Readers nostalgic for the patriotic news reports of American wars prior to Vietnam, or those who enjoy vintage Hollywood war movies, will savor James Brady's accurate and informed treatment of the disastrous Chosin Reservoir campaign in North Korea in the fall and early winter of 1950. His hero is Captain Tom Verity, a Yale-educated, war-seasoned Marine who at the opening of The Marines of Autumn is teaching Chinese history at Georgetown University and raising his 3-year-old daughter alone after the death of his young wife. Verity was born in China, the son of an American businessman, and returned to the States only in his teens. Recalled to active service because of his familiarity with several Chinese dialects, he is assured that he will only be needed for a month or so, to roam the countryside in a Jeep and monitor Chinese radio activity across (and soon within) the Korean border.

The campaign itself provides a rich subject. As Brady depicts it (both here and in his memoir, The Coldest War), thousands of men were betrayed by the ambition of General MacArthur and the pigheadedness of his intelligence officers. They ignored mounting evidence that entire regiments of Chinese communist forces were crossing the border into North Korea by night and hiding in the hills surrounding the Chosin Reservoir, a narrow mountain pass through which American troops were being sent en masse as a giddy, premature display of victory over the North Koreans. After the liberation of Seoul in September 1950, and with presidential hopes in mind, MacArthur had decided to push his troops forward all the way to the Yalu River, the border with China, while assuring President Truman that there was no organized resistance to their advance, and that American soldiers would be home by Christmas.

Verity watched the Marines arrive by sea, realizing that his brief tour of duty might be prolonged and feeling nostalgic for the rifle platoon he had led on Okinawa: They looked pretty much like all the Marines he'd ever seen, some clean-shaven and baby-faced like kids' bottoms; others hairy and tough; craggy men like Tate and gnomes like Izzo; pimpled boys and top sergeants going gray, men with their helmets securely fastened with chin straps, others with their steel hats cocked back off their faces, straps a-dangle.

Hell, Verity thought, they look like... Marines. Admittedly, it is hard to avoid cliché in this genre. The unconventional plot--an ill-advised advance followed by a hasty and equally costly retreat--helps Brady. And there is no flag-waving at the end of The Marines of Autumn. The author's treatment is sentimental but realistic, and will be relished by Marines and ex-Marines alike, since the army is the butt of every joke. --Regina Marler


