A leading expert on Korea draws on his extensive knowledge of Korean
history and recently declassified government documents to provide a timely and
balanced study of North Korea and its vilified leader, Kim John Il, discussing
the nation's role in global affairs since the collapse of the USSR, its social
programs, human-rights violations, policies,Depicted as an insular and forbidding police state with an "insane"
dictator at its helm, North Korea - charter member of Bush's "Axis of Evil" -
is a country the U.S. loves to hate. Now the CIA says it possesses nuclear,
chemical, and biological weapons, as well as long-range missiles capable of
delivering them to America's West Coast. But, as Bruce Cumings demonstrates in
this provocative, lively read, the story of the U.S.-Korea conflict is more
complex than American leaders or news media would have us believe. Drawing on
his extensive knowledge of Korea, and on declassified government reports,
Cumings traces that story, from the brutal Korean War to the present crisis.
Harboring no illusions regarding the totalitarian Kim Jong II regime, Cumings
nonetheless insists on a more nuanced approach. The result is both a
counter-narrative to the official U.S. - and North Korean - version and a
fascinating portrayal of North Korea; a country that suffers through foreign
invasions, natural disasters, and its own internal contradictions, yet somehow
continues to survive.
