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 enlarge | Authors: Joseph E. Stiglitz, Linda J. Bilmes
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Category: Book
List Price: $22.95
Buy Used: $6.98
You Save: $15.97 (70%)
New (44) Used (29) Collectible (2) from $6.98
Avg. Customer Rating:  35 reviews
Sales Rank: 91748
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 192
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.3
ISBN: 0393067017
Dewey Decimal Number: 956.704431
EAN: 9780393067019
ASIN: 0393067017
Publication Date: March 3, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Barely used in dust jackett, 1st edition
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| Customer Reviews:
 A SIX-STAR BOOK --( with a Caution) April 6, 2008
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
I'd rate this beautifully organized piece as a six-star book if six were available -- with a cautionary, calculation-related caveat. As past chairman of a large Middle-Eastern languages department for the US Defense Languages Institute (USDLI) on the Virginia side of Washington D.C., I've enough first-hand experience with Arabs, etc., to have profoundly lamented the Bush administration's brashly arrogant ignorance displayed by their invasion of Iraq, followed by the spectacular emptyheadedness of Bush's "Mission accomplished" boast.
So I relate well to the authors' points, most succinctly summarized in their Table 1.1. contrasting the $100 billion initial estimate, the $500 billion operation costs to date, $1400 billion future ops, $2000 billion future veteran-care costs, $2400 billion social costs, $4300 billion macroeconomic costs, $5100 billion current and future interest costs, and another $5700 billion overall for Afghanistan. The authors underscore their contention that the above represent ONLY costs to the USA, not other countries such as our allies, or Iraq itself.
Chapter two documents the above costs to our nation's budget. Chapter three explains the true costs of caring for US veterans. Chapter four outlines costs that the US government does NOT pay. Chapter five expands on the macroeconomic effects of the conflict. Chapter six is an outstanding presentation of the multifaceted global consequences of our Iraq involvement. Chapter seven is an intelligent explanation of the difficulties of exiting Iraq, with suggestions. Chapter eight, "Learning From Our Mistakes," is an outstsnding presentation of eighteen recommended reforms for the future.
Because, after leaving the academic world, I headed two national corporations, I find that I can quibble with the above numbers, though the authors' explanatory comments seem essentially uncontrived in a manipulative sense.
Now for the caveat: Though as I make these comments I don't excuse the outrageous stupidity of our involvement in Iraq, my accountancy experience in running large companies requires that I face the reality of a few unpleasant facts. The authors do not include factors such as the US's (admittedly immoral) economic gains from the war -- such things as employment gains in certain sectors, and war-equipment manufacture shown as national-productivity gains. In other words, there has been income as well as expense in this war, and a more thorough accountancy presentation would have included figures on the income side of the balance sheet. But I repeat, especially for you readers who aren't accountancy-oriented, my comments on this side of the ledger do not excuse the ignorance, the arrogance or the immorality of this war. I'm only pointing out the relatively well known fact that wars do produce economic gains along with costs, and some wars have been waged with the ill-gotten economic benefits in mind.
I also want to reemphasize that I believe the financial costs of this war FAR economically outweigh any narrow income on the other side of the ledger.
Please read and recommend this outstandingly important book.
The Truth About More Than Debt April 6, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This exceptional book lays out for the reading public what wars really cost. It also lays out explicitly the causes and the effects of this madness and clearly identifies those other costs that are unquantifiable.
Once again Stiglitz, and in this book Bilmes, prove that they not only know how to write a readable book on a tough suibject, but also they know how to collect and stack the facts so that the conclusion is inescapable. No spin here!
Congratulations to both on an outstanding production!
Required Reading for all Politicians April 5, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
A bit dry, but considering the topic, it is very good. All politicians should read this book. It gives a very detailed, and sobering, break-down of the current and futures costs of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. You will get a picture not illustrated in the national media. I hope this book becomes a reference source for political science classes.
 Sorry to see Stiglitz sell out March 31, 2008
19 out of 39 found this review helpful
As someone who respects Stiglitz's previous work, this was a sad book to read. Stiglitz and Blimes mix fact and fiction throughout the book and lose any credibility on the issue in my opinion.
First, the Iraq war is very expensive in both monetary, budgetary, and non-monetary ways. That makes exaggerating the costs all that more puzzling. Its also true that the government is on a cash basis accounting system and DoD does a poor job of cost accounting, but this is nothing new or specific to the war in Iraq.
Second, beyond the specific details, they include whole categories of costs that make no sense. They then eliminate some of these costs and call their estimate "conservative". That is just crazy and deceitful manipulation.
Third as to some of the larger specific errors:
Interest on the debt. To make a long story short, Interest is a real cost but the way they make their calculations double counts that cost (you work in current costs or future costs but not both). They cknowledge that most economists would not count interest in addition to the current cost (p. 30) but then goes on to add interest on p. 55. It is like saying the cost of a house is both the listed price and the sum off ll future mortgage payments. See the Becker-Posner Blog on March 19, 006.
Cost of other programs not funded. Again this is a double counting. The cost of the war is either how much money goes to the war or what we could have done with the money otherwise, not both.
The costs due to oil being more expensive. This is sheer guess work with no foundation. Also, the UN sanctions that prevented Iraq from selling oil (which presumably would still be in place if there was no war) is probably more expensive in this sense.
In sum, I am sorry I contributed to propaganda through purchasing a book. They do get small credit for making us think about the large cost of the war and the nonmonetary costs. But when the facts are on your side exaggerating only hurts your credibility.
A remarkable study March 29, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is a very important study to uncover the economical consequences of Iraq war. In well functioning democracies, citizens need to be informed about the consequences of the actions taken by their elected officials in order to be able judge their performance and to prevent future failures. This book serves well in the purpose to make citizens informed.
The authors have not only quantified the cost of the conflict but also provided with reforms to make war costs more accountable and to prevent the government from being able to hide the great amount of the cost and deferring it to the next generations.
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