Author: Gary Bloomfield
Publisher: Rowman + Littlefield, 2019
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From the publisher’s website:
The Devil’s Playground is a timely account of what it is like to serve along perhaps the most dangerous and sensitive strip of land in the world. In recent months two bullet-riddled attempted escapes from North to South brought worldwide headlines. And with Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un exchanging threats, the world hopes for a diplomatic solution, but watches with bated breath.
Author Gary L. Bloomfield, a military journalist in what is called “the demilitarized” zone between North and South Korea in the 1970s, combines his personal experience with interviews and historical insights to present a fresh, up-to-date, account of what it is like to serve on perhaps the most contentious strip of land in the world today.
The Devil’s Playground combines history with current events that today have the rest of the world watching, hoping there is no explosion, which could lead to a nuclear war. While world attention is focused on the Koreas, few people understand what is at stake and what happens there every day. Here is the unfiltered answer.
Gary L. Bloomfield is an award-winning author and photographer who served two tours in Korea as a military journalist. He is the former managing editor of VFW magazine. Sports Illustrated called his book, Duty, Honor, Victory: America’s Athletes in World War II “Riveting and moving.”