Refighting the last war

by D. Clayton James

Now, during the 40th anniversary of the Korean War, distinguished historian D. Clayton James offers a brilliant reinterpretation of that conflict. Focusing on the critical issue of command, he shows how the Korean War is a key to understanding American decision-making in all military encounters since World War II. Korea, the first of America's limited wars to stem the tide of world communism, was fought on unfamiliar terrain and against peasant soldiers and would become. A template for subsequent American military engagements, especially Vietnam. And yet, the strategic and tactical doctrines employed in Korea, as well as the weapons and equipment, were largely left over from World War II. Each time a war is fought, D. Clayton James reveals, the lessons of the last war are applied in the new context, whether or not they are appropriate to the changed circumstances. James, the master biographer of MacArthur, uses studies of military crises. To examine the American high command in the Kor