The Coldest Winter

Around Thanksgiving, 1950, while the rest of the country paid as little attention as possible, units of the Second Infantry Division were virtually annihilated by forces of the People’s Republic Army. It was a defeat which shocked an otherwise disinterested and distant nation. In The Coldest Winter, award-winning reporter and historian David Halberstam explodes this moment in time, using it as a jumping off point to delve into the Korean War’s particular horrors and triumphs. Using first-person interviews and detailed historical research, Halberstam exposes the truth about this underreported war by examining the geopolitics involved and also showing it from the vantage of the men whose poor fortune it was to be on history’s cutting edge. The book contains portrayals of ordinary soldiers as well as of McArthur, Eisenhower, and other major players.

Prize history

• Pulitzer Prize for History 2008 Finalist