Smedley D. Butler
Paperback | Pages: 79 pages Rating: 4.29 | 3545 Users | 372 Reviews
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| Original Title: | War is a Racket |
| ISBN: | 0922915865 (ISBN13: 9780922915866) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Narrative In Pursuance Of Books War is a Racket: The Antiwar Classic by America's Most Decorated Soldier
Major General Smedley D. Butler was a military hero of the first rank, the winner of two Medals of Honour, a true 'fighting marine' whose courage and patriotism could not be doubted. Yet he came to believe that the wars in which he and his men had fought and bled and died were all pre-planned conflicts, designed not so much to defend America as to bloat the balance sheets of US banks and corporations.War Is a Racket is the title of two works, a speech and a booklet, by retired United States Marine Corps Major General and two time Medal of Honor recipient Smedley D. Butler. In them, Butler frankly discusses from his experience as a career military officer how business interests commercially benefit from warfare.
After his retirement from the Marine Corps, Gen. Butler made a nationwide tour in the early 1930s giving his speech "War is a Racket". The speech was so well received that he wrote a longer version as a small book with the same title that was published in 1935 by Round Table Press, Inc., of New York. The booklet was also condensed in Reader's Digest as a book supplement which helped popularize his message. In an introduction to the Reader's Digest version, Lowell Thomas, the "as told to" author of Butler's oral autobiographical adventures, praised Butler's "moral as well as physical courage".
Mention Containing Books War is a Racket: The Antiwar Classic by America's Most Decorated Soldier
| Title | : | War is a Racket: The Antiwar Classic by America's Most Decorated Soldier |
| Author | : | Smedley D. Butler |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 79 pages |
| Published | : | August 1st 2003 by Feral House (first published 1935) |
| Categories | : | Politics. History. Nonfiction. War. Military Fiction. Philosophy |
Rating Containing Books War is a Racket: The Antiwar Classic by America's Most Decorated Soldier
Ratings: 4.29 From 3545 Users | 372 ReviewsAssessment Containing Books War is a Racket: The Antiwar Classic by America's Most Decorated Soldier
This is an odd little book. The modern introduction is almost unreadable, though I appreciated the mention of another book I want to look at, 1000 Americans by George Seldes. Part of the book is an isolationist tract, whose arguments are weakened by the advent of the missile age, rendering the oceans no longer our protector, and by the Holocaust, I think. But the Amendment for Peace has merit, and Butler is dead on when he says that war is a racket--follow the money. Some people are getting richWith such an eye catching title and knowledge of the author I had to check out his controversial views. He had a following, while others considered him to be a loaded firecracker.Smedley Darlington Butler the son of a U.S. Congressman grew up in Pennsylvania with Quaker roots. He voluntarily chose a career in the Marine Corps quickly rising through the ranks making his mark in history. Major General Butler USMC the recipient of two Medals of Honor did not retire quietly. One should separate his
Major General Butler's main point is spot on; war is (predominately) a racket arranged by politicians to achieve their own ends while attempting to disguise their war efforts as defending "freedom." However, the General only demonstrates that certain companies turned a profit while supplying the US government during WWI. He never proves his thesis. The fact that someone turns a profit (whether small or large) is not a problem at all. In a free market, the suppliers who better engineer, market,
The pieces that make up this book were first published about 70 years ago. Butler was a highly decorated Marine Brigadier General who was involved in many military expeditions in the early 20th century to countries like Haiti, China and Cuba. After retiring, he exposed a corporate/fascist plot to seize the White House right after Franklin Roosevelt became President. After that, he began to speak out about the real motives behind America's military actions--profit.Just before World War I, the
Written in the 1930's by a highly decorated Marine Corps General this short book is an essay exposing the utter scam that every war that America has been involved in for at least the past 100 years has been. Although it exposes the horrors and damage that war causes both in Butlers essay and with the inclusion of some gruesome photos War is a Racket is not some limp wristed pacifist liberal tripe. What it is is an essay by a man who connected the dots and realized after many years that he in his
A short condemnation of war by a man who spent his life fighting wars. Smedley demonstrates the high public cost and resultant high business profits of war, giving many examples of US companies which greatly increased their profits during WW1. He also describes the waste and corruption inherent in military spending. Smedley makes the amusing (from a detached perspective) observation that in WW1 the US cleverly replaced recruitment bonuses with medals. Giving soldiers medals for service was much
http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/w...The recitation of figures, combined with the Mad As Hell tone sometimes makes him sound like a drunk accountant railing at his bosses in the bar on Friday night, but it doesn't negate his points in the slightest. I can imagine that after having his epiphany about the profit-driven motive for WW1, the gathering storm clouds of war in the mid-30s had him going out of his mind at insane history repeating itself.A shortened version (sans the famous quote cited
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