This book was originally published in 1951 on the one year anniversary of the onset of the Korean War. Life Magazine photographer David Douglas Duncan was working in Tokyo when the war began. Within a few days, he was taking photographs on the rapidly changing front line. This book is a compilation of combat photos that he took during the first few months of the war. There are many memorable photos of battles around the Pusan Perimeter, the return to Seoul and the epic retreat from the Chosin Reservoir.

Duncan was a Marine combat veteran of the Second World War. His connection to the Marines on the ground is shown in the remarkable empathy of his photographs. Duncan was not afraid to get up really close to the combat. His close up portraits of exhausted Marines during the Chosin retreat are some of the most memorable images of the Korean War. This is a work of not only remarkable war photography but also of portraiture. If that were not enough, the text that accompanies the photographs is also a great example of combat reportage. This is an excellent book and I give it my highest recommendation.

My father, who was an artillery Captain in the Philippines during WWII, frequently pulled this book off the shelf to show me what war was like. He said that it was as close as you could get without actually being there. He died before he could see "Saving Private Ryan," but I think he would still say so even after seeing the movie.

This is THE most unforgettable view of the first days of the then called "Police Action" in Korea. Author Duncan lived with the men and portrayed all the comraderie, terror and fear that they did. His work makes an indelable image in our mind & is easy to grasp the magnatude of it. My now deceased husband was one of those young Marines and one of the walking wounded who lived in pain his whole life. He treasured this book and knew the subjects. He found it a way to bury his emotions and go on with a "normal" lifestyle. This book had to help Truman change and understand it was not a simple mop-up action....but This WAS War! Although out of print, my family is trying to get copies to pass on to their children to help us better understand their father. It is especially appropriate at this time when attention is being given the Korean Conflict's 50th anniversary. I wish they would reprint it and distribute a copy to all high school and college libraries.