Reviews (81)

Solid, mostly objective reporting
I have read several of Woodward's previous works, and found this to be a solid piece of reporting, wrapped and shaped to provide believeable characterizations of the players.I was not particularly surprised by much in the book, since a lot of it was clearly in the public domain press and television.But, Woodward has managed to fill in additional details to provide a soild context for the 10-second sound bites we get from the White House, and others.
I'm a Republican and I liked it
I have read all of Bob Woodward's books going back to the early-80's, The Brethren - which was not very good. I have consistently found him to be fact-based and fair in his reporting and analysis. I read this one twice.
What are we going to do about it?
While reading this book, which is about the fifth one I have read that basically says the same things about Bush and this war, and which I agree with and appreciate having authors tell me about, but when is someone going to write a book with advice about what we can do about it? All this talk just frustrates me. The points made in this book cannot fail to upset any reasonable taxpaying US citizen. I love the way they are presented but to be honest, I couldn't finish the book.It was just making me feel sick and helpless to do anything. What can we do besides read books about it? ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 2001-    2. Government - Executive Branch    3. Government - U.S. Government    4. Iraq War, 2003    5. National security    6. Political Freedom & Security - International Secur    7. Political Science    8. Politics / Current Events    9. Politics and government    10. Politics/International Relations    11. United States    12. History / Modern / 21st Century   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (133)

Fiasco Is Very Misleading
As a Vietnam veteran, this book is worth reading. That is if one takes it with a grain of salt. I always have problems with a book when the author's historical data is inaccurate. For instance, the number of Israeli casualties he lists during the Yom Kippur War and the final outcome of the conflict was not at all consistent with the known data. Secondly, the number of reporters killed during the Vietnam War were much larger than he stated. Also, Rick's failed to connect the suspicious and untimely death of Sen. Paul Wellstone of Minn. in 2002 and the mailing of anthrax, which was later traced to a US Army facility, to the top media and Democratic figures as a way of coercing them to support Bush's invasion of Iraq. Ricks also failed to mention the fact that the overwhelming majority of the military establishment supports our occupation of Iraq, even though the reasons for being there are bogus to the extreme. Moreover, his odd conclusion to all this is that we should stay there to the bloody end, no matter the outcome, which is nuts to say the least. And finally, Ricks just doesn't understand the real purpose behind our involvement in wars like Vietnam and in Iraq. The Pentagon nor our government could care less about winning the war. Our involvement was never about winning, that's why the military never seriously learned the hard lessons in Vietnam. The whole purpose behind these wars is to prolong the conflicts for as long as possible using the most trumped up reasons, in order that corporations such as Haliburton and Brown and Root, just to name a few, can make billions of profits from the American taxpayer. Win or lose, the real benefactors of Iraq is corporate America. In a very real sense, these corporations not only run the Pentagon but our government as well. Sadly, all the generals and colonels can retire in protest, there will always be others ready to eagerly replace them. War is good business, it always has been and it will always be. Have a nice day.

Missing the bigger picture
As a critical analysis of military operations in the Iraq war and the ongoing troubles that the military faces there, this book is wonderfully deep and rich. Ricks writes in a very straightforward manner and uses rough language in parts, but the book is a easy to read and digest.
The title says it all...
This book is a thoroughly sourced examination of how we went to war in Iraq, how the war is being conducted, and the consequences that the war may have for the US.As a bonus, it is also a gripping, fast-paced narrative,
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Subjects:  1. 21st century    2. History    3. History - Military / War    4. History, Military    5. Iraq War, 2003    6. Military    7. Military - Iraq War    8. Military - United States    9. Military History - 1990-    10. Military Policy    11. Military history    12. United States    13. United States - 21st Century    14. History / Military / United States   

Reviews (10)

