The decorated U.S. general who exposed war profiteering and
called modern warfare a business scheme.
One of the most explosive antiwar documents ever written,
War
Is a Racket is the 1935 speech and pamphlet in which Major General Smedley
Butler--one of the most decorated Marines in U.S. history--publicly declared that
modern warfare serves corporate profit more than national defense. Drawing on
decades of military service in Central America, the Caribbean, and China,
Butler delivers a blunt insider's account of how financial interests shape
military intervention.This edition restores Butler's original text and places it
in historical context with an introduction addressing his break from the
military establishment and his role in exposing a proposed fascist coup against
President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The volume also includes rare photographs from
the 1932 antiwar book
The Horror of It by Frederick A. Barber and two
lesser-known anti-interventionist essays by Butler that extend his critique of
war profiteering and imperial policy.Short, direct, and historically significant,
War Is a Rackethas remained in continuous demand among readers of military history, political
history, antiwar literature, and investigative nonfiction. Frequently cited
across the political spectrum, Butler's argument continues to resonate with
readers examining the relationship between war, industry, and power in the
modern era.
An essential primary document for anyone interested in U.S.
military history, war profiteering, civil-military relations, and
twentieth-century political dissent.
