Few of us have lived through war as either combatants or civilians. I find myself drawn to historical novels, war memoirs, to the stories of journalists under fire. Experiencing war in a book or movie is like watching a game. Who to root for is sometimes clear, often not.
Humans are capable both of angelic deeds and barbaric acts.
It has to do with time and opportunity, and perhaps a personal moral code. In three recent war memoirs all these issues come into play. Remembering Korea 1950, A Boy Soldier's Story by H. K. Shin is the most unusual of the three. Chienne de Guerre, A Woman Reporter Behind the Lines of the War in Chechnya by Anne Nivat brings the reader into the heart of a brutal war that isn't yet finished. Shin's Korean war memoir will be the most enlightening for an American audience.