Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #40533 in Books
• Published on: 2009-01-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780871139931
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
The authors of the bestselling Halsey's Typhoon do a fine job recounting one brutal, small-unit action during the Korean War's darkest moment. In November 1950, as General MacArthur's troops were advancing deep into North Korea, China warned that it would intervene if armies approached its border. U.S. troops were scattered through mountainous terrain at the onset of a freezing winter. Using extensive interviews with survivors, the authors tell the story of one 234-man company ordered to secure a rocky promontory overlooking the legendary Chosin Reservoir. Abundant and detailed maps enable readers to track the vicious week-long battle almost minute by minute as the men fought off repeated assaults by overwhelming Chinese forces until another marine unit arrived to rescue the few survivors. The authors draw no great lessons from Fox Company's ordeal, but deliver a precise, technically accurate account of the fighting. Although aimed at military buffs, the closeup views of individual marines tested to their limits will engage any reader curious to learn how brave men fought a conventional 20th-century war. 100,000 announced first printing; 12-city author tour.(Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
The authors of Halsey’s Typhoon (2007) are back with an equally fine book on an episode in the Chosin Reservoir campaign of the Korean War. Sent to hold a hill on the marines’ line of retreat, Fox Company of the Seventh Regiment’s Second Battalion wound up besieged by an entire Chinese division. Three-quarters of the company became casualties before a rescue column fought its way through to them, and three Congressional Medals of Honor were awarded for the action. Drury and Clavin have researched thoroughly, especially the memories of Fox Company survivors, and have written with their customary vividness. They remind us that the predicament of handfuls of Americans fending off foreign hordes isn’t just a Hollywood spectacle. It has been a grisly reality, in this case with both sides enduring bone-chilling cold, untreated wounds, and starvation. A must for the Korean War shelves, invaluable beyond all historical period value for its coverage of infantry combat at its worst. --Roland Green

About the Author

Customer Reviews

"Will You Look At Those Magnificent Bastards"
Wow! What a book, what a story, what incredible heroism, undaunted courage and grim will against all odds. This book tells the story of 246 U.S. Marines and Naval Corpsmen (medics) who fought and died for seven days on a God-forsaken frozen and icy hilltop in North Korea in November & December, 1950. Outnumbered literally 10-1 by the unforeseen involvement of several divisions of the Chinese Army, these brave men fought in inhuman conditions and, in the words of the authors, "dispatched more than three-quarters of the enemy [they] had faced".

The authors do a very admirable job detailing not only the week-long battle on Fox Hill, but also the events leading up to that fateful week, the involvement of other units in the area, and the return of the survivors to the base camp at Hagaru-ri. The action is fast-paced and amazingly detailed. But included with the military history is a wonderful portrayal of the personal stories of many of these men - their lives before the war, as well as afterwards. These personal stories serve to make the men of Fox Company very real and very human to the reader, increasing the sense of awe and admiration for the "uncommon valor" that these "common men" displayed. As another reviewer stated, I, too, was left completely humbled by this story and these men. We as a nation should never, EVER forget the sacrifices that these men, and so many others like them, have made in our history.

More than a military history of an incredible battle, this is the story of a brotherhood & compassion shared by men thrust into the most difficult and challenging of times. I highly recommend it.

FORGOTTEN BATTLE IN A FORGOTTEN WAR
The Last Stand of Fox Company: A True Story of U.S. Marines in Combat(Hardcover) by Robert Drury and Tom Clavin tells the story of one company that found itself in a very strategic position with no way to retreat or advance. Because the position overlooked the single line of escape for the rest of the Marine division, the Chinese Army threw everything it had at dislodging these young Marines.

Good:

One feels as if they are there in the biting cold. The hardships theseyoung Marines face are horrific, but it is possible to feel empathy. At times, the recitation of cold, hunger, and pain become overwhelming but for the most part, the reader can see these Marines as individuals.

