World War 1: The Rest of the Story and How It Affects You Today: An Uncle Eric Book, Revised Edition

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The spine of the book is Maybury's Ten Deadly Ideas That Lead to War:
1. Pax Romana
2. Fascism
3. Love of political power
4. Global protection
5. "Interests"
6. Cost externalization
7. Manifest Destiny
8. The White Man's Burden (now Washington DC's Burden)
9. Alliances
10. The glory of war

Some other things I found interesting about the book:
- People often say that there is no way to win a guerilla war. Maybury shows that there is a way, and the US Government used it to win the war in the Philippines.
- Who made the first move of aggression, the US Government or Japan?
- How did the US Government get the land to build the Panama Canal?
- Why were the German people so supportive of Hitler after WWI?
- Why was the US Government (particularly Woodrow Wilson) responsible for prolonging WWI and creating the conditions for WWII.

Maybury draws a distinct difference between America as a country and the US Government and he states that unfortunately "patriotism" is often seen as support for one's government instead of love for one's country. It reminds me of GK Chesterson remarking that "My country right or wrong" was like saying, "My mother drunk or sober."

After reading this book, you'll never be able to hear phrases like "make the world safe for democracy" and "project power" again without feeling nauseous. Maybury shows how the propaganda for interventionism developed in the late 19th century and has continued up to the present. It's amazing how much Bush's current rhetoric sounds like Woodrow Wilson's before WWI.

Maybury describes the book as "anti-war letters written by an extreme militarist." He does not take the view of Orwell's pacifist who thinks that the enemy will treat him well because he did not put up a fight. But he also is not ready to fight other nations' wars and get involved with their land grabs. "The best defense is a good offense" is only true when you're keeping score on the football field, not when you're talking about killing people.

Some people get indignant at the phrase "American Empire," but a quick look at history shows how accurate it is. Only God knows how much longer we'll be able to keep the wolf by the ears.