Outside the hamlet of Yudam-ni near the Chosin Reservoir, American Marines shivered in their icy foxholes under frost-covered parka hoods, trigger fingers aching, their feet lumps of ice. The night of November 27, 1950 was moonless and bitterly cold. Then, bugles, whistles, and duck calls shattered the silence. Screaming enemy soldiers seemed to appear everywhere at once. On a nearby hill, a Marine observed, “It was like the snow came to life...” 

Vastly outnumbered, defeat and death seemed guaranteed. The Marines’ improbable escape required all their fighting skills. It has become the stuff of legend and is brought to life in this book by Joseph Wheelan – himself the son of a Chosin veteran – through a searing collection of first-hand accounts. The Farthest Valley also uses Chinese military source material to give a unique perspective on Chinese commanders’ strategic and tactical failings which allowed the Marines to escape and caused the needless deaths of thousands of Chinese foot soldiers.