Review

Mitchell B. Lerner provides a meaningful account of one of the significant, yet unfortunately neglected, events in the history of the Cold War. In addition to furnishing a detailed narrative of the events and actions of Commander Lloyd "Pete" Bucher and the eighty-two members of the crew of the Pueblo, he advances the theory that American foreign policy was fundamentally flawed throughout much of the Cold War. Lerner suggests in short that, "The Pueblo Incident,...can serve as a window through which we can examine the underlying source of many of America's policy failures during the Cold War—the inability to recognize the importance of national values and indigenous belief systems in international relations."	1
Lerner supplies a detailed, although at times cumbersome, account of Operation Click beetle (the official designation of the Pueblo mission and other ships assigned to covertly gather intelligence information) from the missions inception in March 1967 to the awarding of POW Medals to sixty-four members of the Pueblo crew in May 1990. He clearly demonstrates the ill-prepared status of both the ship and crew, pointing to numerous preceding events that should have, but unfortunately did not, apprise both military and nonmilitary personnel of the dangers that awaited the mission. He should be commended for his vindication of the captain and crew who became scapegoats for the failures of others. His description of the planning, the events of the mission, and the politics of the Johnson administration from the capture on January 23, 1968, to the release on December 23, 1968, are fascinating. Lerner's incorporation of an explanation of Korean culture enlightens the reader as to the true nature of the Pueblo Incident, and his elucidation of the Korean sentiment of juche ("self-identity or self-reliance") logically constructs a scenario by which one can understand why the North Koreans, and specifically President Kim Il Sung, would engage in an act of war might have ignited a conflict with the world's most powerful nation. Lerner clearly demonstrates the connection between the precarious domestic position of Kim and his quest for international status.	2
As a result of his detailed efforts, Lerner provides historians with a valuable resource for instruction. The Pueblo Incident: A Spy Ship and the Failure of American Foreign Policy will become a recommended addition to my reading list for Advanced Placement United States History. While the direct use of the book lends itself to collegiate courses on diplomacy at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, the work has other instructional uses. With the numerous significant events of 1968, history instructors and editors of renowned textbooks have elected to overlook the Pueblo and instead focus on the Tet Offensive, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the assassination of Robert Kennedy. While no one can question the importance of those three incidents, thanks to Mitchell B. Lerner, I will no longer discount the plight of the Pueblo and its effect on the Cold War.	3
Although Lerner's efforts are to be admired, and certainly his use of thousands of documents from the period is impressive, his all-encompassing view that American foreign policy during the Cold War was in general a failure appears overstated. While he makes a compelling argument regarding North Korea and the Pueblo, and one is certainly drawn to the same conclusions, his assertions regarding the overall status of United States foreign policy is inflated. His omission of aspects such as NATO suggests that while his thesis is certainly applicable to the Pueblo and other events he identifies, his theory falls short of explaining all aspects of America's Cold War strategy. However, The Pueblo Incident is an outstanding book both for undergraduate and graduate history students and has unquestionably added to the overall study of American diplomatic history and the awareness of Korean culture, as well as postulating a theory of United States Cold War policy that will spark a great deal of scholarly debate.	4
Slippery Rock Area High School Sidney R. Snyder

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