War Is a Racket CD jacket cover

War Is a Racket

Gen. Smedley D. Butler


After his retirement from the Marine Corps in the early 1930's, General Smedley D. Butler embarked on a national lecture tour, where he gave his speech about how commercial interests benefit from war. The speech was well received and he wrote an expanded version of it, which was published as War Is A Racket. The work was published by Reader's Digest as a condensed book supplement, which added to its popularity.

The book consists of five chapters. The first chapter cites telling statistics: 21,000 people became millionaires and billionaires during the war; 4 million men served; the growth of national debt by a factor of 25 from 1898 to 1918. The second chapter details the level of profits made by many major U.S.  corporations made in the years preceding World War I and compares them to the significantly greater profits made from and during the war.  The third chapter lays bare the ways in which the costs are borne by the public, with particular focus on humiliating deductions from the pay of soldiers. Chapter four sets forth three simple methods to limit wars: insist that everyone in the war economy earn the same income as that of the soldiers;  conduct a vote to decide whether or not to go to war and limit the voters to those who would serve; limit appropriations and activities to strictly defensive measures. The final chapter shows the futility of arms limitations negotiations and makes it plain that only total disarmament will break the back of the beast.


Product Details

Read by: D. S. Harvey
Length: 49 minutes
Type: Solo reading
Media: MP3 CD
Package: CD jacket
Item No.: CJ-1189
EAN: 0686175923278
List Price: $8.99

Credits


Production

Book Producer: D. S. Harvey

Artwork
Cover: Having Their Fling by Art Young cartoon by Arthur Henry "Art" Young (1866–1943). First published in The Masses in September 1917, this drawing was brought into court as evidence during the second US government trial against The Masses in September/October 1918. 
Inset: Cover of original hardcover edition of "War Is A Racket".
Inset: Photo of double medal of honor recipient Smedley Butler, date unknown. USMC.
Insert: Cartoon in "Life" Magazine, March 10 1919 p. 349. Caption: Profiteer: THE WAR IS OVER, MY BOY. FORGET IT!

The Recordings

About MP3 Audio

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The Recordings

These recordings were made using the author’s original published work, which is in the public domain. The readings were recorded by members of Librivox.org, which has generously made the recordings available to the public domain. While Librivox condones the sale and distribution of these recordings, it is not associated with the management or operations of MP3 Audiobook Classics. The audio files have been lightly edited and have been engineered using professional audio tools for maximum sonic quality. We spend considerable time and effort to ensure the recordings are free of noise, equalized for maximum listener pleasure, and that tracks are leveled and normalized to provide a consistent listening experience.

Table of Contents

Track Chapter  Length
01 Chapter 1 - War Is A Racket 9:32
02 Chapter 2 - Who Makes The Profits? 15:40
03 Chapter 3 - Who Pays The Bills? 10:13
04 Chapter 4 - How To Smash This Racket! 7:49
05 Chapter 5 - To Hell With War! 6:08

 

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