Rating: 
Summary: What The Authors Do Not Tell You
Review: To put this review in context, I have read a number of books covering the lead up to the latest war in Iraq so my expectation level continues to increase in regards to the quality and completeness of any book on the topic. I thought this book was either going to offer a critique of the news media and their reporting, the propaganda, for lack of a better term, that was put out by the Bush team or even interesting facts about the current Iraq. Well, the authors tried to touch on all these topics, but did so is such a slap dash method that it left me wanting more in every regard. First off the book, like many of its kind, has a very anti war bias. That is about what you would expect from this area of literature, but it is always nice if the authors can reign in their comments to present a book that can a least have passing reference to fairness. These authors did no such thing and at times I felt they were actually egging on the anti war sentiment and playing up the whole Iraq sanctions horrors play book. Again there is nothing wrong with this, but it makes the book appeal to only the truly hard core anti war or anti Bush reader.Back to the substance of the book and as stated earlier it was just that the authors either did not have the time or the patience to truly develop any of the themes they were talking about. They presented chapters with the broad overview, but left the reader wanting more. Given the very obvious bias to the book, I would have thought they would have at lest spent the time to fully develop or at least bog the critic down with page after page of facts. They did not. To cap it off they tossed n a speech of President Bush with rolling commentary. A great idea, but the execution was paltry at best. They relied on inflammatory statements instead of detailed factual rebuttals. In the end their comments on the speech were no better then the speech itself. Overall I came away from the book thinking it was nothing more then a quickly put out money grab. There were some interesting details on what life is like in Iraq and a review of UN Security Counsel resolutions, but not enough. I would suggest you continue searching if you are looking for a well researched and formulated anti war book. On the other had if you have your mind made up and just want to read a book that will agree with your position then this book is a nice time killer.
Rating: 
Summary: Better than his Dilbert book
Review: Well, Solomon may have finally written a book that isn't obviously a steamer. Compared to his book deconstructing Dilbert and weightily concluding that Dilbert represents a betrayal of the interests of the working classes, or any of his other pomposity-laden blather, this book has a cognizable argument. Of course, maybe a hundred or more other authors make the argument far more cogently. But give Solomon his due, he correctly observes that not all of the reporting on Iraq or White House explanations of the rationales for invading Iraq are entirely factually correct. But then again, it's pointing out the obvious, everyone pretty much acknowledges it, and Solomon's heavy-handed heavy-breathing style of writing and analysis pretty much consigned this book to the remainder bin as of the date of publication.
Rating: 
Summary: A brilliant critique of lies behind the war on Iraq
Review: What the authors have done is great. Solomon and Erlich actually paid attention to exactly how the US government and the news media talked the American public into accepting the 2003 war against Iraq. This book brings terrible truths into focus: the deceptive media practices from President Bush on down, and the inaccurate "information" provided by lots of supposedly fine American journalists, conservatives and liberals alike. You have to wonder, reading this book, just how the situation got so bad that the reporters don't even seem embarrassed about repeating false statements endlessly! The misleading character of the media coverage about this war is brought home to the reader by Solomon and Erlich. Plus, there's a very moving introduction by the historian Howard Zinn. And Sean Penn in the afterword tells why he became so concerned about the war that was impending and now is history. This is the kind of multi-layered book you can read easily and thoughtfully. And you can give it to people who might disagree with you and learn a whole lot from reading "Target Iraq." This book provides plenty of facts but it doesn't just pile them on; it puts them in an analytical context that demolishes the claims of the Bush Administration and its apologists.
Rating:
Summary: a well rounded book
Review: What you will find in this book is everything that the zionist neo-conservative, pro big business folk--people who think it's great that Bush is runnning the country as though it were Enron--cannot stand. They cannot stand the truth. There is plenty of truth in this book. Lots of bunk-tonic, and actually the book DOES include a discussion of what a monster Saddam is (was?): THE BEAUTIFUL THING ABOUT CONSERVATIVES IS THAT THEY BEHAVE LIKE SPOILED RICH FIVE YR OLDS AND USUALLY IMPASSIONED MAKE STUPID COMMENTS. If you know this to be true you will love this book.
Rating:
Summary: Important book
Review: When Enron collapsed I was very happy because I was sure it meant that Bush and his cronies would not be re-elected and perhaps there would be a public reckoning regarding the empire-mentality that allowed a publicly traded company to get away with mass larceny. In fact, I thought the August talk of war against Iraq was a sure sign that Bush and his cronies were doomed. Then someone said that August was no time to roll out a new product and I thought, Huh! Wow, now they're really going to get it. The media will take the Bush administration to task for that kind of attitude. I thought this because I thought the media was essentially left-wing. But then no one said Boo. It was agreed that the war would have to be sold to the American public later. And it became clear to me then that the media would help sell it. This book cuts to the chase and will be read for years to come. It gets into all of the above in a way that I found useful and enlightening.
Rating: 
Summary: A fine read for the Chomskyites
Review: You'll find a lot of post-hoc arguments, straw men and incomplete data in this book. You'll find contrived arguments about oil, and easily refuted allegations about race and war. What you won't find is a single interview with an Iraqi expat, or a description of the terror Sadaam has visited on his people for the last three decades.
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