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Why has the United States launched more military interventions than any other modern nation? Who profits from war? Who bears the human costs? And why are the same justifications for invasion and occupation repeated generation after generation?
Addicted to War demystifies American militarism, empire, corporate power, and propaganda. More than a history book, Addicted to War it is a scathing critique of the most powerful military machine on earth. In a visually unforgettable comic-book format, Addicted to War traces the bloody arc of US warfare, from the genocide of Indigenous peoples and the conquest of the Philippines and Puerto Rico to the World Wars, to Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and the endless “War on Terror.” Sharp, witty, and at times darkly humorous, the book skillfully dissects the political and economic forces that drive the United States into perpetual war and shows how war abroad shapes repression and inequality at home.
Why has the US launched more military interventions than any other modern nation? Who profits from war? Who bears the human cost? And why do the same justifications for invasion and occupation repeat generation after generationAddicted to War demystifies militarism, empire, corporate power, and propaganda , showing how war abroad shapes repression and inequality at home.
Used in high schools, colleges, peace organizations, and activist circles across the United States, this bestselling graphic history has educated hundreds of thousands of readers about the realities behind American foreign policy.
This newly updated and expanded edition brings the story of US militarism into the present moment, covering the latest invasions, proxy wars, occupations, and genocides, including in Gaza, Venezuela, Iran, and beyond. At a time when military budgets soar while inequality deepens, Addicted to War remains an essential tool for understanding how endless war became a permanent feature of American life, and how ordinary people can resist it.
“Addicted to War is a witty and devastating portrait of U.S. military policy, a fine example of art serving society.”
—Howard Zinn author of A People’s History of the United States
“Addicted to War is not only a witty and entertaining portrait of our war-dependent economy, but a truly relevant insight not available in the mainstream media, something our children should know before they must make their choice whether or not to become fodder for the military machine.”
—Susan Sarandon, actor
“I just discovered this amazing book. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning the truth about the why the U.S. goes to war so often.”
—Glenn Greenwald, author of No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA and the U.S. Surveillance State
“Addicted to War is an extraordinarily important and powerful little book. Every American should read it.”
—Ron Kovic, Vietnam veteran, author of Born on the Fourth of July
“As a veteran of three wars, World War II through Vietnam, with 33 years of Army service, I find this book to be the most truthful recitation of our government’s policies available anywhere.”
—Col. James Burkholder, US Army, retired
“Addicted to War is a must read for all Americans who are concerned with understanding the true nature of U.S. foreign policy and how it affects us here at home.”
—Martin Sheen, actor
“Addicted to War is a rare gift to the American people. It should be read by every person who cares about the human condition. This book reveals truths that all Americans need to understand if we are ever to experience peace and justice for all the people of the earth.”
—Father Roy Bourgeois founder of School of the Americas Watch
“This book analyzes why men are addicted to fighting and killing—an addiction that could, in this the nuclear age, destroy all life on earth, creating the final epidemic of the human race.”
—Helen Caldicott pediatrician and author of Missile Envy
“Addicted to War graphically exposes the U.S. propensity to make war and should be required reading in every school in the country, including military schools!”
—Ann Wright, retired US Army Reserve Colonel who resigned in 2003 to oppose the Iraq war
“As we’re goose-stepping our way into the new millennium, Addicted to War provides us with an opportunity to see ourselves as others see us.”
—Kris Kristofferson, singer/songwriter
“Political comics at its best. Bitterly amusing, lively, and richly informative. For people of all ages who want to understand the link between U.S. militarism, foreign policy, and corporate greed at home and abroad.”
—Michael Parenti, author of History as Mystery and To Kill a Nation
“Addicted to War makes one point perfectly clear: We can bomb the world to pieces, but we can’t bomb it into peace!”
—Michael Franti, musician
“The enormous criminal impact of U.S. militarism on the people of the world and the U.S. is hard to grasp. This book makes it easier to understand. Now we must act.”
—Ramsey Clark, former US Attorney General
“Addicted to War should be required reading for every student in America. I encourage educators to use it to help students understand the consequences of U.S. militarism for people here and around the world.”
—Rev. J. M. Lawson, colleague of Martin Luther King, Jr. from 1957–68
“Our young people will learn more about the cult of militarism in this short and accurate book by Joel Andreas than they might learn in their first twelve years of schooling.”
—Blase Bonpane, director of Office of the Americas
“Addicted to War is the BEST primer on why the US goes to war and the devastating consequences of our addiction. It should be in high schools, colleges, churches, libraries and community centers. It should be gifted to graduates and passed on to relatives and colleagues. Why? Because there’s no other book about such a profound—and depressing—topic as war that is so much fun to read!”
—Medea Benjamin, cofounder of CODEPINK and author of Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control
“The idiocy of war is apparent. What is amazing is that no matter the tracts, essays and books telling us this through the ages, we resist that truth. Hopefully this political comic by Joel Andreas can pierce the tough hide of man’s mind and heart.”
—Edward Asner, actor
“I’ve come to the conclusion that if we don’t change from a value system based on love of money and power to one based on love of compassion and generosity, we will be extinct this century. We need a brief earthquake to wake up humanity. Addicted to War is such an earthquake.”
—Patch Adams, M.D., founder of Gesundheit Institute, Vietnam War-era conscientious objector
“The U.S. arrogantly plunders resources and cultures to support its American Way of Life. Addicted to War illustrates why the U.S. is necessarily dependent upon war to feed its shameful consumption patterns.”
—S. Brian Willson, Vietnam veteran, anti-war activist, author of Blood on the Tracks
“For those who have created a wall in their mind to resist questioning what the powers-that-be have taught them, this book may be the right battering ram.”
—William Blum, author of Killing Hope and Rogue State
“Lots of people wonder why the U.S. is always going to war one place or another around the world. I tell them to read Addicted to War.”
—Cynthia McKinney, former Congresswoman from Georgia
“This book has educated more people than the past decade’s worth of the New York Times and done so with more humor, erudition and wisdom. This is a book to buy in bulk and give to everyone you know. The tide is starting to turn.”
—David Swanson, author of War Is a Lie
“This is the most important comic book ever written. To be a true patriot (in the American revolutionary sense) is to understand the cruelty of U.S. foreign policy. Read this book and pass it on to as many people as you can.”
—Woody Harrelson, actor
“How can we wean ourselves from our dismal addiction to war? This book is a fine starting point. Reading it will help people get on the road to recovery.”
—Kathy Kelly, founder of Voices in the Wilderness
“War may be the ‘health of the state,’ as Randolph Bourne warned when a pacifist population was being driven to World War I by hysterical propaganda, but it is the curse of the people—the attackers and the victims. With spare and acid clarity, these snapshots of the real world brilliantly tell us why and how we must rid ourselves of this curse, quickly, or else descend into barbarism and destruction.”
—Noam Chomsky, author and Professor Emeritus, MIT
“Read this book!”
—Cindy Sheehan, founding member of Gold Star Families for Peace
“Addicted to War should be assigned reading in U.S. schools because it tells the true history of this nation’s culture of war. Many young students will think twice before considering enlistment in the military. How different things might have been had my son had a chance to read it. However, it’s not too late for many thousands of young Americans.”
—Fernando Suarez del Solar, father of Jesús Suarez del Solar, who died fighting in Iraq