Regime change, insurgents, Saddam Hussein, embeds, neocons, withdraw, 9/11, Bush, WMDs ... the list goes on for miles, but what do these words mean to the average American? The Iraq War is the most pertinent political affair and social controversy today, and perhaps even of this generation. There are a myriad of perspectives on this complex issue and for those of any political persuasion, the situation is still shrouded in a gray smoke of strategic uncertainly and there are mounds of contradictory evidence. These three books shed light on the Bush administration's choice to invade, the strategies taken throughout the war and occupation as well as one reporter's unique account of the lives of soldiers during the invasion of Iraq.

America at the Crossroads: Democracy, Power and the Neoconservative Legacy

Francis Fukuyama

194 pages $25

The infamous political scientist and premier member of the neo-conservative movement, Francis Fukuyama, takes a dramatic turn by providing one of the most educated criticisms of the "Bush Doctrine" and the foreign policy tactics used in the build up to the Iraq War. Fukuyama, known for his nearly canonized text of post-cold war policy, The End of History, uses his extensive knowledge of the primary architects of the war and of the traditional neoconservative agenda in order to highlight the failures of the "Bush Doctrine."

Fukuyama, by treating the rational motivations and failures within the "Bush Doctrine" seriously, provides the reader with an informed and educated theory as to why America went to war. Fukuyama's major criticisms of the current administration are framed as departures from what he takes as true neo-conservatism. While keeping to his foundational beliefs about democratization, benevolent hegemony and American exceptionalism, Fukuyama attacks the current administration's implementation of pre-emptive war and the attempt to engineer democracy through regime change in Iraq.

Fukuyama attempts to wash the name of neo-conservatism clean, clarify its primary principles and offers a revised strategy for international relations post-Iraq War. The author takes an unapologetically conservative outlook and the novel could be coupled with Noam Chomsky's Failed States to gain an alternative perspective on some of the similar themes in American foreign policy. As a whole, America at the Crossroads provides an educated criticism of the overarching policies used within the manufacturing, invasion and occupation of Iraq.

War Reporting for Cowards

Chris Ayres

280 pages $23

In a hilarious approach to the Iraq War, Chris Ayres gives an autobiographical account of his humiliating and horrifying experience as a "Hollywood Reporter" — turned war correspondent. This is in no way a serious book about the politics of the Iraq War, but the candid personal insight is helpful and gives the reader an uncensored representation of the media coverage of the Iraq War and the lives of military personnel in the initial stages of invasion.

Ayres is a self-proclaimed coward, hypochondriac and "war virgin" with no aspirations for the stoic journey and honored title of "war correspondent". However, his dreams of sweet Hollywood celeb coverage are greatly revised after he personally witnesses the terrorist attacks of 9/11, he ends up working in an anthrax-targeted news office and is then called for embedded duty with the frontline marine division heading into Baghdad.

Although the book is entirely a personal account of the war from one man, it offers certain unspoken truths about the fear of war, the post 9/11 hysteria and a very realistic account of military life. Ayres calls his time in Iraq "the worst camping trip of your life," and this antihero's diffusion of the glory in war highlights the irony in this serious issue.

War Reporting for Cowards is a light and humorous read that provides a more realistic account of the war than most prime time television.

Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq

Thomas E. Ricks

464 pages $27

Authored by Thomas E. Ricks, a Senior Pentagon Correspondent for the Washington Post, Fiasco is an extremely well documented narrative and analysis of the Iraq war. Ricks deliverers a fairly objective account of the strategy and actions taken within both the Bush administration and the uniformed military throughout the Iraq War and occupation.

Although this book is filled with detailed descriptions of the multidimensional facets of the war, the onslaught of evidence convincingly backs Rick's primary assertions concerning the failures of the administration and political-military institutions. A theme often repeated in the text is the assertion that the American government has "won the war but lost the peace," due primarily to overly optimistic assessments of American military strength in combination with reckless misrepresentations of the challenges that would be faced in the post-combat occupation of Iraq.

While many historical accounts of the Iraq War close with the end of formal military operations in Iraq, Fiasco not only provides a detailed description of pre-war strategy, it also completes the story by giving an account of the occupation of Iraq and increased insurgency conflict in the post-combat phase of the Iraq War. This title distinguishes itself as a truly comprehensive analysis of the Iraq war in presenting an intellectual investigation of a majority of the organizations, ideologies and individual actors involved in creating the Iraq War.