Ghost Flames
| Company type | Book |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Founded | August 2020 |
| Founder | Charles J. Hanley |
| Products | Non-fiction book |
| Website | www |
Ghost Flames: Life and Death in a Hidden War, Korea 1950-1953 is a factual historical account of the Korean War authored by Charles J. Hanley, released in August 2020 through PublicAffairs, a division of Perseus Books Group under the Hachette Book Group. The work portrays the conflict via the perspectives of twenty individuals from varied nationalities and walks of life.
Synopsis
The story progresses in chronological order, intertwining multiple narratives that begin with a North Korean refugee girl in Seoul, South Korea, on June 25, 1950—the day North Korea launched its invasion, igniting the war.
Among the other central figures are a functionary of the North Korean communist party; a mother residing in Seoul; Major General Yu Song-chol, chief of operations for the North Korean army; Lieutenant General Matthew B. Ridgway, U.S. army operations chief; a cadet at the North Korean Naval Academy; an African American infantryman from the U.S.; a nun affiliated with Maryknoll; a medical student from northern Korea; a soldier in the U.S. 1st Cavalry Division; a journalist based in Seoul; a British communist correspondent; high school students from Seoul and Kochang; a female university student in Seoul; a Chinese interpreter involved in truce negotiations; an officer in the U.S. Marines; a soldier from the U.S. 7th Infantry Division; Chinese commander General Peng Teh-huai; and a medic serving with the Chinese army.
These characters bear witness to pivotal moments such as the retreat of U.S. and South Korean forces to the defensive Pusan Perimeter; the amphibious Inchon Landing; breakout maneuvers from the perimeter; advances into North Korean territory; Chinese military intervention; intense fighting across central Korea; trench warfare spanning 1951 to 1953; peace negotiations; and ultimately, the signing of an armistice on July 27, 1953.
Throughout their experiences, they confront brutal wartime atrocities including covert mass executions of political detainees in South Korea (the Bodo League massacre); the killing of southern refugees by U.S. forces at No Gun Ri; indiscriminate strafing of refugee groups by American aircraft; widespread bombing campaigns targeting northern civilian populations conducted by U.S. forces (Bombing of North Korea); and summary executions carried out by North Korean authorities against southern officials.
Spanning 504 pages, this edition features six detailed maps, a chronological timeline of events, sixty photographs illustrating general wartime scenes and key individuals, along with epilogues describing their lives following the conflict.
Reviews
All three leading publishing trade journals awarded Ghost Flames starred reviews.
Kirkus Reviews described it as “a masterful new history… offering a vivid, multifaceted examination of an extraordinarily complex war.” Publishers Weekly referred to it as "a vital narrative on America’s ‘forgotten war’," while Library Journal commended it as “an exceptional mosaic of personal experiences amid a devastating overlooked war."
In The New York Times, critic Gordon G. Chang observed that Hanley, a recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, recounts the Korean War through firsthand testimonies from twenty individuals, most being victims. Arthur Herman of the Wall Street Journal described the book as “gripping” and “poignant,” though he expressed reservations about what he viewed as moral equivalency between combatants, assigning primary blame for the war’s three million fatalities to North Korea.
The online publication Lifestyle Asia hailed Ghost Flames as "historical non-fiction unparalleled in its genre," emphasizing its stark portrayal of war’s harsh realities. In Asian Perspective, international relations specialist Walter C. Clemens Jr. lauded Hanley as “a seasoned war correspondent and meticulous scholar,” highlighting the book’s distinctive multi-perspective approach to recounting war history.
Publication
In July 2018, Peter and Amy Bernstein of the Bernstein Literary Agency sold the publication rights for Ghost Flames to Clive Priddle at PublicAffairs. Initially scheduled for release in spring 2020, the book's launch was postponed until August 2020 as a result of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. A Korean edition, named “고스트 플레임,” was issued in 2025 by Marco Polo Press, located in Sejong-si, South Korea.
External links
- Official Ghost Flames page from the publisher
- Selected passages from Ghost Flames featured in The Wilson Quarterly
- "Charles Hanley discusses Korean War 70th Anniversary", American History TV, C-SPAN, June 21, 2020