The Frozen Hours: A Novel of the Korean War

Master history novelist Jeff Shaara has written a fantastic book about America's "forgotten war": Korea. Set during the late fall and early winter of 1950, "The Frozen Hours' takes a look at the battle for the Chosin Reservoir. In June, 1950, North Korean troops crossed the 38th parallel. In response, the United States and other members of the United Nations sent troops to repel the invaders. Led by American General Douglas MacArthur, the combined army and marine forces began the task of pushing the North Koreans back. Inspired by their success at Inchon, the U.N. forces had visions of driving the North Koreans all the way to the Yalu river. But, waiting on the other side, were thousands of Chinese just waiting to join in the fight. In this fine novel, Shaara follows the battle of the Chosin Reservoir through the eyes of several people: American Marine general O.P. Smith, Army General Ned Almond, Captain William Barber, Colonel Chesty Puller, PFC Pete Riley, Sgt. Hamp Welch, PFC Joe Morelli, PFC Sean Killian, and Chinese General Sung Shi-Lun. Throughout, each chapter has one of the main character's name on it. The chapters devoted to Riley focus on the actual combat faced by the Americans, including the bitter cold, low rations, and skirmishes with the enemy. Chapters devoted to Smith involve planning and execution of attack, while chapters devoted to Sung give the reader a look at the battle from a Chinese perspective. In keeping with Shaara's style, this book reads much like a work of nonfiction. All of the characters in the book are actual people who fought at the Chosin Reservoir. This campaign is brought to life by Shaara's unique style of storytelling, and the principal participants are all included. I give "The Frozen Hours" my highest recommendation. Jeff Shaara has delivered a fine telling of one of the greatest battles in America's "forgotten war".

I absolutely LOVE both Jeff and Michael Shaara’s books. To me they make history come to life and The Frozen Hours was no exception. The only thing I knew previously about the Korean War was from the movie and television series MASH. So when I saw this book, I decided it might be a great opportunity to learn about this war in a more realistic way. I was not disappointed. The story is told from the point of view of a Chinese General, an American General, and an enlisted man. Each perspective is unique and shows the frustration of a political war and an indifferent commander (McArthur) as well as an inept second in command General (Ned Almond) who had little experience, even though World War II had only ended 5 years prior. I learned so much about just this one campaign of the Chosin Reservoir from November thru December, 1950 of the Korean War. This battle is considered one of the most brutal in modern warfare, due in large part to the extremely cold temperatures (-40). Told in Shaara’s unique style, the story comes to life and is interesting from start to finish. I especially enjoyed the afterword which tells about the characters Shaara interviewed for the story.

Many years ago, I read Jeff Shaara’s Killer Angels, a dramatized account of the Battle of Gettysburg as seen through the eyes of the combatants. I thought it was magnificent. Shaara’s son Michael followed in his father’s footsteps, writing several similar “historical fiction” books focusing on military campaigns. These books are all based upon historical events and feature actual historical figures, though the stories are fleshed out with dialog provided by the author. This work follows a Marine battalion (?) from the landing at Inchon through the disastrous Chosin Reservoir campaign in North Korea. The chapters are written through the eyes of three participant in the fighting, Marine commanding General O. P. Smith, Marine private Pete Riley and the Chinese commanding General Sung Shi-Lun, whose troops surrounded the Marine detachment before ultimately allowing it to escape. The historical detail is excellent, focusing on the extremely difficult conditions faced by the troops from both sides. The Korean highlands experienced one of the most bitter winters in recorded history, with temperatures that dipped well below zero, resulting in numerous cases of frostbite and death from exposure. I believe the author took some liberties in his attempt to lionize General Smith, at the expense of some of his superiors. Much has been written concerning the personality of Douglas MacArthur, and there is substantial historical underpinning for his treatment here, however it is hard to believe that General Ned Almond, who stood between Smith and MacArthur, was as incompetent and as big a martinet as painted by Shaara. Also, I found much of the dialog to be contrived, using every cliché and hackneyed phrase imaginable from the era. This is the fourth Jeff Shaara work I’ve read and I’ve found them all to be good historical treatments, though a notch below that of his father.

Another good book with good historical facts that we come to expect from this author. It’s probably one of my favorite authors when it comes to historical fiction regardless of Civil War revolution or the Korean War war.

One battle in particular will remain frozen in time: The Battle of the Chosin Resovoir in late 1950 in North Korea. While the book is non-Christian fiction (there is a bit of swearing, but it's "normal soldier swearing" and not on every page), the characters are real and the events actually occurred, although one might not be too crazy about this particular book if you're a General MacArthur fan. As usual, Jeff Shaara put me smack in the middle of all of the horrors and misery of the march and battles, yet always put the people first. I never stop learning more about history, and this book just inspires me to read other books and keep learning about those men who fought in Korea. I'm reminded once more that giving up isn't an option .... even if one is completely surrounded by an enemy. Since I had absolutely no idea I was walking into.... I really learned a lot (I never really learned anything about the Korean War, other than it was a failure for UN Forces, led by USA). OK - I wanted COLD weather .... however ... I didn't know any better than the soldiers .... wasn't expecting -30 degrees! Thank goodness for the maps ... that really helped me figure out where everyone was and what was happening. I got pretty attached to the Marines of Fox Company, especially Pete Riley - that figures: he was a Pennsylvanian, after all, and a WWII veteran. "Hamp" Walsh was also a WWII veteran. "Irish" Killian was one of those guys who drove you nuts, but kept you sane at the same time. Even "kid" Morelli had his moments. Nor did I know that candy - Tootsie Rolls, Hershey Bars, and Jelly Beans were "the foods" to eat. Along the way, there were several other folks: "flyboys" - Corsairs in particular and helicpoter pilots, engineers battalion, medics and docs, British Marines, tank crews, officers who somehow kept things going, the gutsy colonel who drove his truck on the resovoir to bring Army guys to safety... Things went even worse for the Army than for the Marines, and that was pretty lousy. The commander who did all he could to help the men along the way: General Smith. Generals MacArthur and Almond I think we all could have done without ... they seemed to never figure out that they were the ones who helped put this whole mess into action in the first place. And what a long, miserable journey it was .. only to end up .. well.. right where they started from. There's a non-fiction book (released in Oct 2018) that tells the story as well: On Desperate Ground: The Marines at The Reservoir, the Korean War's Greatest Battle by Hampton Sides

Fantastic book. Compelling read

Jeff Shara did another great book of the marines at Chosin reservoir. It is a good beginner and intermediate book on the Korean War. The only unfortunate thing is he didn’t include the Army problems on the right flank. This is a work of fiction even though the events and the characters are true because he has the characters thinking thoughts which a nonfiction can’t do.

I hope there’s a book 2 or three if necessary! I agree with General Smith, thi war is far from over!

Powerful read. Learned so much about this war without feeling it as learning. Very good book to read. Incredible what both sides went through.

A fast and slippery book, grabs your attention quickly and holds it fast. Accurate and easily read, holds true to a narrative and story flow. But then, the Shaara clan is most likely one of the best storytelling clans in history (with or without the pun).

Lost in time & history is the amazing courage of US forces during the Korean War. As with his previous works, Shaara shares the thoughts and experiences of men on both sides of the line. I couldn't put it down.

This is the best war novel that I've read in a long time. It tells the story of a forgotten episode of a forgotten but powerfully brings out the horrors of the war in Korea. It portrays three main characters brilliantly giving their perspectives of a tough campaign with a highly believable narrative. I would thoroughly recommend this book to any reader of war novels that are based on fact. Great stuff!!

I love these books. This one is starting our very good.