The Iraq War (ISBN 0786185856)

Amazon.com Review:
John Keegan is recognized as one of the top military writers of his day, having authored comprehensive analyses of both World Wars and other significant historical events. In The Iraq War, he takes on a situation that was still murky and volatile at the time of publication. The result is a book rich with detailed information on the region and its key figures but somewhat hasty in its effort to provide a succinct history lesson. In the opening chapter, Keegan writes "The war was not only successful but peremptorily short, lasting only twenty-one days from 20 March to 9 April," and he later gives little mention to the protracted and amorphous violence in the region since Baghdad fell, characterizing as "aftermath" that which many see as the actual war itself. Between these sections, however, Keegan provides valuable insight into the geopolitical history of the region and provides an extensive biography of a ruler of whom most Westerners became aware only in the early 1990s: Saddam Hussein. Keegan presents Saddam as a brutal thug who is also possessed of a powerful and vicious political savvy, and charts his growth from Ba'ath Party muscleman to ruler of Iraq. Sections on the military efforts of the U.S. and British forces are extensively detailed and offer insight into not only what the plans of the coalition forces were but the strategic philosophies behind them as well. Keegan characterizes the war as "mysterious," seeking to understand why opposition forces seemed to disappear from active combat and why the citizens of Iraq paid the conflict little regard. And while such mysteries have not yet been solved, it is clear given the ongoing instability in Iraq that the final chapters of the Iraq War have yet to be written. --John Moe

Ignore this turkey:
Keegan started out years ago with a bang with The Face of Battle, in which the post-Vietnam and, for the UK, a post-Empire spirit made for a genuinely innovative military history. This early promise has NOT been fulfilled, and Keegan has declined considerably in quality because he's become co-opted by the Establishment, a post-Empire, Blair establishment every bit as corrupt as Haig. Keegan has never served in combat yet loftily recommended in the 1980s that the "tempo" of the next war (which as a Sandhurst insider he was probably planning) be increased to 24/7. In this, he gave NO consideration to the high levels of post-traumatic stress and the war crimes that have resulted from the US policy of "no sleep until Baghdad" in the second Iraq war. Keegan is post-Sixties, all right, but instead of peace and love, he's a Nietzchean who'd wage war with the poor man's body. His "war" is chateau generalship by the rich, actually fought, 24/7, by British working class lads, blackfellows from Britain's few remaining colonies, and of course Americans. Keegan popularized and made respectable for a new generation the old lie, subtly and over time, dulce et decorum. Precisely by foregrounding war's utter brutality he made it somehow acceptable and ONCE AGAIN a test of manhood, and this has gotten people killed. His book on Military Intelligence managed, idiotically, to dismiss MI as secondary and not critical precisely, almost to the day, when the American and British MI was declaring victory (remember Mission Accomplished?) and failing to see how disbanding the Iraqi army would create the insurgency. The Iraq War recounts the war as a board game with neither any anticipation of the postwar mess nor any compassion whatsoever for the men and women who fought it, or the Iraqis brutalized. At key points, it expresses a puzzlement about the failure of Iraqis to greet their "liberators" which shows a willful incomprehension of anything outside military science. Ignore all writings by John Keegan until he issues a public apology for the lives this twit has destroyed while sipping pink gin at Sandhurst. For a good history of the Iraq War cf. Thomas E. Ricks, THE IRAQ WAR.

Well written, but of limited use:
Your impression of Keegan's Iraq War will depend largely on what you expect to get out of the book and also on what type of reading you have already done on the subject. What you'll get in Keegan's book is one-half Iraqi history, one-half historical military/diplomatic account of the 2003 Iraq War. The first half of the book is not bad by any means, but after comparing its organization and presentation to some of the other major Iraqi history books, it doesn't stand out as one of the better versions available today. I would imagine if you haven't done much or any reading on Iraq before reading this book, you would come away feeling as if you should definitely do more reading after finishing this book. The second half of the book is where I started to have second thoughts. When Keegan says "The Iraq War," he's primarily referring to the three week military campaign. There is detailed description of military movements and what kinds of weapons were used, etc., and also maps to the same effect. Not having read much military history myself, it's hard for me to judge how good this part of the book is (although Keegan seems to be a highly esteemed military historian). My take on this part of the book would be that no one was ever unsure of whether or not the U.S. would be able to defeat Iraq militarily, so in terms of really gaining an understanding of what's happening in Iraq now, this book doesn't help much at all. To Keegan's credit, there appears to be a paperback version that mentions the insurgency, but in the first edition of the book, the audience that is being catered to is the military history crowd. These two main parts comprise the entire book, and while it was well-written, at the same time it really does not stand out as one of the better books about Iraq that I've read. If I could identify one major reason for what I would consider to be this book's shortcomings, I would attribute it to the fact that Keegan is a military historian and not someone who has a particularly strong background in Middle Eastern politics. The end result is a rather generic and strangely organized section on Iraqi history, then a discussion of a military campaign whose outcome was doubted by no one. Iraq is one of the most puzzling and complex states in the Middle East, perhaps the world, and trying to present an accurate picture of Iraq without the proper background is a tall order. If you're a military buff, than this book will be of interest to you. If you're looking to gain a deeper understanding of Iraq, then books by Anderson & Stansfield, Sluglett, and Tripp will be of more interest. If you're someone well-versed in Middle Eastern affairs, don't expect too much, but at the same time it is important to read as many books on the subject that you can get your hands on.

Not Up to Par:
Even the world's greatest living military historian admits to being "mystified" by the Iraq war in his opening chapter. The following chapters are more in the Keegan style and provide a solid background on Iraq and its place in the region. Iraq did not provide the sustained episodes of combat that Mr. Keegan may be used to detailing, and hence his work is brought up significantly short, as there are no great tank or infantry battles for him to cover. His analysis of the war's aftermath is brief and unsatisfactory, especially when that is where the real war began. Mr. Keegan wrote about his subject too early in its history and the results leave the reader as equally mystified as the author. Far more highly recommended would be Yossef Bodansky's "The Secret History of the Iraq War", David Zucchino's "Thunder Run", or "Generation Kill" by Evan Wright.

A Clear Perspective on the Iraqi Conflicts:
John Keegan brings clear vision and logical, scholarly clarity (in the best sense) to this discussion of 20th-21st century conflict in Iraq. His statements of fact will not be pleasing to many political partisans, and will certainly be poorly regarded by much of the European political elite. Unfortunately for his detractors, Keegan can support his arguments with facts and logic. Those seeking a factual account of the politics and conflict in Iraq will find this book invaluable. Recommended for open-minded, intellectually capable people.

What is this book about?:
In this 219 pp book, Keegan goes on for 125 pp about events that led up to the war, and many events that he should have left out. This is so poorly done I can not recommend it. Did the publishers just tell JK to write whatever he wanted and they would print it? Reminds me of the old guy at a party you meet that just has to tell you way too much detail about something he likes to talk about, and never gets to the point. AVOID!