Selling the Korean War

Matthew Jones, Journal of American Studies Steven Casey has drawn a masterly analysis of what is certain to become the standard work on its subject.... The whole study is, moreover, conveyed with real verve and at a cracking pace.... An exceptionally good book which does full justice to the complexity of the comestic politics of the Korean War and the rold of the media, official institutions, and politicians in shaping public opinion.

Thomas W. Devine, H-Diplo Roundtable Reviews Casey provides the best account to date of the relationship between domestic politics and the war in Korea.... His book is a significant contribution to the literature on the Korean conflict and the relationship between politics and diplomacy during the early years of the Cold War. Most impressive is the author's ability to place the war in a broader context.

Sung-Yoon Lee, H-Diplo Roundtable Reviews As a study on the complex relationship among the executive branch, congress, the media, and the public within a constitutional democracy, Dr. Casey's Selling the Korean War is unparalleled in both detail and insight. It is a major addition to the literature--in any language--on the Korean War, and merits a careful read by all who share an interest in the subject.

James I. Matray, H-Diplo Roundtable Reviews This careful study not only fills a notable gap in the literature on the Korean War, it also makes a valuable addition to the short list of books dealing with the conflict's impact on domestic affairs inside the United States. Although Casey's main purpose is to explain ' the government's efforts to sell the war at home,' he achieves much more in persuasively challenging the conventional wisdom about well-known key events and advancing perceptive new interpretations of old issues.

Wilson D. Miscamble, H-Diplo Roundtable Reviews This well-written and thoughtfully argued study...warrants reading not only by specialists on the Korean War but also by those interested in the crucial foreign policy debates which occurred during the final third of Truman's presidency.

<br>Steven Casey is Senior Lecturer in International History at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is the author of Cautious Crusade: Franklin D. Roosevelt, American Public Opinion, and the War against Nazi Germany, 1941-1945 (OUP).<br>

INTRODUCTION; PART ONE: THE WAR AGAINST NORTH KOREA, JUNE-NOVEMBER 1950 ; 1. Keeping the Home Front Cool; 2. Censorship Is Abhorrent to General MacArthur; 3. Mobilizing for a Police Action; 4. On the Offensive; PART TWO: THE WAR AGAINST CHINA, NOVEMBER 1950-JULY 1951; 5. An Entirely New War; 6. Dealing with the Disaster School of Journalism; 7. Mobilizing with the Utmost Speed; 8. Why Korea?; 9. The MacArthur Controversy; PART THREE: THE STALEMATE WAR, JULY 1951-JULY 1953; 10. Interminable Truce Talks; 11. Steady Improvements; 12. The Advent of Eisenhower; CONCLUSION