This excellent short book is an ideal introduction for all those who feel that they know less than they should about the Korean War. The bulk of the book, which deals with the War itself, is sandwiched between introductory and concluding chapters which outline the causes of the War and survey briefly the history of the Korean states from the conclusion of the War up to the date of publication (2000).

Whilst not ignoring military tactics and strategy, Lowe sensibly concentrates on diplomatic and political issues, as it is here that most of the interest lies. Militarily, both sides concluded early on that outright victory was impossible, and following the dismissal of General MacArthur the War largely consisted of the Soviet-backed communists and the American-led forces confronting one another somewhat ineffectually during the long-drawn-out process of agreeing armistice terms. Politically and diplomatically, however, the War was of the greatest interest: with the South Korean, American and multi-national UN forces pitched against the North Koreans, Chinese and heavily-disguised Soviets, there were many parties with conflicting agendas that somehow had to be satisfied. The issues as they affected each participant are well explained, with particular attention being paid to the tensions between the British and American governments over the conduct of the War.

Lowe's style is clear and direct throughout, although I have a minor quibble over his occasional habit of using short staccato sentences unconnected by words such as 'therefore', 'because', 'nevertheless', and so on - they can read almost like bullet points strung together as prose. This means that sometimes the relation between his assertions is obscured, nor is it always clear whether he is speaking or whether the sentiments should be attributed to one of his historical actors. Because of this, and also because he sometimes uses someone's name when a pronoun would have been more idiomatic, passages can have a clunky feel, and one wonders whether they were written very quickly. However, none of this affects the considerable value of the book, which I thoroughly recommend. There is also a useful bibliography, and the five maps are genuinely helpful. ( )