The Coldest Winter, David Halberstam
The Coldest Winter, David Halberstam
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The Coldest Winter
America and the Korean War

Author: David Halberstam

Narrator: Edward Herrmann

Abridged: 13 hr 51 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/25/2007

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

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

David Halberstam's magisterial and thrilling The Best and the Brightest was the defining book about the Vietnam conflict. More than three decades later, Halberstam used his unrivaled research and formidable journalistic skills to shed light on another pivotal moment in our history: the Korean War. Halberstam considered The Coldest Winter his most accomplished work, the culmination of forty-five years of writing about America's postwar foreign policy.

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 River 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. As ever, Halberstam was concerned with the extraordinary courage and resolve of people asked to bear an extraordinary burden.

The Coldest Winter is contemporary history in its most literary and luminescent form, providing crucial perspective on every war America has been involved in since. It is a book that Halberstam first decided to write more than thirty years ago and that took him nearly ten years to complete. It stands as a lasting testament to one of the greatest journalists and historians of our time, and to the fighting men whose heroism it chronicles.

About David Halberstam

David Halberstam was one of America's most distinguished journalists and historians. He covered the beginnings of the Civil Rights movement and reported for the New York Times on the war in Vietnam. The author of fifteen bestsellers, he won the Pulitzer Prize for his Vietnam reporting. He was killed in a car accident on April 23, 2007, while on his way to an interview for what was to be his next book.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Paul on January 21, 2025

The cold of that winter became an enemy in itself, along with the Chinese and North Korean troops that American and allied soldiers were fighting; and the testimony of U.S. servicemen bore out the brutal, punishing, unrelenting quality of the winter of 1950-51. A tanker from the 38th Tank Company, a......more

Goodreads review by Lawyer on June 11, 2017

David Halberstam's The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War Should you read any history of the Korean War it should be The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War by David Halberstam. It was Halberstam's last book. Shortly after publication, Halbertsam was killed in an automobile accident Ap......more

Goodreads review by John on December 17, 2007

Any book that fills the void of our knowledge concerning the Korean War is a welcome addition to any library. There are too few available and on that basis I would recommend this one. It is well written, easy to read and for the general public disgorges a wealth of information, although to some crit......more

Goodreads review by Sweetwilliam on July 29, 2012

This is a must read. I liked it so much that I bought it twice. The 2nd time I purchased Coldest Winter was after I left my first copy on a plane on a flight returning from Brazil. Watch out as it is liable to make you angry, however. Why? First, how could the US give so much money and support to Ch......more

Goodreads review by Porter on August 28, 2021

I am starting to think that I'm a closet Korean War enthusiast. This is probably the third book on the Korean War that I've read over the past 2-3 years and I've enjoyed every one of them. This being the best of the lot. This may be the best book I've read this year. Halberstam covers subects and area......more


Quotes

"I could hardly put this book down. Meticulously and thoroughly researched, it is splendidly compelling reading. The Coldest Winter is a superb conjoining of all the factors of this tragic war: the military tactics and strategy of both sides; the international diplomacy; the internal politics; the personalities of the various players. A great work."—Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (Ret.), co-author of We Were Soldiers Once . . . and Young

"Halberstam is at his very best."—The Wall Street Journal

"An instant classic look at the people, power and politicsthat created a dangerous stage...and then acted on it."—Chicago Sun-Times

"He is a peerless reporter of events and facts--with a signature human touch."—The Seattle Times

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

"His most operatic war story."—The New York Times Book Review