The Frozen Hours

A Novel of the Korean War

By: Jeff Shaara

Narrated by: Paul Michael

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The master of military historical fiction turns his discerning eye to the Korean War in this riveting novel, which tells the dramatic story of the Americans and the Chinese who squared off in one of the deadliest campaigns in the annals of combat: the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, also known as Frozen Chosin.

June 1950. The North Korean army invades South Korea, intent on uniting the country under Communist rule. In response, the United States mobilizes a force to defend the overmatched South Korean troops, and together they drive the North Koreans back to their border with China.

But several hundred thousand Chinese troops have entered Korea, laying massive traps for the Allies. In November 1950, the Chinese spring those traps. Allied forces, already battling stunningly cold weather, find themselves caught completely off guard as the Chinese advance around the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. A force that once stood on the precipice of victory now finds itself on the brink of annihilation. Assured by General Douglas MacArthur that they would be home by Christmas, the soldiers and Marines fight for their lives against the most brutal weather conditions imaginable—and an enemy that outnumbers them more than six to one.

The Frozen Hours tells the story of Frozen Chosin from multiple points of view: Oliver P. Smith, the commanding general of the American 1st Marine Division, who famously redefined retreat as “advancing in a different direction”; Marine Private Pete Riley, a World War II veteran who now faces the greatest fight of his life; and the Chinese commander Sung Shi-Lun, charged with destroying the Americans he has so completely surrounded, ever aware that above him, Chairman Mao Tse-Tung watches his every move. 

Written with the propulsive force Jeff Shaara brings to all his novels of combat and courage, The Frozen Hours transports us to the critical moment in the history of America’s “Forgotten War,” when the fate of the Korean peninsula lay in the hands of a brave band of brothers battling both the elements and a determined, implacable foe.

“A military story as dramatic and heroic as any that exists.”—The American Interest

“The Frozen Hours . . . illustrates again Shaara’s mastery. . . . This is fiction and history at their blended best.”—Marine Corps Gazette

“Marvelously effective storytelling . . . that shows us what warfare feels like both to those who plan campaigns and those who execute them . . . gripping, precisely detailed historical fiction.”—Booklist (starred review)

Critic reviews

“A military story as dramatic and heroic as any that exists.”—The American Interest

“The Frozen Hours . . . illustrates again Shaara’s mastery. . . . This is fiction and history at their blended best.”—Marine Corps Gazette

“Marvelously effective storytelling . . . that shows us what warfare feels like both to those who plan campaigns and those who execute them . . . gripping, precisely detailed historical fiction.”—Booklist (starred review)

Korean War first phase

Mr Shaara does his usual excellent job portraying the individual characters involved in conflict. One gets a true sense of the extremely difficult conditions under which these very brave men fought. The only difficulty with the audio version of this is that you have to be quite familiar with the geography--specifically the locations of some obscure towns around the Chosen reservoir. As a war story or simply to better understand what happened to the Marines in Korea in 1950, this book is quite good.

gr8 book

loved the book/ narration and story of the beginning of Korea. To be honest We never should have been there or Vietnam either. thanks for a gr8 book

Evan Review

This is Jeff last book. It is true that the Korean War is the forgotten war. I e really think that all the success of WW2 and then the failures had in Korea it is why it called the forgotten war. Just thing what a different world it would be if we would had been successful today. Please read this to see why.

5 Stars

Great story. Great narrator. Shaara and Michael are a great team. Please keep them coming.

Best performance. Great History lesson.

I knew nothing about the Korean War. Although this is only a small part of it, much is explained. The narraitor did an amazing job. A man of many voices for sure. It was a long book but I finished it in less than a week. Recmmended for anyone wanting to be informed on the KW.