From Publishers Weekly
Columnist and author Brady (The Coldest War) has written the most powerful and stunning war novel since 1997's The Black Flower by Howard Bahr. In 1950, soon after the start of the Korean War, the men of the 1st Marine Division found themselves surrounded by 100,000 Communist Chinese soldiers at the famous battle of the Chosin Reservoir. Brady is a Marine veteran of the forgotten war, and he writes colorfully and convincingly about how 20,000 Americans fought their way out of the Communist trap in the most bitterly cold winter weather ever experienced on the Korean peninsula. Reserve Marine Capt. Tom Verity, a young widower and a single parent, is recalled to active duty in the autumn of 1950; he is a Chinese linguist whose skills are badly needed. Gen. Douglas MacArthur has unwisely sent the Marine division into North Korea with orders to march to the Chinese border; despite MacArthur's flippant assurances, the Marines suspect the Red Chinese are waiting for them in the Taebaek Mountains. Verity is to join the forward battalion and gather intelligence for the Marine brass. Aided by conscientious, capable Gunnery Sergeant Tate and jeep-stealing, wise-cracking Corporal Izzo, Verity's efforts pay off, but it is too late. The Communists attack relentlessly, day and night, and with temperatures down to 25 degrees below zero, everyone freezes. The American withdrawal back to the seaport of Wonsan is a horrific nightmare of fatigue, frostbite, wounds and death. After days of marching and fighting, Verity, Tate and Izzo are about to reach safety when a single sniper's bullet changes all their fates. Brady's narrative captures the viciousness of combat, the brutal weather conditions, the forbidding terrain and the Marines' display of extraordinary courage, sacrifice, and valor. Incisively mapping out the fine lines between hope and despair, heroism and cowardice, this moving novel is a model of historical and moral accuracy. (June) FYI: This is just one of several upcoming novels commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Chosin Reservoir campaign. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
YA-Through vivid writing, readers observe and almost feel the cold, filth, and deadly danger of the Chosin Reservoir campaign, in which several regiments of Chinese troops unexpectedly appeared in North Korea as the Americans and South Koreans moved North to "win the war by Christmas," 1950. The undermanned American troops were trapped in the mountains, necessitating a retreat while under constant attack. The only road ran along one narrow defile, slippery with ice and intermittent new snow; Chinese troops paralleled the retreat on the opposite side of the crest. Our troops were thus strung out for miles, traveling slowly and suffering from the effects of below-zero temperatures as well as sniping and/or attacks from the Chinese. Brady describes episodes of heroism and bravery among the long-suffering men, as they slowly make their way south to safety. This is a Marine story, and neither MacArthur, the Army, nor the South Korean troops come off looking very well. The hero is Marine Reserve Captain Thomas Verity, called upon for a short stint in intelligence work because he grew up in China and speaks the language. His character is loosely based on Senator John Chafee of Rhode Island, who served in this campaign. The flashbacks of Verity with his wife and daughter in Georgetown don't ring quite true or seem necessary, but they don't mar the overall effect, which is to make readers appreciate all soldiers' sacrifices and heroism.Judy McAloon, Potomac Library, Prince William County, VA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
On the 50th anniversary of the Korean War come these two novels about marines in combat. Both follow a marine captain through the rigors of infantry fighting to the climax of the Chosin Reservoir campaign in which the marines were besieged by over 100,000 Red Chinese troops. Both reflect on the home life left behind; both strive for insight into, and understanding of, the professional soldier's mind. Beyond that they are quite different. Simmons, a retired brigadier general, held a company command in the war and wrote his novel shortly after returning. For personal reasons, he decided against publication. Now after a distinguished career as author and corps historian, he has released an absorbing tale. His marines are businesslike, dedicated, skilled in their jobs, and generally free from fear, second-guessing, or regret. They understand the demands of war and accept the hardships as part of their profession, remaining human, thoughtful, and complex throughout. Simmons's depth of understanding, insider knowledge, and informed compassion are especially effective. Brady, author of a series of novels set in the Hamptons, is also a veteran of the war. His novel follows Tom Verity, a new father, recent widower, and veteran of Guadalcanal, who is reactivated against his will and thrown into the fray to monitor Chinese radio transmissions. This takes him to Chosin. Brady's work is more explicitly exploitative of the reader's emotions, and he misses no opportunity to savage MacArthur's bad judgment and overweening ambition. Nor does he skip a chance to glorify the heroes on the ground. There is much interest in the upcoming anniversary, and many libraries will want to add Korean War material. Buy Simmons first and Brady's if demand exists. In either case, add recent histories as well.-Edwin B. Burgess, U.S. Army Combined Arms Research Lib., Fort Leavenworth, KS Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Brady, familiar from his celebrity interviews in Parade, turns here to more serious matters: the killing grounds of America's forgotten war. A combat veteran of the Korean "conflict," he writes of the low-tech slaughter that took place at "the (expletive deleted) Frozen Chosin." Marine Captain Tom Verity is a widower with a young daughter who teaches Chinese history at Georgetown University. He is called up from his quiet mourning and thrust into the middle of a bad scene about to get worse. When the Chinese pour over the border, America experiences one of the worst retreats in its military history, and MacArthur sees his presidential dream go up in the smoke of battle. But the focus here is on the thousands of soldiers who lost their lives as well as their dreams. Brady tells it like it was and tells it extremely well. Budd Arthur
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

FROM THE PUBLISHER

When USMC Captain Thomas Verity is called back to action, he must leave his Georgetown home, career, and young daughter and rush to Korea to monitor Chinese radio transmissions. At first acting in an advisory role, he is abruptly thrust into MacArthur's last daring and disastrous foray - the Chosin Reservoir campaign - and then its desperate retreat.

This is a stunning, shattering novel of war illuminated only by courage, determination, Marine Corps discipline, and by love: of soldier for soldier, of men and their women, and of a small girl in Georgetown, whose father promised she would dance with him on the bridges of Paris - a child Captain Verity fears he may never see again.

In The Marines of Autumn, James Brady captures our imagination and shocks us into a new understanding of war.

Author Biography: JAMES BRADY was a baby-faced marine in charge of a combat platoon during Korean War. He captured these experiences in his highly praised memoir The Coldest War. His weekly columns for Advertising Age and Parade magazines are considered must-reads by millions. He lives in Manhattan and in East Hampton, New York.

SYNOPSIS

War has been the inspiration of such great novels as The Red Badge of Courage and A Farewell to Arms, and daring feats of courage and tragic mistakes have been the foundation for such classic works. Now, for the first time ever, the Korean War has a novel that captures that courage and sacrifice.

