War is a Racket (full audiobook) by Major Gen. Smedley D. Butler USMC (RET)

At the time of his death, Major General Smedley Darlington Butler, also known as “The Fighting Quaker”, was the most decorated Marine in US history; he was the only person to be awarded a Marine Corps Brevet Medal and a Medal of Honor for two separate military actions. He had also become an unrelenting voice against the business of war.

This book contains a speech and a pamphlet by Major Gen. Butler broken up into Five Chapters:

1. War is a Racket
2. Who Makes the Profits?
3. Who Pays the Bills?
4. How to Smash This Racket!
5. To Hell With War!

This book is one of the true classics of American History written directly by one of the Great Heroes of the Country and is something that can be learned from even today.

Raised by prominent Quaker parents, Smedley Butler defied his pacifist lineage by joining the Marines just before his 17th birthday. He served in Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico and Haiti (earning his Medals of Honor in Mexico and Haiti). Butler was known for his leadership and commitment to the welfare of the men under his command. He rose quickly through the ranks to become, at age 48, one of the youngest major generals.

Prior to World War II, Butler spoke out against what he saw as admiration for Fascism and for Italy´s leader Benito Mussolini. He was punished for telling an unfavorable story about Mussolini, avoided court-martial by accepting a reprimand. Because of his rank, he was able to write his own reprimand and never apologized to Mussolini.

Butler retired from the military in 1931. By then, he was beginning to question US involvement in foreign conflicts. He had come to believe that war–in particular WWI–was really a profitable business for the few and at the expense of thousands of lives. He thought of himself as a cog in the imperialist war machine.

In a booklet titled War is a Racket, Butler wrote, “In the World War [I] a mere handful garnered the profits of the conflict. At least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States during the World War….How many of these war milliona

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