Reference Reviews

Doug’s Student Reference Room

How Should the U.S. Proceed in Iraq? edited by Bill Dudley. 122 p. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2008. ISBN 13: 978-0-7377-4056-1. $21.20.

Few events in recent years have spurred high school students’ interest in current affairs like the terrorist bombings of September 11 and the subsequent invasion of Iraq. Success in this war has been mixed at best: thousands of lives have been lost since President Bush declared victory from the deck of an aircraft carrier. Despite contentions from the Iraq Study Group that the situation was untenable, the 2007 increase in troops and the accompanying “surge” appeared to improved the U.S. position. How to handle U.S. involvement in Iraq has become a focal point in the 2008 presidential campaign. This collection addresses the question of how to proceed in Iraq from multiple viewpoints. James Baker and Lee Hamilton, members of the Iraq Study Group, argue for stepped-up diplomacy and reductions in troops. George W. Bush argues that a withdrawal of troops would harm both the U.S. and the Middle East, while Bill Richardson calls for an immediate removal of all U.S. troops. Additional essays by such notables as Henry Kissinger, Joseph Biden, Dan Friedman and Newt Gingrich offer concise viewpoints from influential thinkers across the political spectrum. Historical perspectives offered throughout, including connections to previous wars such as Vietnam, will make this a worthwhile acquisition beyond the duration of the conflict in Iraq. As with other volumes in the Greenhaven Press At Issue series, this collection concludes with a list of relevant organizations and a brief bibliography of books and periodicals for further reading. Highly recommended for high school libraries.
—Doug Achterman