Incredible Incompetence!
Chandrasekaran's considerable time in Baghdad allowed him to provide this detailed of incredible incompetence.Early in the book we learn that the cafeteria in the Republican Palace was always serving American fare, and the hundreds of Iraqi secretaries and translators, mostly Muslim, were offended by the presence of pork.Nothing came from Iraq - everything, including the water in which hot dogs were boiled, was shipped in from approved suppliers in other nations.No Iraqis were hired to cook, serve, or clean - they could poison the food.Whatever could be outsourced was - private guards made more than $1,000/day.Iraqis post-Saddam had less electricity, water, trash collection, sewer service, gas availability, traffic mobility, health care, and employment - despite administration claims.
Outstanding
The Iraq war was preached as the liberating creation of an exemplary Arab democracy. Did US post invasion efforts match the rhetoric? The most charitable answer, based on this work, is quite contrary.
a heartache
I have recently read the excellent book "Fiasco," about the war in Iraq.
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Subjects:  1. Government - International    2. History    3. History - Military / War    4. History: World    5. Iraq    6. Iraq War, 2003    7. Middle East - General    8. Military - Iraq War    9. Military - United States    10. Military History - 1990-    11. Military-Political Relationships    12. Political corruption    13. Postwar reconstruction    14. United States    15. Current Events / Military   

Reviews (66)

Highly recommended.
Failed States: The Abuse Of Power And The Assault On Democracy is a stinging criticism of American arrogance and its failures to live up to the spirit of democracy by esteemed linguistics and philosophy president Noam Chomsky. In an era where the United States repeatedly asserts its right to use military might against 'failed states' around the globe, Noam Chomsky reveals the dangerous features that the United States shares with other failed states - nations that are unable or unwilling 'to protect their citizens from violence and perhaps even destruction' and 'regard themselves as beyond the reach of domestic or international law.' Failed states, Chomsky observes, are characterized by a 'democratic deficit' that leeches any real democratic substance from their governmental institutions.
Seven Excellent Suggestions!
The United States is not the foremost example in the world of a failed state. However, in the process of trying to make such a ridiculous claim, Noam Chomsky has set forth an excellent critique of the U.S. for not living up to its own exalted ideals. In addition, Chomsky has set forth an excellent critique of some recent actions of the U.S. government. From his critique Chomsky makes seven excellent suggestions, which are worth quoting here in full:
Nonsense On Stilts
As the saying goes, you're entitled to your own opinion, but not to your own facts.
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Subjects:  1. Government - U.S. Government    2. History & Theory - General    3. International Relations - General    4. Iraq War, 2003    5. Political Science    6. Politics / Current Events    7. Politics/International Relations    8. Security, International    9. Unilateral acts (International law)    10. United States - 21st Century    11. Political Science / General   

Reviews (10)

JIm Sosnicky
I recently had the chance to hear one of the contributors to this anthology read his stories at an event.Jim Sosnicky was born in 1972 in Baltimore, Maryland.He grew up in Virginia, California, and Colorado.Upon graduation from West Point in 1993, Jim Served as a tank platoon leader in the 1st Infantry Division. His stories are beautiful creations of insight,warmth and brutal honesty.Pick this book up if only for his stories.

An Author's Opinion
Although a biased author, having met, worked with the editor, Andrew Carroll (who accepted no compensation for his efforts), and after having met the Director and others from the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as with some of the accomplished authors who assisted in the project, and with fellow military and civilian authors, I can unequivically say this is a work of passion, not profit (all proceeds will go to programs for military families).If you are looking for a reason to buy this book, that should be enough, but the stories herein are a true taste of all aspects of war, from the beginnings, to the battles to the loneliness to the humor to the heartbreak to the comfort of coming home alive.It is a "you are there" book unequalled in it's raw courage and uncensored intimate approach to storytelling, which includes for the first time in this type of book stories from loved ones of those who fight.We don't tell our stories to just anyone.We don't share our emotional privacy freely.But here, for some reason, perhaps simply the catharsis of writing about our experiences, we have shared ourselves for public consumption.These are important stories for every American to read.It presents for the first time with an all volunteer Army in a major war, what we go through.We are you, and you are us.We fight and die freely for us all, and we want you to understand we are just like you in many ways, yet, for reasons as diverse as our personalities, we have chosen to participate directly in defending our nation.Know us; love us or hate us for our choices, but know us who would be your champions.Although I have only read a half dozen of the stories, as they are raw and perhaps too soon drag up dangerous memories, I have also attended a reading of some of the stories in Manhattan with the dramatic expertise of Stephen Lang, Joan Allen, and Matthew Modine, bringing to life the poetry, grace, humor and poigniancy between the covers of this amazing piece of literature.Don't miss it.Share it freely.Read it again and again.Ask questions.Seek true answers, and get to know your soldier/citizens.
Bringing us closer to the experience of the troops
I want to thank Amazon for the opportunity to share my thoughts after finishing this book at 4 am this morning. I have been reading 5-10 entries in this book each night for the last week. I purchased it in an effort to draw closer to and to better understand the experience of my youngest brother, SGT Jason Boesen, Army combat medic currently deployed to Iraq until July 2007, and my brother-in-law, Major Chris Hanna, recently returned from his deployment to Iraq in May 2006. During the course of reading this book, I laughed, I cried, I clenched my fingers around the pages at intervals, afraid to turn the pages for fear of what I might read next. I was enveloped in waves of pride, fear, dismay, grief, love, longing, frustration, and at times, guilt.
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Subjects:  1. Afghan War, 2001-    2. Families of military personnel    3. History    4. History - Military / War    5. Iraq War, 2003-    6. Middle East - General    7. Military    8. Military - Iraq War    9. Military - United States    10. Military - Veterans    11. Military History - 1990-    12. Military Personal Narratives    13. Personal narratives, American    14. United States    15. History / Military / United States   

