The Wrong War

Foot's understated and concise style may lead some readers to miss just how extensive and wise is her use of new archival materials and just how much she does to demolish the received wisdom on the Korean War. This book will remain a standard in the literature for many years to come. * The American Historical Review * Foot deserves high marks for her careful research, clear and restrained prose, and sensitivity to the nuances of the various arguments bandied about within the Truman and Eisenhower administrations. Her study sets a high standard for scholars who intend to follow her path. * Reviews in American History * A valuable, even exciting, study of decision making in a rapidly changing and complex environment. The book offers and provokes many challenging thoughts about the conduct of international affairs in general. * History * Readers will appreciate Foot's trenchant prose. The Wrong War advances new and perceptive interpretations that shatter traditional assumptions about the way the United States fought for an acceptable outcome in Korea. * Korean Studies * Foot has wrestled with a difficult objective in trying to prove that policymakers almost took an action that never in fact occurred. She does this cautiously and produces in the process an interesting new perspective on questions that received only simple answers in the past. The Wrong War is a significant step in the new scholarly reexamination of the Korean conflict. * Pacific Historical Review * Foot has written an important volume. Among her most provocative observations is that leaders in Washington came to understand during the Korean war that the Soviets' support of their Chinese allies was considerably less forthcoming than one might have expected in view of the Sino-Soviet Pact of 1950. Foot provides a careful and thoughtful account of the discussion within the Eisenhower administration on the question of whether the United States ought to resort to such an extreme tactic. * The Journal of American History *