War Is not a Game

NAN LEVINSON is a writer and journalist, focusing on civil and human rights, culture, and technology.  She wrote about First Amendment issues in her last book, Outspoken: Free Speech Stories, and as the U.S. correspondent for Index on Censorship. She currently teaches journalism and fiction writing at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.

• AcknowledgmentsPrologue: War Is Not a GameAuthor’s Note1          Maimed for Bullshit (with Gallantry on the Side)2          Boots on the Ground3          Exit a Free Man4          Home Fires Burning5          What Noble Cause6          One Paragraph In7          We’ll Bring ’Em On8          Art Heart Dream Peace9          Disgruntled10        Mad Bad Sad11        Winter Soldiers’ StoriesNotesBibliographyIndex

"What a superb book! Well, I’ll call it a masterpiece. Nan Levinson has done us all a service by writing this excellent book." (Veterans for Peace) "Despite a long history of veterans, soldiers and military families opposing war, the public perception is that those who fight in wars keep believing in them and war-making in general. Nan Levinson helps dispel that false assumption with her sympathetic and perceptive analysis of the formation and first few years of Iraq Veterans Against the War." (Waging Nonviolence) "Those affected by war and in a moral game of throes are the subjects of this rare, compassionate and informative narrative about people who 'never came close to stopping the army from doing what it wanted' in the last decade but 'caused people in the army to stop and reconsider.'" (Military Times) "A valuable contribution to the growing literature on antiwar opposition within the Iraq-era military … Levinson's study confirms that even within an all-volunteer force, antiwar dissent is possible." (Peace & Change) "Levinson well documents how the IVAW has succeeded, notwithstanding internal tensions, chronic lack of funding, hostility from conservative sectors of the American population, and persistent obstacles thrown up by the military." (Common Knowledge) "This is the powerful-and hitherto buried-story of the professional soldiers who made a movement that still shakes the very foundations of America’s unending wars." - H. Bruce Franklin (author of Vietnam and Other American Fantasies) “Nan Levinson has brought to life an important piece of recent history, both tragic and inspiring, told the story beautifully, and found some genuine American heroes.” - Adam Hochschild (author of To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918) "What does 'support our troops' really mean? It means listening to them when they have unpleasant truths to tell about America's wars. Levinson truly listens; so should we all." - William J. Astore, Lt Col, USAF, Ret. (author of Hindenburg: Icon of German Militarism) "War Is Not a Game dramatically underscores the folly of war, serving as a reminder of the physical and emotional costs of war to those directly involved on the 'killing fields' and their families.” - Ann Wright, US Army Reserve Colonel (US diplomat who resigned in 2003 in opposition to the Iraq War) "Trump’s Interference in the Military ‘Hits a New Level of Dangerousness’" by Nan Levinsonhttps://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/25/opinion/letters/trump-navy-seals.html (New York Times) "What a superb book! Well, I’ll call it a masterpiece. Nan Levinson has done us all a service by writing this excellent book." (Veterans for Peace) "Despite a long history of veterans, soldiers and military families opposing war, the public perception is that those who fight in wars keep believing in them and war-making in general. Nan Levinson helps dispel that false assumption with her sympathetic and perceptive analysis of the formation and first few years of Iraq Veterans Against the War." (Waging Nonviolence) "Those affected by war and in a moral game of throes are the subjects of this rare, compassionate and informative narrative about people who 'never came close to stopping the army from doing what it wanted' in the last decade but 'caused people in the army to stop and reconsider.'" (Military Times) "A valuable contribution to the growing literature on antiwar opposition within the Iraq-era military … Levinson's study confirms that even within an all-volunteer force, antiwar dissent is possible." (Peace & Change) "Levinson well documents how the IVAW has succeeded, notwithstanding internal tensions, chronic lack of funding, hostility from conservative sectors of the American population, and persistent obstacles thrown up by the military." (Common Knowledge) "This is the powerful-and hitherto buried-story of the professional soldiers who made a movement that still shakes the very foundations of America’s unending wars." - H. Bruce Franklin (author of Vietnam and Other American Fantasies) “Nan Levinson has brought to life an important piece of recent history, both tragic and inspiring, told the story beautifully, and found some genuine American heroes.” - Adam Hochschild (author of To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918) "What does 'support our troops' really mean? It means listening to them when they have unpleasant truths to tell about America's wars. Levinson truly listens; so should we all." - William J. Astore, Lt Col, USAF, Ret. (author of Hindenburg: Icon of German Militarism) "War Is Not a Game dramatically underscores the folly of war, serving as a reminder of the physical and emotional costs of war to those directly involved on the 'killing fields' and their families.” - Ann Wright, US Army Reserve Colonel (US diplomat who resigned in 2003 in opposition to the Iraq War) "Trump’s Interference in the Military ‘Hits a New Level of Dangerousness’" by Nan Levinsonhttps://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/25/opinion/letters/trump-navy-seals.html (New York Times)