Reviews (12)

Must-have resource on PMCs for the casual reader, the academic, and the policy wonk
Licensed to Kill is Robert Young Pelton's broad survey of the modern world of mercenaries. Strike that, of contractors. Mercenaries, after all, as Doug Brooks of IPOA (International Peace Operations Association) said in the movie Shadow Company: anyone convicted as being a mercenary should be shot along with his lawyer (Doug, pardon my paraphrasing). Regardless, Pelton's subtitle captures what these guys are: hired guns. Or as one of the contractors in the book put it: "guns with legs".
Excellent overview
This is the kind of book you read cover to cover and want more. Always running the fine line between fly-on-the-wall and sarcastic-historian RYP's latest post-fact diary of life in gun infested environments doesn't disappoint. I made a documentary about this subject and still found plenty of nuggets of humour and information that were totally new and set this apart from the usual media nonsense on the subject.
the profit of war is not a cliche
Robert Young Pelton documents and brings to life one of my favorite characters in fiction:Milo Minderbender. Agree or not, one has to be rather awe-stricken by the runaway success of Blackwater and the capitalistic abilities of Halliburton, conducting their "awful" business, while reseving a degree of awe for RYP, who gets right in there in the kill zone to get to the core of truth contained in this book, with some mighty interesting characters to boot. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Government & Business    2. Government - U.S. Government    3. History    4. Iraq War, 2003    5. Mercenary troops    6. Military    7. Military - General    8. Military Operations    9. Military-Political Relationships    10. Political Freedom & Security - International Secur    11. Politics / Current Events    12. Sociology    13. United States    14. War on Terrorism, 2001-    15. Current Events / Military   

Reviews (96)

THANK YOU MILITARY HEROS for Killing Terrorists!
I am sorry for all the military families who have lost loved ones in this war on terrorists, you have given the ultimate sacrafice so that I can sleep safely in my bed tonight. Thank you.
The complete story
No matter whether you share Cindy Sheehan's views of the war or this country or not, this is an excellent book. It finally brings out the truth about all of this and who Ms. Sheehan really is.

