Rating: 
Summary: Not very good.
Review: I bought this book hoping to read an insightful treatise on the Culture War. What I got was a book mostly devoid of logic. While it's easy to scapegoat all of america's problems on Homosexuals and Liberals, it does nothing to alleviate those problems.
Rating: 
Summary: An outstanding and well-reasoned book
Review: I purchased this book on a whim and I have to admit I did not even read what it was about. Thinking it was a treatise on the war against terror, imagine my surprise when I learned that Rabbi Lapin was addressing the cultural war that America is engaged in. Consequently, it sat in my computer on MP3 format unlistened to for several months. It is an outstanding and well-reasoned book. Rabbi Lapin makes his points without belittling his opponents. His basic thesis is simple: The liberal left is out to de-Christianize the United States by removing any semblance of religion from the public life. Lapin argues that it is the belief in God and a strong moral sense of right and wrong that made this country great. Imagine my surprise when he argued that America was founded as a Christian nation. No, one does not have to believe in Christ to be a citizen, but that the traditional moral beliefs as stated in both the Old and New Testaments provide the moral foundation of right and wrong. In this war, conservative Jews, evangelical Christians and conservative Catholics have much more in common that binds them together than differences that separate them. Rather than fearing conservative evangelicals, conservative Jews ought to see them as allies and friends. I have long argued with my Jewish friends that their real enemies are not conservative Christians, but liberal secularist. If there is going to be persecution of American Jews, it will not come from the religious right but liberal left. For instance, it is the conservative Christians who support Israel, whereas secular leftists have more sympathetic toward Moslem extremist in the name of cultural diversity. His analysis of why Jews are so liberal was both insightful and fascinating. I have always wondered why American Jews have this propensity for liberalism, especially in light of the lefts sympathetic leanings toward Islamic extremists. I will take one issue with Rabbi Lapin. When one speaks of a cultural war, the object of war is to kill and defeat your enemy. When we come to the realm of ideas, I prefer to persuade people to my beliefs than to make war on them.
Rating:
Summary: An outstanding and well-reasoned book
Review: I purchased this book on a whim and I have to admit I did not even read what it was about. Thinking it was a treatise on the war against terror, imagine my surprise when I learned that Rabbi Lapin was addressing the cultural war that America is engaged in. Consequently, it sat in my computer on MP3 format unlistened to for several months. It is an outstanding and well-reasoned book. Rabbi Lapin makes his points without belittling his opponents. His basic thesis is simple: The liberal left is out to de-Christianize the United States by removing any semblance of religion from the public life. Lapin argues that it is the belief in God and a strong moral sense of right and wrong that made this country great. Imagine my surprise when he argued that America was founded as a Christian nation. No, one does not have to believe in Christ to be a citizen, but that the traditional moral beliefs as stated in both the Old and New Testaments provide the moral foundation of right and wrong. In this war, conservative Jews, evangelical Christians and conservative Catholics have much more in common that binds them together than differences that separate them. Rather than fearing conservative evangelicals, conservative Jews ought to see them as allies and friends. I have long argued with my Jewish friends that their real enemies are not conservative Christians, but liberal secularist. If there is going to be persecution of American Jews, it will not come from the religious right but liberal left. For instance, it is the conservative Christians who support Israel, whereas secular leftists have more sympathetic toward Moslem extremist in the name of cultural diversity. His analysis of why Jews are so liberal was both insightful and fascinating. I have always wondered why American Jews have this propensity for liberalism, especially in light of the lefts sympathetic leanings toward Islamic extremists. I will take one issue with Rabbi Lapin. When one speaks of a cultural war, the object of war is to kill and defeat your enemy. When we come to the realm of ideas, I prefer to persuade people to my beliefs than to make war on them.
Rating: 
Summary: Natural Allies
Review: It is about time. Finally someone has broken the silence. Jew and Christians are natural allies. Unlike Muslims, our history doesn't just end with Abraham, but spans the entire Old Testament. It is about time Christians embrace our elder brothers and Jews do the same for their younger ones.
This book is refreshing and explains in full detail perspectives all of us have had. However, since the common man has no voice, the great Rabbi has done so for us. There will always be people who disagree about his book, but more often than not it comes from secular and indifferent voices. I find it funny that some complain in these reviews about freedom of speech, and are afraid of the imposition by the religious right on their lives, even though the secular government has imposed immoral education on our youth. So, as the Rabbi points out, nobody is objective. I recommend everyone to buy this book. Jews and Christians alike will read something special and something to contemplate. Whether you are an Orthodox Jew, Catholic or Protestant, you need to read the Rabbi's book and come together!
Rating: 
Summary: Well written deceit
Review: One would think that the extreme right wingers would eventually start boring themselves with this trite nonsense. But the flood continues, although I found this book better than some. For one thing, the writing does not even try to conceal the authors desire to silence those who differ with him. That is refreshing honesty, for usually this type of book claims compassion in Christianity, while this book takes no prisoners. If you do not march the tune, you are not allowed to sing. Fortunately, this is America, and we shall sing all we like, and express our opinions freely....