When Captain Thomas Verity, USMC, is called back to action, he must leave his Georgetown home, career, and young daughter and rush to Korea to monitor Chinese radio transmissions. At first acting in an advisory role, he is abruptly thrust into MacArthur's last daring and disastrous foray-the Chosin Reservoir campaign-and then its desperate retreat.

Time magazine at the time recounted the retreat this way: "The running fight of the Marines...was a battle unparalleled in U.S. military history. It had some aspects of Bataan, some of Anzio, some of Dunkirk, some of Valley Forge, and some of 'the retreat of the 10,000' as described in Xenophon's Anabasis."

The Marines of Autumn is a stunning, shattering novel of war illuminated only by courage, determination, and Marine Corps discipline. And by love: of soldier for soldier, of men and their women, and of a small girl in Georgetown, whose father promised she would dance with him on the bridges of Paris. A child Captain Tom Verity fears he may never see again.

In The Marines of Autumn, James Brady captures our imagination and shocks us into a new understanding of war.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Columnist and author Brady (The Coldest War) has written the most powerful and stunning war novel since 1997's The Black Flower by Howard Bahr. In 1950, soon after the start of the Korean War, the men of the 1st Marine Division found themselves surrounded by 100,000 Communist Chinese soldiers at the famous battle of the Chosin Reservoir. Brady is a Marine veteran of the forgotten war, and he writes colorfully and convincingly about how 20,000 Americans fought their way out of the Communist trap in the most bitterly cold winter weather ever experienced on the Korean peninsula. Reserve Marine Capt. Tom Verity, a young widower and a single parent, is recalled to active duty in the autumn of 1950; he is a Chinese linguist whose skills are badly needed. Gen. Douglas MacArthur has unwisely sent the Marine division into North Korea with orders to march to the Chinese border; despite MacArthur's flippant assurances, the Marines suspect the Red Chinese are waiting for them in the Taebaek Mountains. Verity is to join the forward battalion and gather intelligence for the Marine brass. Aided by conscientious, capable Gunnery Sergeant Tate and jeep-stealing, wise-cracking Corporal Izzo, Verity's efforts pay off, but it is too late. The Communists attack relentlessly, day and night, and with temperatures down to 25 degrees below zero, everyone freezes. The American withdrawal back to the seaport of Wonsan is a horrific nightmare of fatigue, frostbite, wounds and death. After days of marching and fighting, Verity, Tate and Izzo are about to reach safety when a single sniper's bullet changes all their fates. Brady's narrative captures the viciousness of combat, the brutal weather conditions, the forbidding terrain and the Marines' display of extraordinary courage, sacrifice, and valor. Incisively mapping out the fine lines between hope and despair, heroism and cowardice, this moving novel is a model of historical and moral accuracy. (June) FYI: This is just one of several upcoming novels commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Chosin Reservoir campaign. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Library Journal

On the 50th anniversary of the Korean War come these two novels about marines in combat. Both follow a marine captain through the rigors of infantry fighting to the climax of the Chosin Reservoir campaign in which the marines were besieged by over 100,000 Red Chinese troops. Both reflect on the home life left behind; both strive for insight into, and understanding of, the professional soldier's mind. Beyond that they are quite different. Simmons, a retired brigadier general, held a company command in the war and wrote his novel shortly after returning. For personal reasons, he decided against publication. Now after a distinguished career as author and corps historian, he has released an absorbing tale. His marines are businesslike, dedicated, skilled in their jobs, and generally free from fear, second-guessing, or regret. They understand the demands of war and accept the hardships as part of their profession, remaining human, thoughtful, and complex throughout. Simmons's depth of understanding, insider knowledge, and informed compassion are especially effective. Brady, author of a series of novels set in the Hamptons, is also a veteran of the war. His novel follows Tom Verity, a new father, recent widower, and veteran of Guadalcanal, who is reactivated against his will and thrown into the fray to monitor Chinese radio transmissions. This takes him to Chosin. Brady's work is more explicitly exploitative of the reader's emotions, and he misses no opportunity to savage MacArthur's bad judgment and overweening ambition. Nor does he skip a chance to glorify the heroes on the ground. There is much interest in the upcoming anniversary, and many libraries will want to add Korean War material.Buy Simmons first and Brady's if demand exists. In either case, add recent histories as well.--Edwin B. Burgess, U.S. Army Combined Arms Research Lib., Fort Leavenworth, KS Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\

