Book excerpt: Much of the history of the Korean War has been misinterpreted or obscured. Intense propaganda and limited press coverage during the war, coupled with vague objectives and an incomplete victory, resulted in a popular narrative of partial truth and factual omission. Battlefield stories--essentially true but often missing significant data--added an element of myth. Drawing on a range of sources, the author, a Korean War veteran, reexamines the war's causes, costs and outcomes.