Rating:
Summary: An Ambitious Diagnosis of and Treatment of Our Social Rot
Review: Rabbi Daniel Lapin's book opens with an ambitious attempt to deconstruct America's cultural decline. He follows up in later chapters with ideas about ideals to reverse this decline.
Rabbi Lapin's analysis is rock-rib conservative, and heavily slanted towards the past and future of Jews here in the U.S.A.. But great storytelling skills serve the reader well as he shares antecdotes from his world travels, amusing parables from colleagues of the rabbinate, and lessons of history.
The Rabbi makes a case that the key to our problems is a loss of God in personal and political spheres all across America.
I'm a liberal Democrat, but I find myself in agreement with many of the Rabbi's thoughts on popular culture. I part ways with him when he says that religion is a socio-economic and political cure-all. To me, his own evidence points to education, within a matrix of some moral framework as being the real answer.
Nonetheless, Rabbi Lapin's work is a fascinating overview from a fresh perspective. Predominance of his religious conservatism steeped in traditions of Western learning couldn't be too bad. In fact it is the best of all conservativism options from America's right.
Rating:
Summary: An Invitation to Join America's Culture War
Review: Rabbi Daniel Lapin, head of the organization Toward Tradition, addresses several audiences with "(You Are In) America's Real War: An Orthodox Rabbi Insists That Judeo-Christian Values are Vital for Our Nation's Survival." These include Jews who feel out of step with the politics of most Jewish organizations, Christians who wonder why most American Jews demonize the Religious Right, people of all faiths who suspect that separation of Church and State has gone too far, and anyone who worries that America is on the wrong cultural and spiritual track. The central metaphor in this book is a tug-of-war between Godliness on one side and godlessness on the other. This metaphor rests on two fundamental assumptions: that faith in God is central to the American experiment, and that the political divide between Right and Left hinges on acceptance or rejection of traditional Judeo-Christian values. Rabbi Lapin establishes these assumptions convincingly. He turns to America's roots, from the original nature of the Colonies to the views of the Founding Fathers, to show that the very idea of the American nation arose from Judeo-Christian faith. Indeed, he shows how many of the central ideas of Colonial and Revolutionary America came directly from the Hebrew bible. He traces the supremacy of God in American political life through the mid-20th century, showing how judges and political figures continued into the 1960s to appeal to the Judeo-Christian God and His values in support of their positions. Since that time, Rabbi Lapin argues, traditional religion has clearly delineated the sides in the culture war. Rabbi Lapin shows how, despite the presence of many clergymen in the ranks of the American Left, traditional Judeo-Christian belief and practice stand in direct opposition to many positions of the Left. A central irony of this divide is that the political values of most American Jews are antithetical to the traditional Jewish values expressed in the Torah and Talmud. For example, as Rabbi Lapin points out, mainstream Jewish organizations denounce as "homophobia" any criticism of homosexuality, yet the Western proscription against homosexuality originates in the Hebrew Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament). The source of this contradiction, Rabbi Lapin maintains, is the tension between the liberalizing tendency in non-Orthodox Judaism and the stubborn desire of Jews to cling to their Jewish identity. Rather than simply renounce Judaism once they have abandoned its tenets, many Jews stridently argue that the religion has changed to match their views - even to the point of no longer requiring a belief in God. This is why, Rabbi Lapin argues, traditional Judaism has more in common politically with the Christian Coalition than with many Jewish political organizations. Both traditional Jews and Christian conservatives share a belief in a God-fearing society as the ideal plan for mankind. Indeed, the removal of God from this central role in American society has, in Rabbi Lapin's view, led to the decline in our society's morals, culture, and educational attainment, and will ultimately lead to the downfall of our economic and political systems. Rabbi Lapin reminds us that illegitimacy, abortion, welfare dependency, crime, and other societal evils have all soared in the decades since God lost his place in American public life. Thus, though he faces criticism from many Jews (who view the Religious Right as the enemy) and distrust from some Christians (who identify Judaism with liberalism), Rabbi Lapin places himself squarely on the side of religious faith and traditional values in the tug-of-war against ungodly liberalism for America's future. He invites all Americans of faith and good will to join him.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most influential books I've ever read...
