War Is a Racket is the title of two works; a speech and a booklet; by retired US Marine Corps Major General and two-time Medal of Honor recipient Smedley Darlington Butler. In these works; 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 that was published in 1935; now republished with a foreword by former governor of Minnesota and New York Times bestselling author Jesse Ventura. Jesse Ventura reviews Major General Butler’s original writings and brings them up to date; relating them to our current political climate. Butler was a visionary in his day; and Ventura works to show how right he was and how wrong our current democracy is. Read for the first time Butler’s words with Ventura’s witty; yet insightful spin on this relevant work that will appeal not only to military historians; but also to those interested in the state of our country and the entire world.
#1207038 in Books 2015-05-29Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.50 x 1.00 x 6.40l; #File Name: 1621900894283 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. eight essays on Confederate generals give a comprehensive view of the Civil War west of the MississippiBy Henry BerryUnlike most books of collected essays; rather than a mostly patchy view of the broader subject; the eight collected essays of this book give the reader a coherent and comprehensive; though not thorough; view of the Civil War in the West. The editorial focus set by the editors along with the subject of each chapter—namely the top general of a group of Confederate forces in the Trans-Mississippi region—and the chronological order of their treatment allows for this. Hewitt and Schott are both steeped in Civil War history and authors and editors of previous books on it. Authors of the essays are present or former academics in the field of history or military historians from various fields.Though the Confederate generals are the central subject of each chapter; chapter content ranges to descriptions and often discussions of battles and maneuvering and reasons for victory or defeat and import of this on the general tide of Confederate forces in the Trans-Mississippi. Especially insightful and relevant are the analyses of each general’s personality and strengths and weaknesses accounting for his victories or defeats. Where applicable; the general’s previous military experiences and accomplishments or shortcomings before taking over in the Trans-Mississippi are covered. In most cases however; the generals were “homegrown†having a connection with their area of action and forces they commanded. The aim of explaining both the person and the operations of each general lends itself to tying together the course of the Civil War in the region.The Confederate Trans-Mississippi generals found themselves in a situation created partly by geographical distance from the capital of the Confederacy in Richmond and partly by the reality that the fate of the Confederacy would be determined by the outcome of the conflict in the East. Nonetheless; the Confederate Trans-Mississippi armies and their generals had a strategic job to do in their region—and for the time of the War; they performed it sufficiently; if not finally successfully. The civilian populations had to be protected as genuine members of the Confederacy of Southern states; and the Trans-Mississippi was a needed source of food provisions for the Confederate armies. At no time did the Confederate leaders either military or political contemplate abandoning the Trans-Mississippi region—and therein lies the importance of these Confederate generals and interest in assessing them for understanding of the Civil War as undertaken in this outstanding collection of essays.
