War Is a Racket

Written by General Smedley D. Butler

Narrated by Victor Craig

‘War Is a Racket’ is a 1935 book by Smedley D. Butler (1881 –1940), a retired United States Marine Corps Major General and two-time Medal of Honor recipient who became an outspoken critic of American wars and their consequences. During his 34-year career as a Marine, he took part in military actions in the Philippines, China, Central America, the Caribbean and France. After his retirement from the US Marine Corps in 1931, he took his speech "War is a Racket" on a nationwide tour. Due to its popularity, he wrote a longer version for a booklet published in 1935. Based on his career military experience, Butler exposed the huge scale of war profiteering by business interests. In ‘War is a Racket’, he wrote, “For a great many years, as a soldier, I had a suspicion that war was a racket; not until I retired to civil life did I fully realize it. Now that I see the international war clouds gathering, as they are today, I must face it and speak out."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Woodkeep Audio
• Release date: Feb 18, 2020
• ISBN: 9781518914027

Reviews for War Is a Racket

[Jessica Kopchik · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It really surprised me to read my own thoughts and ideas put down by this decorated soldier so many years ago. I hope others read this as well, it’s really scary!

[Kaity Cunningham · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It’s astonishing how nothing has changed. It’s actually gotten worse. I served as a pawn in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, which felt like games lacking genuine objectives. I would not recommend joining the military until our government acknowledges it’s significant shortcomings and becomes accountable to We The People once again.