Nearly one hundred years after the publication of War Is a Racket , the short but powerful work of Major General Smedley Butler still speaks to modern readers with surprising force. First published in 1935, the book argued that war often serves interests that are not openly presented to the public, and that the financial and political gains of a few may be hidden behind the language of patriotism, security, and necessity. Butler’s message was direct, moral, and uncomfortable.
