Book01
The Coldest Winter
David Halberstam
A broad, deeply reported history of America and the Korean War—and a strong place to begin.
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Books, films and series on Korea, national security, crime and public records.
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01
DMZ & Korea
Book02
The Two Koreas
Don Oberdorfer and Robert Carlin
Diplomacy, rivalry, and the political history behind the peninsula’s long division.
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On Desperate Ground
Hampton Sides
A narrative account of the Marines, Chosin Reservoir, and one of the war’s defining battles.
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National security & intelligence
Book01
The Looming Tower
Lawrence Wright
A deeply reported account of al-Qaeda's rise and the institutional failures that preceded 9/11.
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Ghost Wars
Steve Coll
The covert history of Afghanistan, the CIA, and the forces that shaped the pre-9/11 security landscape.
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Legacy of Ashes
Tim Weiner
A critical history of the CIA built from records, interviews, and the agency's recurring institutional battles.
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The Fifth Risk
Michael Lewis
An accessible look at the quiet federal capabilities that manage large, consequential public risks.
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FBI, FOIA & investigations
Book01
The Burglary
Betty Medsger
How citizens exposed secret FBI surveillance and gave investigative journalism a historic trove of records.
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The Art of Access
David Cuillier and Charles N. Davis
A practical guide to public-records strategy, useful for reporters and anyone following a paper trail.
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Killers of the Flower Moon
David Grann
A landmark investigation of murder, corruption, and the early FBI, reconstructed from archival evidence.
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The Poisoner's Handbook
Deborah Blum
Forensic science, toxicology, and crime reporting converge in Prohibition-era New York.
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Military history
Book01
This Kind of War
T. R. Fehrenbach
A soldier-centered classic that remains central to debates about readiness and limited war.
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Homeland Security
Mark Sauter and James Carafano
A practical guide to terrorism, preparedness, critical infrastructure, and public responsibility.
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The Outpost
Jake Tapper
Reported military history centered on Combat Outpost Keating, command decisions, and the people who fought there.
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On screen
Film01
Joint Security Area
Directed by Park Chan-wook
A taut mystery set at the DMZ that turns a border incident into a human and political tragedy.
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Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War
Directed by Kang Je-gyu
An intense Korean War epic told through two brothers pulled into the conflict.
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Band of Brothers
HBO miniseries
The landmark account of Easy Company from training through the end of World War II.
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Generation Kill
HBO miniseries
Embedded reporting becomes a sharp, unsentimental portrait of Marines in the Iraq War.
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