# War Is a Racket by Smedley Butler

11 Hacker News commenters recommended War Is a Racket by Smedley Butler and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend it as a short, direct first-person account by Marine Major General Smedley Butler on how war serves profit. No critics raised a complaint.

## Why people recommend it

- Firsthand account by a Marine general (3 comments): "Major General Smedley D. Butler spelled this out for all of us quite clearly in his book War is a Racket." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47129412)) "for the first person account" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47255792)) "There is Butler's own book" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46422928))
- Clear, short and eye-opening (3 comments): "Major General Smedley D. Butler spelled this out for all of us quite clearly in his book War is a Racket." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47129412)) "The Smedly Butler book was eye opening to read for me." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47722790)) "It's a tiny book and to the point." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47204371))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [The Cuckoo's Egg by Cliff Stoll](https://hackerapproved.com/p/cuckoo-s-egg.md): 40 recommend
- [Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/amusing-ourselves-to-death.md): 36 recommend
- [The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt](https://hackerapproved.com/p/anxious-generation.md): 24 recommend
- [Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber](https://hackerapproved.com/p/bullshit-jobs.md): 20 recommend
- [Enshittification by Cory Doctorow](https://hackerapproved.com/p/enshittification.md): 19 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1434407004?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9781434407009) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "War Is a Racket by Smedley Butler", https://hackerapproved.com/p/war-is-a-racket/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).