White Tigers: My Secret War in North Korea (Memories of War)

The book is a first hand account of the secret war experiences behind enemy lines. The author describes his battles quite clearly and simply, both against the North Koreans and with his own military bureaucracy. The author's honesty was both disturbing but also very refreshing to learn about. It highlights just how challenging it must have been to achieve success in the clandestine war against the North....harder than it could have otherwise been had we learned the lessons from the previous war. The fact that they were effective against the communists speaks volumes about the courage, tenacity and improvisational skills of these nontraditional warriors under fire and constant threat of discovery by agents in the North. My only caveat is that it would have been helpful to have included a bit about the contemporary history of Korea to give more perspective of accounts described in the book, for example, how the prior Japanese occupation influenced affairs in Korea immediately leading up to the Korean War.

In the world of foreign military advisors, Ben Malcom's name is not a household word in comparison to Joe Stilwell, John Glubb, Edward Lansdale, and, of course, T E Lawrence. His short memoir of life with North Korean guerrillas during the Korean War deserves to be read along with those of his more famous colleages.Ben Malcom was trained as a traditional military officer, but was thrust into a highly unusual role as an advisor to a small group of North Korean guerrillas fighting against the North Korean government. Until the 1990s, the missions the so-called White Tigers undertook were still classified. While their contribution to the overall war effort can be disputed, Malcom's lessons cannot be ignored for what they teach us about the US Army and its abiding discomfort with non-traditional warfare.Malcom demonstrates convincingly that the US Army forgot many of the lessons derived from working with partisan forces from Burma to Greece to France during the Second World War. Those lessons would have proved invaluable to young Lieutenant Malcom as he took on a role he was not trained for, but for which he demonstrated great aptitude. His book takes us from his ROTC days, to instructor at Fort Knox, through his time in Korea, and finally to Vietnam, where he experienced a nasty case of de ja vue. His memoir is short, but exciting and written with great verve.Much has been written about the current conflict in Iraq and how the the US military is adapting to re-learn the lessons it forgot after Vietnam about insurgency, counter-insurgency, and partisan warfare. Many authors have applauded the adaptability of the US military; Malcom's book is a cautionary tale that shows we have been down this path before and failed to institutionalize the lessons of previous conflict. For that alone, his memoir is worth the price.

Interesting look at the Korean War

COL Malcom's book tells the story of Fifth Column operations behind enemy lines during the Korean War. He is one of severalU.S. Army officers who salvaged "special operations" lessons from WWII and applied them with a minimum of high-level supportfrom the orthodox allied military commands. It is really a tale of a two-front war, facing the North Koreans on one side andthe establishment military bureaucracy on the other. He often worked with Korean partisans, alone, a hundred miles inside NorthKorea when capture was certain death and he had no place to hide and no support. The courage, audacity, and intelligencedisplayed in these operations were extraordinary even among soldiers for whom courage was a given. He earned the credit forbeing one of the "Fathers of modern Special Operations" a hundred times over.His legacy gave us the modern Special Forces (Green Berets) with their ability to "reach out and touch" Al Queda and otherterrorist threats to western civilization. "White Tigers" is readable, engaging, and informative and a story that will beadmired by anyone who roots for freedom.

Although there is a handful of other books about America's secret war in North Korea, Ben Malcolm tells it best. He provides a personal account of his actions, but also offers personal insights of the partisans, particularly small unit leaders, that are fascinating. Other books overflow with military acronyms - ridiculous, repetitive, confusing. Malcolm's book is easy to follow without those pitfalls. In three other books I've read on the same topic, Malcolm's name is only referenced twice, in single pages in the same book. He's a critic of a top-heavy American command that seems to try to fight a war against a European-style enemy rather than deal with China's bottomless reservoir of experienced fighters. I will commend all books on this topic to other readers, my critique notwithstanding, because of the crucial development of guerilla/partisan/spec ops/counter-insurgency knowledge and capabilities in Vietnam and the inflammatory Middle East.

Excellent read, courage...very interesting insight into what went on. Things we never dared or even heard about it. Highly recommend it.

Revealing documentary of super secret ops in North Korea during the "conflict".Well written and easy to follow,but I'm in doubt that all "Gooks" were as dumb as the writer makes some of them out to be.The General who sent the tanks after the radio crew, was one smart person to detect the false papers presented by the ROK'S,and the overshadowing heroics of those ROK volunteers was beyond comprehension. We owe them so much for their sacrifice during the Ops because if they were ever captured, they were dead men.No trial,just instant death.

pleasure reading and book signing ceremony

I am told it was worth a read

must read, incredible!