Final Crucible

"The official history . . .does not capture the human drama; Lee Ballenger does this in spades. Not only does he write well and keep the purely military context in balance, but he also writes his history through the eyes of those who made it."-U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings "A vivid, well-written, and accurately documented accounting of an abundance of Marine guts and a shortfall of warrior glory in a ‘forgotten war’ that should never have been fought."-Leatherneck "Like its companion, The Outpost War, this is a nearly indispensable Korean War history."-Booklist "Some of the best descriptive passages of small unit combat . . . A valuable contribution."-Publishers Weekly