The Canadian army brass and defence planners insisted on viewing the Korean conflict - the "forgotten war" - through the familiar lens of their World War II experiences. As a result Canadian soldiers in Korea suffered needless casualties and endured conditions that bordered on criminal neglect.

Using rigorous archival research and oral accounts, Far Eastern Tour follows the experiences of Canadian soldiers from the time they responded to the government's call to arms to the indifferent reaction to their homecoming a year later. Dealing with the fiasco surrounding recruitment, an inappropriate training regime, and the stark living and combat conditions, Brent Watson examines the human consequences of an army that was totally unprepared for service in the Far East.