North Korea: State of Paranoia: A Modern History

North Korea: State of Paranoia: A Modern History

2014 • 480 pages

North Korea is a country that continues to make headlines—arousing curiosity and fear in equal measure. The world’s most secretive nuclear power, it is a nation that still has Gulag-style prison camps, no internet, and bans its people from talking to foreigners without official approval. In this remarkable and eye-opening book, bestselling author Paul French takes the reader inside the world’s most secretive country. He examines the history and politics of North Korea, Pyongyang’s complex relations with South Korea, Japan, and America. As China begins to tire of its unruly ally, what are the implications of Kim Jong-un’s increasingly belligerent leadership following the death of his father, Kim Jong-il? As an already unstable North Korea grows ever more unpredictable, antagonizing enemies and allies alike, North Korea: State of Paranoia, delivers a provocative and frightening account of a potentially explosive nuclear tripwire.

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The author said the same things over and over again in different ways. This book could have been more concise. I would have expected a less simplified overview from a book with such a specific focus. More economic history than anything else.

December 20, 2018

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North Korea: State of Paranoia: A Modern History