David Swanson: Join Me Online, and Let Me Send You Two Books
Posted: 7th August 2026
I’ve just written two books, War Is Still A Racket and War Is Still A Lie. The first is short, the second long. The first is about Smedley Butler’s case against war almost 100 years ago, the second about my case against war right now.
I’d like to sign and mail you a copy of each and then join you four times online to discuss them. Sign up here.
In September 2026, World BEYOND War will be holding a weekly discussion each of four weeks of the book War Is Still A Racket: Smedley Butler’s classic texts with new commentary by David Swanson, and the book War Is Still A Lie by David Swanson, with me, World BEYOND War Executive Director David Swanson.
When you register for the club, we will mail you signed paperback copies of both books.
We’ll let you know which parts of the books will be discussed each week along with the Zoom details to access the discussions.
When:
For one hour on Friday, September 4, 11, 18, and 25, beginning at UTC 17:00, which is 7 am in Honolulu, 10 am in Los Angeles, 11 am in Mexico City, 1 pm in New York, 6 pm in Yaoundé, 7 pm in Amsterdam, and 8:30 pm in Tehran.
Where: Zoom (details to be shared upon registration).
This is a small group series with limited space of up to approximately 18 people. Sign up to reserve your spot. We look forward to reading and discussing this important book with you!
About War Is Still A Racket:
Major General Smedley Darlington Butler (1881-1940) from the age of 16 to the age of 50 waged war all over the world for the U.S. Marine Corps. Then he denounced what he’d been doing as a “racket” driven by Wall Street profiteers. Butler’s change of perspective produced probably the most serious and dramatic confession in world history. His insights have stood the test of time. In fact, much of what he said in 1935 is even more true now. This book republishes Butler’s famous 1935 pamphlet, War Is a Racket, and also a harder to find collection of five articles, also from 1935, giving more depth to Butler’s revelations and his prescriptions for change. Author and activist David Swanson provides context and builds a case that war remains a racket, defined by Butler as “something that is not what it seems to the majority of people.” Swanson adapts and builds on Butler’s recommendations for addressing this racket as it exists now.
About War Is Still A Lie:
War Is Still A Lie is an updated third edition of War Is A Lie and includes a new 90-page investigation of how lies about wars have changed. War Is A Lie is a thorough refutation of every major argument used to justify wars, drawing on evidence from numerous past wars, with a focus on those wars that have been most widely defended as just and good. This is a handbook of sorts, an engaging, always informative manual that can be used to debunk future lies before the wars they’re deployed to justify have any chance to begin. This 2026 edition updates and expands on the 2015 second edition, which built on the 2010 original.
About the Author:
David Swanson is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is the executive director of World BEYOND War, a global nonviolent movement to end war and establish a just and sustainable peace. He is the campaign coordinator of RootsAction. On November 10, 2024, Swanson was awarded the Real Nobel Peace Prize by the Lay Down Your Arms Foundation in Oslo, Norway. Swanson was awarded the 2018 Peace Prize by the U.S. Peace Memorial Foundation. He was also awarded a Beacon of Peace Award by the Eisenhower Chapter of Veterans For Peace in 2011, and the Dorothy Eldridge Peacemaker Award by New Jersey Peace Action in 2022, and a Global Peace Leadership & Excellence Award in 2024. Swanson has been on the advisory boards of: Nobel Peace Prize Watch, Veterans For Peace, Assange Defense, BPUR, Military Families Speak Out, Fields of Peace, and Peace in Ukraine Coalition. He is an Associate of the Transnational Foundation, and a Patron of Platform for Peace and Humanity. He is on the Consultative Council of the SHAPE Project. He is on the International Coordinating Committee of No to War – No to NATO. He is on the Steering Group of Warheads to Windmills.
I hope you can join us!
You can also sign up for other future book clubs at
https://worldbeyondwar.org/bookclubs
Peace,
—David
World BEYOND War is a global network of volunteers, chapters, and affiliated organizations advocating for the abolition of the institution of war.
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