Nerd Picnic reviewed The cleanest race by B. R. Myers
Review of 'The cleanest race' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I don't know much about B.R. Myers, other than that a lot of other historians quote him. Reading this book there's no doubt he's at a point in his career or life where he feels very comfortable being blunt. It's written for a general audience - no particular background knowledge of Korea required, beyond who fought whom in the Korean War and basic facts about pre-WWII Japan.
As for the argument, it's a persuasive and bold account: North Korea is barely even pretending to be a Communist state; it is ultra-nationalist to the point of racism; North Korean citizens have not been isolated from outside media since the '90s, but that hasn't undermined the regime; and the state's worldview precludes what the West considers rational self-interest re: nukes, sanctions, etc.