Don Oberdorfer has written a gripping narrative history of Korea's travails and triumphs over the past three decades. The Two Koreas places the tensions between North and South within a historical context, with a special emphasis on the involvement of outside powers.
I just read the first chapter of this book and am looking forward to reading more chapters. I adopted a beautiful child from Korea in the early 8o's- my daughter today is an loving, intelligent woman of 28 and a fourth grade teacher in Michigan; graduating with honors from Michigan State University. I am hoping that this book as I read further would be a possible gift to my daughter so that she can understand more and more about her home country of Korea.
I really knew nothing about Korea until the Korean "police action" when a friend of ours who had served in WWII was called up again to go to Korea. Even then I did not "study up". Now I have this interesting book to complete my education about Korea and am looking forward to reading the entire book asap.
I was pleasantly surpised to see this book in the online lineup. My uncle is the author. Interestingly, my husband and I spent our honeymoon in the spring of 1987 in South Korea at his suggestion. What a beautiful, friendly country. And what an amazing mixture of old and new. I encourage everyone to plan a visit there if possible. It is a part of the world we do not often hear about, but a true treasure.
What a nice idea! That would be a wonderful gift for your daughter. Since Korea plays such an important role in your life this sounds like the perfect book.
I am glad that I read these five excerpts, about a country that is definitely terra incognita for me. How shocking: it turns out that the members of the US government who've been crafting policy concerning Korea haven't know all THAT much about it, either. What an important book. Thank you, Suzanne, for this choice.