Review: Recommended to me over three years ago by one of my mentors, few books have influenced me so powerfully as America's Real War. Rabbi Daniel Lapin, a brilliant Torah scholar, studied under the 20th century's greatest Torah luminaries, including Rabbis Avigdor Miller, Yaakov Kamenetzky, Simcha Wasserman, Yechezkel Abramsky, and his famed great-great-uncle, Rabbi Elya Lopian. Additionally, Rabbi Lapin merited a yechidus with the Lubavitcher Rebbe in 1974, from whom he gained tremendous insight. With spiritual masters such as these, coupled with Rabbi Lapin's own brilliance, passion and insight, his writings never fail to educate, challenge, and inspire. In this magnum opus, Rabbi Lapin forcefully spells out the current landscape and culture war in America. This second American civil war essentially consists of those who fight to secularize America versus those who ache to return America to its true origins as a Judeo-Christian nation. As Rabbi Lapin insists in Chapter Fifteen, "Either America has no religious roots and no special spiritual destiny, or it has both. The past is a matter of fact; the future is our choice." The links between Judaism and America are delineated, as is the correlation between "America and the Jewish vision." In Part Four, Rabbi Lapin addresses the state of American Jewry. An entire twenty pages are devoted to the elusive and perplexing question, "Why ARE Jews so liberal?" Countering the rampant chillul Hashem and widespread misconception that liberal Jews somehow speak for Judaism (chapter forty-four, "The Redefining of Judaism"), Rabbi Lapin demonstrates that a true Jewish outlook is infinitely closer to that upheld by the conservative wing of the Republican Party. Making the case that Jews should unite POLITICALLY with conservative Christians to restore America's values and morals to the public sphere, Rabbi Lapin devotes Part Five: The Road Back, to offering practical advice to actually achieve this objective. I urge you to read this invaluable work- and then go out and share it with your friends.
Rating:
Summary: This was a great Conservative Book!
Review: The book, America's Real War, was a good outlook for our nation. The author, Daniel Lapin, had many strong views religiously on how our nation is and how it should be. In many instances, he directly stated that in a tug of war of our nation being a secular or religious one, that it was a religious one. He also said that our nation has derived from Judeo-Christian values and that our nation needs them to continue without many problems. I agree with him completely. Another aspect that Lapin touches on is how people deal with issues in our nation. Liberals, which he points out seems to be on one end of the rope, seem to go for choice laws, such as abortion. However, most Christians go along with the bible in its statement that we are using these bodies and that we shall not "defile the temple". Thus, many Christians seem to be strongly conservative. Throughout the book, Daniel Lapin clearly states what issues that America has, how it relates to daily life, and what his opinions are about them. He often lets you know several times over that what he says is clearly just his opinion, but that his opinion matters and should not be taken lightly. I completely agree with everything that Lapin said and opinionated. He seems to be a very intelligent person and would seem to make a great rabbi. I would refer this book to anyone who is looking to catch on some of the problems of our country, wants to practice opinionating, or just for a bit of reading material. The issues that Lapin brings out are compelling and makes you just want to keep on reading.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful and inspiring bridge between Jews and Christians!
Review: There is no doubt that Rabbi Daniel Lapin's America's Real War is one of those rare books destined to inspire and enlighten readers for generations to come. Like Bastiat's classic The Law, Lapin's Real War reveals timeless truths about man, society, and government while devastating the contemporary proponents of ideas that destroy freedom, prosperity, and happiness. Moreover, Lapin scores his intellectual points while simultaneously building a bridge between two groups that have frequently found themselves on opposite ends of the ideological spectrum, American Jews and Christians. The message of Real War consists of three parts. First, Rabbi Lapin develops the evidence that America was expressly founded as a Christian nation. This will not surprise readers familiar with the writings of the Founding Fathers or those who understand how liberty blossomed as Biblical ideas made their way into European political and economic thought in the centuries from the signing of the Magna Carta to the writings of Blackstone. But Lapin approaches the subject from a fresh perspective, demonstrating how America's Founders appreciated uniquely Jewish customs and ideas at a time when "Hebrew was an accomplishment of gentlemen." Second, Rabbi Lapin demonstrates how moral ideas that can only be completely found in the Jewish and Christian scriptures work to produce wealth, liberty, and fulfilling lives. Lapin leads the reader to see how ideas like personal accountability and private property create incentives for people to use their God-given talents to get ahead by serving the needs of others. At the same time, Lapin shows that the causes of the political left - like abortion and opposition to capital punishment - are logically inconsistent, and that the sole idea uniting today's jackboot liberals is opposition to God's ideas revealed in the Torah and Bible. Woven throughout Real War is Rabbi Lapin's third theme, a call to American Jews to return to the principles of Torah. In fact, with a chutzpah only a Rabbi could muster, Lapin unabashedly bases all of his social, economic, and political arguments solely on the Old Testament, as explained in the 2500 year old oral tradition of the Rabbis, the Talmud. But it is this very approach that will make the book especially endearing to Christian readers. Christians know that Jesus came not to destroy the law or the prophets but to fulfill them. (Mt. 5:17) On page after page as I read, I found myself coming to a fresh and deeper appreciation of the Bible thanks to Talmud's ancient insight. There can be no doubt that the real challenge facing America today is a war of ideas. In showing that this war is really the timeless battle between good and evil, between ideas born of God and ideas born of rebellion against Him, Rabbi Lapin has crafted a work that will be relevant for years to come.
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