This is an inspiring story. I often wonder where America gets folks like the ones described in this book. Freedom is powerful, in part,because it allows individuals to choose to be selfless.

This is a small battle in a limited war. It is good that Mr Drury and Mr Clavin have documented it so that it isn't lost to history. One can only hope the Marines add this book to their required reading list or that it gets made into a movie to ensure this story lives on.

Bad:

However, Mr Drury and Mr Clavin did not make an adequate argument about the strategic significance about this battle. The poor maps don't help,but one gets the impression that this battle is a lot less like Thermopylae and more like King's Mountain with the folks on the mountain getting rescued at the very end.

Additionally, I would have liked to know more about some of the keyplayers. A small annex with a bio of some of the individuals mentionedin the story would have been helpful. However, perhaps this was leftout intentionally due to space constraints.

Overall, a good story and a good book.

Breathtaking
I read this book in two days. I would have managed it in one had I not started so late in the day, thanks to being near the end of the mail carrier's route. In a word, it is breathtaking, as compelling an account of small unit action as I've ever read. As an account of a heroic stand it ranks right up there with Charles B. MacDonald's "Company Commander" or Harold G. Moore's "We Were Soldiers Once...and Young." The soldiers who fought on Fox Hill are brought to life in the narrative and you find yourself identifying with them, rooting for them, hoping they will make it.

The book is, however, not without deficiencies, albeit, most of them minor. One error is the famous M1 Garand being referred to as the "Garland" M1, a rather more festive but inaccurate name. Hopefully this and other minor errors of omission and comission will be corrected in the published version of the book. My uncorrected proof did not have any of the 16 pages of black and white photos, but it did have the 15 maps and these vary in quality. The second map, "Chosen Reservoir Campaign" is identical to the third map, "Toktong Pass and Fox Hill", the only difference being that the third map is cropped. This third map, which is supposed to illustrate the movements of Fox Company, does not do justice to the narrative. The authors mention as the company's objective, Toktong-san, a mountain, but this mountain appears nowhere on the map and I had to read a ways into the book to find out where the mountain was in relation to Fox Hill (north, south, east, or west). We are told that this area is a bottleneck but the map gives no clue as to the terrain (we know only that it is mountainous). Ironically, the authors comment on the inferior maps provided to the marines; perhaps they took this to heart and wished to make us feel like we are there. Another small gripe while I'm at it: We are also told that Toktong-san is "a southeastern spur of the ancient Taebaek mountain range", which makes you wonder just which mountain ranges the authors would consider not ancient. I'm probably not alone is not knowing of any new mountain ranges.

The maps do improve; for example, the next map, "Fox Company's Defensive Perimeter" is actually pretty nice in that it shows us where individual marines mentioned in the narrative were, but it stubbornly refuses to give us a hint as to the terrain. In a general history, maps can be deficient in this way, but military history has higher standards. Armchair generals want to see what the terrain looked like. After all, how can you follow the decision-making of the men on the ground if you can't see the basis for their decisions? In a campaign in which terrain played so vital a part, you'd think the authors would want to at least give us a peek. "Fox Company's Re-Formed Perimeter" map finally gives us some contours but since the first perimeter map lacked these, you cannot easily flip back and forth to see exactly where the changes took place, and why. On the larger scale maps, some unit symbols would have been nice, showing the relationship to each other of the opposing forces.

But enough about the maps. All things considered, The Last Stand of Fox Company is a superior book. The story of those brave marines is compellingly related and if you do not feel the sting of tears as the story concludes, I'll be surprised. Highly recommended if you have any interest at all in the Korean War. If this book lacks anything at all it is the viewpoint of the Chinese command, which was one of the interesting facets of Moore's book, but that, too, is a minor complaint.

One final note: I'll never look at those smug, arrogant doctors on MASH the same way again, treating every officer as a war criminal. Hawkeye and BJ are not fit to hold Captain Barber's jockstrap.