ON DESPERATE GROUND: The Marines at The Reservoir, the Korean War's Greatest Battle by Hampton Sides. LIKE NEW First Edition stated, full number line hardcover, 2018. INSCRIBED to previous owner and SIGNED by author. General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander of UN troops in Korea, convinced President Harry Truman that the Communist forces of Kim Il-sung would be utterly defeated by Thanksgiving. As he was assuring Truman that the Chinese would not intervene in the war, 300,000 Red Chinese soldiers began secretly crossing the Manchurian border. Led by some 20,000 men of the First Marine Division, the Americans moved deep into the snowy mountains of North Korea, toward the trap Mao had set along the frozen shores of the Chosin Reservoir. What followed on 15 October 1950 was one of the most heroic and harrowing operations in American military history, and one of the classic battles of all time. Faced with probable annihilation, and temperatures plunging to 20 degrees below zero, the surrounded, and hugely outnumbered, Marines fought through the enemy forces with ferocity, ingenuity, and nearly unimaginable courage as they marched their way to the sea. This account relies on years of archival research, unpublished letters, declassified documents, and interviews with scores of Marines and Koreans who survived the siege. An immediate, grunt's-eye view of history, enthralling in its narrative pace and powerful in its portrayal of what ordinary men are capable of in the most extreme circumstances. Listed new at $30.

LIKE NEW First Edition stated, full number line hardcover, appearing unread with pages and edges clean and unmarked. INSCRIBED to previous owner and SIGNED by author (scan #2). Binding tight. Jacket shows no corner or edge wear, no tears, and negligible scuffing. Not price clipped. Not a remainder. Collectible condition. 6.5" x 9.5." Endpaper maps, photos, and text. 394 pgs.