War Is A Racket, General Smedley Darlington Butler
War Is A Racket, General Smedley Darlington Butler
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War Is A Racket

Author: General Smedley Darlington Butler

Narrator: William Dougan

Unabridged: 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/27/2023

Categories: Nonfiction, Art


Synopsis

War Is a Racket is Marine General Smedley Butler's classic treatise on why wars are conducted, who profits from them, and who pays the price. Few people are as qualified as General Butler to advance the argument encapsulated in his book's sensational title. When War Is a Racket was first published in 1935, Butler was the most decorated American soldier of his time. He had led several successful military operations in the Caribbean and in Central America, as well as in Europe during the First World War. Despite his success and his heroic status, however, Butler came away from these experiences with a deeply troubled view of both the purpose and the results of warfare.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Kevin on November 25, 2024

50 must-read pages, especially for "American patriots". The Brilliant: --Read it online here. --I’m upgrading my rating because of this book's usefulness for specific audiences, i.e. soldiers/“support our troops” culture given the author’s military accolades (Major General of the Marine Corps, 2x Meda......more

Goodreads review by James on December 18, 2012

A scathing condemnation of the corporate-military complex by a quirky retired general who was one of the biggest legends and role models in the U.S. Marine Corps; Smedley Butler, nicknamed "Old Gimlet Eye," had a tattoo of the USMC emblem that covered his chest and was the only Marine officer to win......more

Goodreads review by Vannessa on April 28, 2017

War Is A Racket is an in your face exposé about the lies politicians tell American taxpayers to justify their bloodthirsty and psychopathic lust for war. Impressive quotes: I spent 33 years in the Marines, most of my time being a high-class muscle man for big business, for Wall Street and the bankers.......more

There are a lot of reasons given for warfare. Are there any good reasons for nations to be at war? I would think most of those “good” reasons have to do with defending what is already part of a nation. USA Marine Corps General Smedley Butler takes a different approach. In this brief essay, written la......more

Goodreads review by Edward on March 09, 2017

Such a simple and powerful and obvious statement. What's interesting about Smedley is that he's not against war in a general sense. He's against the kind of war that had become common in the early 20th century (which is the model for all wars now). To put it a different way: he was not against war, b......more