Name: Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader
Rating: 4 (1 reviews)
ISBN: 9780312323226

Bradley K. Martin

A dual portrait of Orwellian leaders Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il traces events from the end of World War II to the present, cites North Korea's stockpile of chemical weapons, describes Kim Il-Sung's numerous leadership roles, and warns readers about the threat posed by North Korea to American security. Reprint. 25,000 first printing.

North Korea and the Kim Dynasty

Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader

Greg Talbot

Martin's acknowledgements at the end of his book and inclusion of voices (defectors, US analysts) and perspectives, gives it a complexity that adds humanity, and pulls slightly on veil of the Kim-Jong-Sung/Kim-Jung-IL dynasty. There is a clear split (around the page 100 mark) where the novel goes from an observing historical voice, to a more personal narration voice. By entwining himself in the book, his visits, his role with the ping-pong tournament in 1979, he loses a sense of unity. Curiously insightful, and at times artistic (a coda to Kim-Jung-Il at the end), it feels unnecessary. Much of the "history" we are given from the late-70s - early 90's is from interviews with defectors - which on some level adds perspective, but is granular and again excessive.<br /><br />"Under the Loving Care" is incredibly unique. Provocative in title (catchy eh?), and encompassing both history and speculation, it plows through 50 years of N. Korean history, and leaves us both interested and disconnected from the hidden metropolis where Kim-Jong-Sung's legacy continues to hold

Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader North Korea and the Kim Dynasty

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