This is a well written and highly researched book an a significant, but generally overlooked, war in East Asia around the end of the 16th century. Although one may expect a 600 pg. history book to be anything but a page turner, this book proved to be a real page turner, with certain parts that were outright hilarious (e.g., the diplomatic farce between Ming and Japan), outrageous (e.g., the utter mediocrity of the Korean and Chinese leadership) and inspiring (e.g., heroic and at times miraculous achievements of Yi Sun Shin). Below are a few highlights to note:
- S. Hawley's approach is generally a very "objective" one (to the extent that one can be when describing events from over 400 years ago) in that he consults various, and at times conflicting, sources from Korea, China and Japan. As Hawley notes throughout the book, the "truth" lies somewhere between the conflicting accounts provided by these parties with different incentives and interests (to the chagrin of certain Chinese and Japanese reviewers here who would only put faith in the historical records in their own country, which obviously is the least "objective" metric).
- There is no doubt about the fact that Japan was the aggressor (and often vilified as a consequence) in the Imjin war saga. However, Hawley does a very good job into digging into the utter mediocrity and incompetence of Korea's leadership during these times, which greatly contributed to the initial success of the Japanese invasion (e.g., Korean leaders that are busier with faction fights and overlooking external threats; cowardly Korean commanders that destroy their own weapons and retreat at the sight of the enemy; and despicable government representatives that criticize and imprison capable men like Yi Sun Shin for political gains).
- The diplomatic farce between Ming and Japan is unbelievably hilarious and at times reads like a Shakespearean comedy of errors.
- No commentary on the Imjin war is complete without a reference to the great Admiral. Yi Sun Shin's legendary achievements are generally known throughout Asia and Hawley's book doesn't add anything further to what is generally known (although Hawley helpfully clears away certain misconceptions about Yi, such as the prevalent misconception in Korea that some of Yi's ships were covered in iron). Hawley however emphasizes certain characteristics about Yi that are not as well known albeit still significant: e.g., Yi's absolute focus on being fully prepared before entering into any conflict (even after the Japanese landed on Korean soil and help was requested from Yi, Yi took a full 2.5 weeks to gather information before sailing to confront the Japanese) and Yi's obsession with reporting objective facts to the Korean court and his superiors, even when there was a good chance that doing so would impede his career and even result in punishment. Query whether Yi would've been a more effective defender of his country if he had learned to be more "diplomatic" and political (like Konishi on the Japanese side) - although the Yi Sun Shin that we know of today would not have existed if he was anything other than what he was - a soldier who never compromised what he believed to be the truth.
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Charles
Ordered new, got used
Reviewed in Germany on September 21, 2019
Charles
Reviewed in Germany on September 21, 2019
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