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 enlarge | Author: Norman Podhoretz
Publisher: Doubleday
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  65 reviews
Sales Rank: 33490
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 240
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.1
ISBN: 0385522215
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.931
EAN: 9780385522212
ASIN: 0385522215
Publication Date: September 11, 2007
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Condition: CHARITY SALE!! Brand new, excellent condition. 100% of the proceeds benefit literacy efforts of Books for America.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Necessary context for liberals and conservatives March 10, 2008
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
World War IV was not quite what I expected, and the title certain belies the contents of the book, although it performs several necessary functions despite its brevity. The American public is fed a steady drumbeat of pessimism and oftentimes outright hostility towards anything that George W. Bush has done or will do. Podhoretz places what GWB had called the `Global War on Terrorism' into the lager historical context of `World War IV,' which was preceded by World War III (the cold war). Objections to the current war on Iraq, and to a lesser extent Afghanistan, are deconstructed into component strains of American isolationism extending back to Woodrow Wilson's presidency, outright anti-Americanism continuous with 1960's radical movements, metastasizing liberalism bordering on outright socialism, Democrat party hypocrisy and the myriad schools of foreign policy with Cold War genealogy. Podhoretz also demystifies the currently misused term `neoconservative,' exposes the blatant and shameful politicization of national security by the Democrats and succinctly defines the `Bush Doctrine.' I would highly recommend this book to both liberals and conservatives, although the former group is in desperate need of historical context in their often a-historical arguments.
 More Informational than Interesting February 16, 2008
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
I went in thinking this book was going to be very interesting and have the typical hystorical facts of violence in result of Islam. Well, I was wrong, it is a very historical book, and includes an incredible amount of information. You'll get the typical people who will write bad reviews simply because Mr.Podhoretz describes himself as a NeoCon, but dont be fooled. This book is very well written and mostly in context for intelligent people. Its a must read.
Superb and lucid message February 11, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
The world, and the U.S. public, must wake up to the threat of Islamic extremism. They are determined, well organized and well financed... Sad but true.
Swimming upstream -- Spirited defense of Bush Doctrine and the GWOT .... January 17, 2008
7 out of 10 found this review helpful
Key highlights of Podhoretz's arguments:
* Like the Cold War and unlike the first two World Wars, the war on terror and terrorism will be measured in decades, not by years. Unlike the Cold War (which he terms WW III), the GWOT does not have a defined/distinct nation-state or a discernible capital.
*He effectively punctures the idea that the Bush administration lied about Saddam Hussein possessing WMD. He persuasively argues that the administration had reasonable grounds to think that Saddam had WMD or was imminently going to acquire them. The fact that, in hindsight, they have not been found does not prove deception.
*If the US had had the same media coverage on World War II and the same yardstick of success, its efforts would have been roundly pilloried and Pres. Roosevelt and Truman would have heard cries of impeachment.
*He likens the GWOT to George Kennan's "containment policy" vis a vis the Soviet Union, with comparable stakes for our national survival.
Your view of this book will likely be determined by your political leanings. If you are a Democrat, a liberal or Bush-hater, you will consider WW IV to be the night soil of a large male ox.
If you are a conservative, Republican or Bush supporter, you will see it as a cogent and spirited defense of the global war on terror. (I admit my bias here.)
Either way, "World War IV" is a provocative and thought-provoking book.
Theocratic Fanatics + Petrodollars + WMD = Existential Threat January 14, 2008
10 out of 13 found this review helpful
This is a clear and concise defense of the post-911 Bush Doctrine of military preemption/democratization in response to the Jihadi threat. That doctrine replaced the cold war (WWIII) strategy of containment/deterrence and the pre-911 (Clinton) strategy of police action/status quo. After 911, it seems obvious that something different was needed in response to the threat from millions of suicidal religious zealots (even if only 5% of Muslims are included, that's still 65 million people) with access to vast sums of money, modern technology and eventually biological/nuclear weapons. Nuclear Pakistan and wannabe Iran are the most disturbing examples.
Podhoretz answers both liberal (internationalists) and conservative (realists) critics of the Bush Doctrine and does so persuasively. He is most worried about the politically correct, multicultural, anti-American left wing obstructionism and defeatism that opposes virtually all steps Bush has taken to protect us (Patriot Act, Gitmo, agressive interrogation, electronic and financial surveillance, etc.). Unfortunately, those forces are formidable (particularly after the the somnolent public forgot about 911) and will continue to resist those measures and otherwise undermine Bush's efforts to make us safer (security leaks, media bias, Democrat defeatism and attempts to micromanage the military). Podhortz fears only another 911 attack (or worse) will convince the public we are facing a vital threat.
Wake up, America.
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