From the American Revolution to the end of World War II, the United
States spent nineteen years at war against other nations. But since1950,
the total is twenty-two years and counting. On four occasions, U.S.
presidents elected as "peace candidates" have gone on to lead the nation
into ferocious armed conflicts. Repeatedly, wars deemed necessary when
they began have been seen in retrospect as avoidable, Äîandill-advised.

Americans
profess to be a peace-loving people and one wary of "foreign
entanglements." Yet we have been drawn into wars in distant lands from
Vietnam to Afghanistan. We cherish our middle-class comforts and our
children. Yet we send our troops to Fallujah and Mogadishu. How is it
that ordinary Americans with the most to lose are so easily convinced to
follow hawkish leaders-of both parties-into war? In Reasons to Kill
noted scholar Richard E. Rubenstein explores both the rhetoric that
sells war to the public and the underlying cultural and social factors
that make it so effective. With unmatched historical perspective and
insightful commentary, Rubenstein offers citizens new ways to think for
themselves about crucial issues of war and peace.