(California UP, 1995) The style of this takes a bit of getting used to (and this is attributable to the original author, not the translator), but the content is gripping. This is the autobiographical writings of a Korean crown princess – wife of the heir to the throne – and documents at first hand the … [Read More]
Category: History Books (page 4)
Paul French: North Korea – the paranoid peninsula
(Zed, 2005) Highly readable and wide-ranging book on North Korea. Describes clearly some of the eccentricities of the regime, such as the Sinuiju economic zone, and describes clearly for the benefit of non-economists how it is that a rigid centrally-planned economy is doomed to fail. Links: Buy North Korea: The Paranoid Peninsula at Amazon [Read More]
Bruce Cumings: Korea’s Place in the Sun
(Norton, 2005) A real page-turner of a history book. I was so gripped that I read it like a novel, and now need to go back and read it as a history book. Gives a very useful overview of pre-20th century history, but focuses on the more recent history, which it reassesses from a perspective … [Read More]
Harold Hakwon Sunoo: Life and Poems of Three Koreans
(Xlibris 2005) This is a print-to-order book, rather than one sponsored by a major publishing house. I would have thought that would make it cheaper, but at £14 for a 104 page paperback it’s on the pricey side. And Sunoo is a man seriously in need of a proof-reader and editor. Even a standard version … [Read More]