A Time Enduring Work...
American Mourning is more than a simple story of two every day families during a time of war, who have each sustained the loss of a loved one. It is an evolutionary study of the effects of war upon the survivors of those fallen, detailing the elements of the characters prior to and following their loss. Delicately, it details the human strengths and weaknesses required for survival and the belief in faith that holds families together during time of national crisis and personal grief. If you are a fan of the Cindy Sheehan "icon," be prepared for a reality check. Moy and Morgan take you to our hometown and introduce you to the many who knew her best, before and after she embarked on her self-destructive path. They poignantly and compassionately try to balance the truth about a every day woman exploited during a presidential campaign, who not only betrayed and neglected her family during a time of grief, acted vindictively toward the local parish priest after being laid off from a defunct position of Youth Chaplin, met with Hugo Chavez and begged him to withhold oil shipments to America when gas prices were at an all time high at the pumps and Americans were struggling to get to work, turned against long termed friends when they did not agree with her own personal beliefs, didn't bother to thank the many volunteers who remodeled her home after his death, and who joined alliances with the same terrorists who killed her son, calling them freedom fighters. The authors ploughed through public records finding she had not paid taxes prior to Casey's death, despite her claims she refuses to pay as a result of his death and discovered the organization Real Voices with which Sheehan was involved was really a sham propoganda campaign, as an arm to the John Kerry Presidential bid. They emotionally detail the confusion of those who loved her, as they experience her instant transition from warm and loving friend wife and mother to radical, narcissist and attention seeker after being solicited by Kerry. They detail the accelerating character flaws as she clings to her role as "victim" and demands troops who were giving critical life saving assistance to those in crisis be removed from "occupied New Orleans" during Hurricane Katrina. Truthful, gutsy and emotional, these women authors and investigative journalists have the courage to chronolize the truth to the American public about the current anti-war movement and its top icon, by going to the sources in our hometown, the Johnson's hometown, Crawford, Texas, Fort Hood and the Iraq battlefield. Finally, at the end, you will realize there is no question why Cindy Sheehan does what she does and realize it is an escalating continuing pattern. You may find yourself pitying the woman who gave up everything important in life, friends family, children, neighbors and even her faith by betraying everyone close to her, including denying her own fallen son his legacy and feeling heartfelt and emotionally wrenching compassion toward the surviving members of her family, as most of us do. You will fall in love with the strong character and heroism of her son, who closely mirrors his father. And you will love, embrace and admire the Johnson family, who despite their own human weaknesses, have the strength to survive, to carry on and to remain loyal and united in their love of their country and their fellow men, in much the same tradition as the majority of those from our hometown. If you are the mom or dad or loved one to one in the military, it will send you reeling on a roller coaster of emotions, from anger, to sadness, to tears and perhaps, finally, resolve. Kudos for a story well told, from another who, in Vacaville, also knew the truth and begged the mainstream media to get the courage to tell it. And thankfully, in honoring the legacies of the brave young men and women whom the Congress and Senate voted to send to Iraq, this book will serve as a memory to them all in what they and their families have sacrified in trying to develop a better and safety tomorrow. Someday, I would expect to see it in college classes that study grief, the sociology of war, the development of activists and mainstream media bias. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Death, Grief, Bereavement    3. Family & Relationships    4. Family relationships    5. Family/Marriage    6. Historical - U.S.    7. Iraq War, 2003    8. Iraq War, 2003-    9. Protest movements    10. Soldiers    11. United States    12. Coping with death & bereavement    13. Marriage, family & other relationships   

Reviews (72)

Worth Reading, But Incomplete
This book is well written and well organized.It provides a useful big picture sense of how the war was planned, the internal friction between different governmental and military constituencies, and the failure of Franks and the NSC to provide a useful counterweight to Rumsfeld's attempt to turn the Iraq campaign into a showcase for "transformation."
Thorough but dry
This is a thorough, but distressingly dry, blow by blow account of the execution of the Iraq war. I had difficulty finishing the book. The build up to the war is better written and of more interest than the description of battles which follow, the latter a "laundry list" of exchanges between the Americans and the inevitably hapless Iraqi forces. If you see Rumsfeld as the demon in this episode in history, then this is the book for you. Of special interest, however, and to my great astonishment, is the difficulty (and often inability)of the American forces to communicate with each other in battle situations, despite all the super-advanced technology at their disposition. Unbelievable! I understand the concept of "the fog of war", but this aspect of the conflict came as an eyeopener. Surely, lives were lost as a consequence.
Excellent
This is the most definitive military study of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. It vividly records the planning and execution of the war plan, acquaints the reader with the view of military commanders on the ground, and records the battles they fought.
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Subjects:  1. History - Military / War    2. International Relations - General    3. Iraq - History    4. Iraq War, 2003    5. Middle East - General    6. Military - Iraq War    7. Military History - 1990-    8. Modern - 21st Century    9. Political Science    10. Politics/International Relations    11. Current Events / Military   

Reviews (3)

A RealisticApproach To Solving Problem
Once again George McGovern makes a logical and realistic view on an important world issue. I would suggest all read this volume and give serious consideration to the plan suggested. Thank you to both authors!

