Fire and Ice : The Korean War, 1950-1953

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Summary: Everything you wanted to know...
Review: "Fire & Ice - The Korean War, 1950-1953" is a well written and meticulously researched publication. What were the major battles of the war? Which country members supported the United Nations efforts -- and to what extent? Who were the key battlefield leaders for the United Nations? the Chinese forces? the North and South Korean forces? Michael Varhola provides all the answers - and more - in this outstanding reference work.

Nearly 50 years ago as a U.S. Marine, I was medically evacuated from the small airstrip at Hagaru-ri in North Korea. The C-47 cargo plane that carried me out had Greek markings and a Greek air crew. I have always wondered about that plane and despite the numerous books that I have read on the Korean War, I have never seen a reference pertaining to Greece's air contribution to the war -- only their contribution of ground forces.But, on page 138 of "Fire & Ice," I learned that Greece provided an air transport squadron comprised of eight C-47 cargo planes. Obviously the plane that evacuated me was one of these eight. This bit of information is but one example of the many facts contained therein.

There are many books written about the Korean War - each with many statistics and facts. However, Mr. Vahola is the first writer to put it all in one book. Whether the reader is a Korean War buff, a serious military history researcher, a student with an interest in the Korean War, a casual reader, or like myself, a Korean veteran, this book is too good to be dismissed. "Fire & Ice" is reference material at its best.

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Summary: Varhola Does It Again
Review: Being familiar with some of the author's other works, I tracked this one down as well. As expected, the level of detail and obvious meticulous research were as I expected. Another successful and vivid portrait of a very gripping historical period from an author who clearly knows his history. The wealth of little details interspersed throughout the mandatory historical details make this a true pleasure to read.

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Summary: Informative, Interesting, and Easy
Review: Fire and Ice is one of the best books I've found concerning the Korean War. As a high school student, I found it both interesting and easy to read. It is a straightforward book filled with useful facts, maps, and illustrations. Fire and Ice actually made me want to voluntarily write a report. Not many books can do that.

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Summary: An Easy Read
Review: Fire and Ice is one of those books that just flows. It doesn't seem like you have read the book so quickly. It is a fine introduction to the Korean War. However, it has enough interesting and unusual facts contained that the Korean War expert will still pick up new things.

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Summary: Best Korean War Overview!
Review: Having been to Korea and having read a great deal on the subject of this nearly forgotten conflict, I didn't expect much from Fire and Ice. Boy, was I ever wrong! The book is crisp, fast reading and chock full of content. Provides a great read for the expert or the the novice. Lot's of hard to find information makes this a must reference book on the subject. It's all here: on air, land and sea. Units, weapons and tactics of both sides and our UN Allies. Then there is the fun stuff like the review of Korean War flicks. This is the best book I have found on Amazon! Enjoy...

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Summary: Excellent introduction on the Korean War
Review: Having never studied the Korean War I found this book to be an excellent place to start. Covering a period of time before, during and after the war, the book gives a very complete coverage of the events that occured. Discussing not only the military actions, but adding some of the political and economic environment durring the war helps get a better feel for what was going on. Overall it was an excellent book if you are interested in finding out about the Korean War.

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Summary: Fully Detailed, But Not Fun to Read
Review: I realize I'm not in agreement with all the other reviews here, but I just wanted to throw my $0.02 in. The impression I got from reading the other reviews was that this book would read something like Churchill's "Second World War" series: sort of a narrative or story covering the war. Instead, for the most part, this book is a reference book. It's got ton's of information in it, but it's organized into battles within time periods. It's hard to explain. I was looking for something that said we did x because of y which resulted in these battles. Then, we did x' which led to some other battles. Instead it said something like in year x we fought battles a, b, and c. In year y, we fought battles d, e, and f. All the information is there, but the "story" part of the "history" feels lacking.

If you're studying the Korean War, I do agree that this is an excellent book. But, for a more "entertaining" study, I'd try something else (what that would be, I don't know).

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Summary: The essential guide to the Korean War
Review: Michael J. Varhola has written about a complicated subject with clarity without sacrificing on details. The book packs a lot of information but remains an easy read, even for those who know little about the Korean War. Very nicely done.

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Summary: An unmatched Korean War reference
Review: Mike Varhola has done it again. "Fire and Ice," his reference work on the Korean War, follows his very successful guide for writers and historians, "Everyday Life During the Civil War." "Fire and Ice" is a superb reference for teachers, veterans, war gamers, and military enthusiasts. It is an easy read for the armchair historian. Mike has packed his book with a wide variety of comments about international uniforms, unit organizations, the often overlooked naval role, military pay rates, and a section on POWs. He deftly combines his historical observations together with recently uncovered information. His list of Korean War films is most informative. As a retired Army veteran with a tour in Korea (75-76), who now teaches US History in a public high school, I highly recommend this work to my fellow teachers. It will help you bring the conflict to life for your students. For the children of veterans and the citizen, it will help you understand the grime, grit, and horror of war these men and women experienced. Great job, Mike.

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Summary: An excellent primer for further study on the Korean War
Review: This book is great for getting a little more than a "once over lightly" on the Korean War. While it does not go into excessive details, neither does it miss any important facts. Indeed it covers some subjects, such as allied participation in the war, better than many indepth histories.

I found the format of the book similar to man of James Dunnigan's Dirty Little Secrets Book, so it easy to read either cover to cover, or to look up a specific topic.

I would recommend this book to a high school teacher as a reference for teaching the history of the Korean War. I would also recommend this book as first for anyone starting to study the Korean War. If your appetite is whetted, then I would next read "This Kind of War" by Fehrenbach, followed by "The Forgotten War" by Clay Blair.

I gave this book only 4 stars because it is not very detailed, but it certainly does not miss anything important.