School Library Journal

YA-Through vivid writing, readers observe and almost feel the cold, filth, and deadly danger of the Chosin Reservoir campaign, in which several regiments of Chinese troops unexpectedly appeared in North Korea as the Americans and South Koreans moved North to "win the war by Christmas," 1950. The undermanned American troops were trapped in the mountains, necessitating a retreat while under constant attack. The only road ran along one narrow defile, slippery with ice and intermittent new snow; Chinese troops paralleled the retreat on the opposite side of the crest. Our troops were thus strung out for miles, traveling slowly and suffering from the effects of below-zero temperatures as well as sniping and/or attacks from the Chinese. Brady describes episodes of heroism and bravery among the long-suffering men, as they slowly make their way south to safety. This is a Marine story, and neither MacArthur, the Army, nor the South Korean troops come off looking very well. The hero is Marine Reserve Captain Thomas Verity, called upon for a short stint in intelligence work because he grew up in China and speaks the language. His character is loosely based on Senator John Chafee of Rhode Island, who served in this campaign. The flashbacks of Verity with his wife and daughter in Georgetown don't ring quite true or seem necessary, but they don't mar the overall effect, which is to make readers appreciate all soldiers' sacrifices and heroism.-Judy McAloon, Potomac Library, Prince William County, VA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Taking a break from his fluffy satires of summering glitterati (The House That Ate the Hamptons, 1999, etc.), Parade and Advertising Age columnist Brady, delivers a bitter, despairing novel of the valiant but futile stand by US Marines against the Chinese Army at the Chosin Reservoir.. Having survived combat at Guadalcanal, US Marine Captain Tom Verity had had enough of war. In 1950, Verity, a widower with a three-year old daughter, looks forward to another semester teaching Chinese language at Georgetown when he's called back into uniform and sent to Korea. There, he's given a jeep, a fancy radio, a respectful, history-quoting Sergeant Tate, and the wisecracking, street-wise South Philadelphia driver Izzo. Ordered to head north, to the snowy Korean highlands bordering China, he is to listen to Chinese radio transmissions and determine if the they're aiding Korean Communist forces. A pawn in a bureaucratic conflict between Marine commanders and General MacArthur, who has divided American forces along the Korea-Chinese border in anticipation of a quick end to the hostilities, Verity quickly discovers what the Marines have suspected and MacArthur refuses to believe: that the Chinese have mobilized to invade from the north. After an agonizing build-up, they attack in human waves, demolishing entire battalions before retreating into the snowbound hills. Verity, Tate, and Izzo fight their way through a series of devastating, gut-wrenching combat scenes, then join the remnants of the American forces on a humiliating retreat through punishing attacks and brutal cold. Their final, tragic (and somewhat unconvincing) response to so much wasted life is to make sure that one of theirfallencomrades will not be left on foreign soil. Gloomy, gory, and furiously critical of MacArthur, Brady's second take on the Korean War (after his 1990 memoir, The Coldest War) throws ice water on mindlessly gung-ho military thrillers, concluding that the only good things about war are the honor and decency of the few good men who fight it. (two pages maps, not seen)

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

"THE MARINES OF AUTUMN is right up there with the very best of combat writing and is destined to become one of the defining novels of the genre." — Nelson DeMille

"An epic story worthy of the ancient Greeks. Riveting. A truly first rate novel of the Korean War." — Dan Rather

"The Korean War now has its own Iliad, historically precise and harrowingly poetic." — Kurt Jr. Vonnegut

"THE MARINES OF AUTUMN is a you-are-there epic story that portrays the horror and the heroism of the Corps finest, yet most critical hour. A truly gripping tale of a war that America has sadly forgotten." — Colonel David H. Hackworth

War reporting at its best—a graphic depiction, in all its horror, at the war we've almost forgotten￯﾿ﾽJim Brady has used his finely honed reportorial skill to record his own frontline experiences in the Korean War. His story reads like a novel. — (Walter Cronkite on The Coldest War)

The Marines of Autumn is a you—are—there epic story that portrays the horror and heroism of the corps' finest yet most critical hour. A truly gripping tale of a war that America has sadly forgotten. — (David Hackworth, U.S. Soldier, Korea, 1950)

The privation undergone by the U.S. Marines at the 'Frozen Chosin' Korea, 1950, stands with the monumental infantry ordeals in the history of warfare. Now James Brady, who himself fought as a Marine rifle platoon leader in the same Taebaek Mountains of North Korea, brings this annul of valor to life in prose that is at once brutal, humorous, harrowing, and indelible. The Marines of Autumn takes its place among the unforgettable chronicles of war crafted by men, to paraphrase Whitman, 'who were there, who knew, who suffered.' Outstanding. — (Steven Pressfield, author of Tides of War and Gates of Fire)