Maverick Marine: General Smedley D. Butler and the Contradictions of American Military History

by Hans Schmidt

Overview

Maverick Marine is the story of a fascinating individual whose life and career epitomize the contradictory nature of American military policy through the first third of this century. In addition to recounting Butler's exciting life, Hans Schmidt here presents a political and social history of early twentieth-century American military exploits in the Caribbean, Central America, and the Far East.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813146263
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	07/07/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Schmidt is retired senior lecturer in history at the University of Hong Kong.

Editorial Reviews

Butler joined the Marines in 1898 and saw action all over the world, winning two Medals of Honor, but he is remembered not so much for his military exploits as for his apostasy during his latter years. A statement he made in 1935 sums up the drastic turnabout: ``I spent 33 years in the Corps, and spent most of my time being a high-class muscle man for Big Business.'' He also said he had been a racketeer for capitalism who ``helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street.'' Schmidt, a lecturer in history at the University of Hong Kong, traces Butler's stormy career: his various expeditionary campaigns, his central role in internal Marine Corps politics during the 1920s and his bizarre but effective war on crime and vice in Philadelphia. As pure biography, Marine Maverick is a colorful story about a swashbuckling establishment-shaker. Schmidt's book is particularly valuable, however, for the insights it provides into Yankee imperialism and its racist undertones. Photos. (July)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

A sympathetic portrait of a Victorian officer-warrior who lost his way as he advanced in rank and his America and his Marine Corps changed after World War I.

Journal of American History

This long-awaited biography is as crisp as a David Brinkley commentary. Fact-packed and exquisitely documented.

Naval Institute Proceedings

"A sympathetic portrait of a Victorian officer-warrior who lost his way as he advanced in rank and his America and his Marine Corps changed after World War I." -- Journal of American History

"As pure biography, Maverick Marine is a colorful story about a swashbuckling establishment-shaker. Schmidt's book is particularly valuable, however, for the insights it provides into Yankee imperialism and its racist undertones." -- Publishers Weekly

"This long-awaited biography is as crisp as a David Brinkley commentary. Fact-packed and exquisitely documented." -- Naval Institute Proceedings

From the Publisher