Joseph R. Owen

Colder Than Hell is an outstanding combat memoir. The audiobook version (1999) won an award and takes it to a new level. The Battle of Chosin has operatic qualities that can justify reading multiple books even if your not a regular military reader. The book's strength is not explaining what happened generally, there are better books for that (see Hampton Sides), but the day to day POV of a Marine platoon leader and the politics and interactions among his subordinates and commanders. This may sound trivial but I came away with a better/reliable understanding of what it was like to fight in Korea than any book previously.… (mere)

Absolutely riveting first hand account of one 2nd Lt and his platoon/company fight from their call up in the US to the frozen hell of the Chosin Reservoir. Roughly 225 men landed, 27 walked down after the campaign was over. As most first hand accounts go the book wont give you much idea of the strategic overview of the campaign, but this cant be held against it as it is not that genre of book. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the Chosin Campaign or first hand Korean war accounts to learn a bit of 'the way it was' on the ground.… (mere)