The impressive Second Edition of this standard study incorporates important new evidence on the origins of the war from Chinese and Russian archives. It reveals that Stalin encouraged the attack on South Korea, but also confirms that the original initiative came from North Korea. Peter Lowe has also written an extended conclusion with a discussion of the Koreas in the late 1990s, and the challenges involved in securing their reunification.
Chapter 1. Korea, the Japanese Empire, and the Pacific War
Chapter 2. The Establishment of Two Koreas
Chapter 3. The Approach of Confrontation in Korea
Chapter 4. General MacArthur and the Recovery of Japan
Chapter 5. The Demise of the Kuomintang and the Triumph of Chinese Communism
Chapter 6. The Cold War in Europe
Chapter 7. The Outbreak of the Korean War
Chapter 8. Rollback and Chinese Intervention in Korea