it's cited 116 times. (I haven't read it--I found it by searching the H-DIPLO archives.)

Stueck has also edited a volume of essays on the Korean War: The Korean War in World History (2004). Scholarly review.
posted by russilwvong at 3:01 PM on May 23, 2009

Military Misfortunes: The Anatomy of Failure in War, by Eliot Cohen and John Gooch, has a good section on the Korean War.
posted by Alaska Jack at 1:32 AM on June 2, 2009