A decent,sound way to make Americans and Iraqis safer.
This book is so much more than a lot ofextremely important information about Iraq.It proposes an American withdrawal based on our highest American ideals -- treating the Iraqis as we would want to be treated in similar circumstances.
Best Book on Iraq Yet
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Subjects:  1. 2001-    2. Foreign relations    3. History - U.S.    4. International Relations - General    5. Iraq War, 2003    6. Military - Iraq War    7. Military Policy    8. Military Science    9. Modern - 21st Century    10. Politics / Current Events    11. Politics and government    12. Science/Mathematics    13. Technology    14. U.S. Foreign Relations    15. United States    16. United States - 21st Century    17. History / United States / 21st Century   

Reviews (25)

Homage to Dad
I gave this book 2 stars because the first 2 fifths of it were good.The rest stunk.
Useful account of a failed, corrupt occupation

Sad But True
The title says it all.In fact, it echoes a remark made by a citizen of the country, who said "We may be seeing the death of Iraq."From the gassing and torture of civilians to America's nonchalant reaction to the looting of Iraq's treasured museums,to the current mess and mayhem created by our ignorance and incompetance, the author sums it all up by stating that America lost the war on terror the day it won the battle for Baghdad.
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Subjects:  1. 1991-2003    2. 2003-    3. Foreign Relations    4. History    5. History: American    6. International Relations - General    7. Iraq    8. Iraq - History    9. Iraq War, 2003    10. Military - Iraq War    11. Military - United States    12. Political Freedom & Security - International Secur    13. Politics / Current Events    14. United States - 21st Century    15. History / United States / 21st Century   

Reviews (48)

An Interesting View of US History
We the people of the United States like to think of ourselves as peace loving icons, holding ourselves up above the petty problems that affect the rest of the world. And there is a certain amount of truth to that.
Paring history down to the essential lessons.
I will not repeat the many excellent comments here except that Kinzer writes very well, making the read fascinating and factually solid.Other points:
Regime Change Begins At Home
It's no mere cliche to state that those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it. Here Stephen Kinzer examines the almost completely unsuccessful legacy of American "regime change" operations. Starting in the late 1800s, American leaders have worked to overthrow uncooperative or politically undesirable governments that acted independently and in their own interests. Almost always, American business profits were threatened, but politicians have consistently justified these operations with jingoistic language about security, freedom, and democracy. Don't believe the hype, then or now.Kinzer's coverage of regime change operations is illuminating and often quite infuriating for the thinking American, especially in the stories of Guatemala, Iran, and Chile, where American operatives overthrew democratically elected governments and installed repressive dictatorships, simultaneously harping about the benefits of freedom, while merely protecting the freedom of corporations to rob sovereign nations of their natural resources. And with the exceptions of tiny Hawaii and Grenada, all of our regime change operations have contributed to the oppression of newly "freed" peoples, and created dictators and terrorists who have made America much less safe in the long run.
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Foreign Relations    3. History    4. History - U.S.    5. History: American    6. International Relations - General    7. Intervention (International law)    8. Iraq War, 2003    9. Legitimacy of governments    10. Military - United States    11. U.S. History - 20th Century (General)    12. United States - 20th Century    13. United States - General    14. History / United States / General   

Reviews (9)

Death before being dishonored.
An important and imperative work. Investigative journalisim at its best under trying circumstances. American at its core, in that it gets a tough and dirty job done. Not with the help of government, but despite it.In this Reagan era of privitizaton/trust the market place, we have a choice: trust Bush or the dollar.How could you lose?Thebook opens and closes with Col. Ted Westhusing, the definition of his alma mater, WEST POINT: DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY. Third in his class, plus a doctor of philosophy, and an exemplary record of war/peace service. Yet he met his nemesis: Iraq. For in Iraq he found a war of privitization that had nothing what so ever to do with DUTY, HONOR, or COUNTRY.It was simply about the money, or at best, cronyism.Whether it was murder or suicide, his last communication was in writing and I paraphrase, " I cannot support a mission that leads to corruption, human rights abuse and liars. No more. I cannot support corrupt, money hungry contractors, nor work for