William Kristol

Almost from the moment its inaugural issue appeared in September 1995, The Weekly Standard has been widely considered the nation’s preeminent journal of political opinion and cultural commentary — and the one magazine you’ve absolutely got to read if you want to keep up with American conservatism. Beyond reporting the events of the times, The Weekly Standard has played a central role in every major political drama of the past decade. In fact, so influential has it proved in Washington — year in and year out, no matter which party controlled the White House — that it’s become a must-read for anyone who wants to understand American politics and society as a whole. Now, in The Weekly Standard: A Reader, editor William Kristol gathers together some of the very best articles and essays the magazine has published in its first decade. The dramas are here, of course: the “Republican Revolution” in Congress; Monica Lewinsky; the Florida recount of 2000; and, above all, 9/11 and the war on terrorism. And on hand to recount and reflect on them is The Weekly Standard’s matchless, all-star stable of writers: Fred Barnes, David Brooks, Tucker Carlson, and P. J. O’Rourke, to name just a few. But there’s always been much more to The Weekly Standard than just the week’s news. SoThe Weekly Standard: A Reader is not merely an anthology of unsurpassed opinion journalism. Here readers will find an enormous treasury of timeless writing about dozens of subjects — art, books, music, movies, you name it — each handled with the same unique blend of insider savvy, reflective wisdom, and mordant wit that’s earned The Weekly Standard an authoritative place in American public life.

The war over Iraq will presumably be the end of Saddam Hussein. But it will be the beginning of a new era in American foreign policy. This book is an indispensable guide to the era that lies ahead.