Samurai Invasion: Japan's Korean War 1592 -1598

The war that I have always wanted to learn more about in detail has finally been written in a 'more than you will ever need to know' detailed account in English by Mr. Turnbull. I had always waited for an English account on this war. The Pros: The book is very very detailed, much more than I would imagine a typical book on the war written in Korean would be. The author does a fairly good job of setting up the historical pretext for the war to give the reader a better understanding of why Korea had such troubles defending itself. Although the title suggests more Japanese overtones, the author does a very excellent job of detailing the Korean side of the war, much more than I had expected. The book has great personal accounts from the war and frequent insightful anecdotes. Moreover, the book reads like a war novel, and it kept me reading till I read every single page (trust me, I am not a 'whole book' reader usually!). The cons: Not much cons, except for the fact that the story does jump around a bit in terms of chronology, so you may have to flip back to several previous chapters once in a while for reference. The author does this for understandable reasons, but it can still be confusing and inconvenient to do so. Although I did like the set-up of the first two chapters, I do wish the author could have explained more of how and why the Japanese were so superior in military techniques as opposed to the Koreans (ie-the Japanese were lifetime warriors after coming out of a feudal Japan, as opposed to the Koreans). Also, the book would have been much easier for the reader had there been more maps of the war and diagrams (showing battles) as I found myself constantly referring back to the initial battle map in the third chapter for place names and general names, etc. Overall, you will NOT find a more detailed and interesting account on this devasting war which led to a no-win situation for both countries.

The Imjin Wars of 1592-1598 were pivotal in changing the face of North East Asia. The wars bankrupted Ming China, making it vulnerable to attacks from the Manchu (thus contributing quite a bit to ending the dynasty), traumatized and insulated Korea, and ended Japanese international adventurism till the 20th century and set the stage for the Tokogowa Shogunate. The book itself is very handsomely crafted, with a beautiful jacket and many color and b/w illustrations inside. Every other page is watermarked with the outline of the painting or print from the following page. One of the few cases where the books matches the expectations set forth by the cover. Turnbull has obviously spend a lot of time researching and it shows. He evenly displays the Japanese and Korean side of the war. An excellent first book on the subject written in English. He clearly shows how the Japanese method of war compared to and interacted with Chinese tactics based on sheer numbers and Korean guerilla and fortification based tactics. Also does justice to Admiral Yi's amazing naval victories at sea, and more importantly how it aided the Korean land battles and conversely frustrated the Japanese. Turnbull gives a good description of the unique Turtle Ship as well. The Imjin War was a very important event in Northeast Asian history, and hopefully this book will spur on more study into this area by observers in the West.

This is samurai-era historian Stephen Turnbull's latest and probably most satisfying work. Unlike his earlier books concentrating on the civil wars in Japan itself, this one also fills a great gap in our knowledge of earlier Korean history - a woefully neglected field compared to the Japanese samurai. The gripping narrative is particularly telling in its depiction of the contrasting tactics and military cultures of Japan, China and Korea. The Shinto 'cult of death' produced a callous disregard for human life and an obsession with taking the offensive. The factionalism and dogmatism of the Korean elite left their military terribly unprepared for war and forced to depend on guerrila volunteers and warrior monks. The Chinese threw their huge armies into human-wave attacks that helped turn the tide by overwhelming superior Japanese weaponry and training, but at an appalling cost. The combination of these elements produced a war marked by sudden reverses, desperate courage and tremendous suffering on both sides. Turnbull's extensive research finally brings that war to life in some of the best descriptions of East Asian warfare ever written.