Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

  • Apple
  • Android
  • Windows Phone
  • Android

To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number.

The Right War?: The Conservative Debate on Iraq

4.0 out of 5 stars 6 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-0521673181
ISBN-10: 0521673186
Why is ISBN important?
ISBN
This bar-code number lets you verify that you're getting exactly the right version or edition of a book. The 13-digit and 10-digit formats both work.
Scan an ISBN with your phone
Use the Amazon App to scan ISBNs and compare prices.
Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon
Buy used On clicking this link, a new layer will be open
$8.94 On clicking this link, a new layer will be open
Buy new On clicking this link, a new layer will be open
$30.99 On clicking this link, a new layer will be open
More Buying Choices
42 New from $2.75 46 Used from $0.01 5 Collectible from $9.85
Free Two-Day Shipping for College Students with Prime Student Free%20Two-Day%20Shipping%20for%20College%20Students%20with%20Amazon%20Student


Best Books of the Month
Best Books of 2016
Looking for something great to read? Browse our editors' picks for the best books of the year in fiction, nonfiction, mysteries, children's books, and much more.
$30.99 Free Shipping for Prime Members | Fast, FREE Shipping with Amazon Prime Only 1 left in stock (more on the way). Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
click to open popover

Editorial Reviews

Review

Book Description

See all Editorial Reviews
NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE


Product Details

  • Paperback: 264 pages
  • Publisher: Cambridge University Press (August 15, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0521673186
  • ISBN-13: 978-0521673181
  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.6 x 9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,315,294 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

By David J. Gannon on September 28, 2005
Format: Paperback
For quite a while there, it seemed was an apparent brick wall of unity in favor of the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq among conservatives in America. It just wasn't conceivable that there were actually serious dissenting voices about the war on the right.

This was not a truly accurate picture as Gary Rosen so ably demonstrates in this collection of essays. This collection provides a wide diversity of conservative opinion regarding both the decision to go to war as well as the conduct of the war.

What becomes clear in very short order is that there were in fact serious people on the conservative side who had a wide array of objections to these wars, particularly the War in Iraq.

This book is bound to get a much more pervasive look now that time has passed and the monolithic support for the war amongst the general public has faded. One suspects that many of the authors of these pieces will, over time, begin to get much more exposure in the main stream media as the war drags on and more and more people begin to understand the validity and prescience of these pieces.

There are problems with the book. Rosen limits himself to pieces from a fairly circumscribed time period (2004 and 2005). Some of these are what one can only regard as watered down given their authors-the piece by Buchanan is a good example.

The main lesson of the book is to illustrate that serious voices on the right that should have been heard were not-to the eventual detriment of the country. Perhaps had some of these opinions been seriously considered earlier, we would have proceeded more carefully and successfully in iraq and Afghanistan.
Comment 11 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
Format: Paperback
An amazing diversity of views here, especially for anyone who thinks all conservatives are gung-ho Bushies. Who knew that so many right-wingers were critics of the war or at least of how it's been run?
Comment 9 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
Format: Paperback
As an ardent Commentary reader, I was anticipating the release of this edited collection. It was supposed to include many articles and essays on the debate in Iraq. Unfortunately, it is really an anthology that includes no new pieces, and rehashed old arguments from last year. One of the difficult problems in creating a book on public affairs is how quickly ideas enter and exit the mainstream. Unfortunately this book contained ideas that have already been relegated to the intellectual dustbin.

The quality of writers cannot be second-guessed, but the breadth of topics and subjects that their essays cover leaves something to be desired. There is very little diversity among the writers, and although there are prominent conservatives that question the war in the book, the essays presented are not the strongest to make this point. For instance, there are many more eloquent and well argued pieces than Patrick Buchanon's. In fact, he probably does not belong anywhere near this book. The other writers are intellects, policy wonks, and academics, but somehow Mr. Rosen uses Mr. Buchanon's essay as an example of conservatives against the war.

In all honesty, a google search on conservative views of the war will probably return the essays in the book if you search for more than an hour. Mr. Rosen's introductory essay puts some perspective on the purpose of his book, but there needs to be at least another essay or two to discuss the essays as a whole and compare them to each other.
Comment 4 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

The Right War?: The Conservative Debate on Iraq
Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway
This item: The Right War?: The Conservative Debate on Iraq