War—What For?

Kirkpatrick, George R. (George Ross), 1867-1937Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 723K words
Chapters: 73

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.War—What For? by George R. KirkpatrickAuthor: Kirkpatrick, George R. (George Ross), 1867-1937,Language: English, Class: JX: Political science: International law, Release Date: Nov 10, 2018

Editor's review

This is a political tract that examines the roots of war from a pacifist and international-law perspective. George R. Kirkpatrick writes with a sharp pen, asking on whose behalf wars are actually fought and directing his critique at profit-driven motives and institutional causes. The argument is direct and the language forceful, making the book a useful primer for understanding early twentieth-century American anti-war thought and international-law debate. As a public-domain e-book, its chief value lies in showing how intellectuals of that era posed moral questions about war and reasoned them through, rather than offering a comprehensive survey of modern war studies. Readers can work through it in sections on a commute or in the evening, testing each chapter's argument against today's news of international conflict to form their own judgment. Note that the views carry a distinct period flavor and a polemical edge; read it as intellectual-history material, not as neutral historical conclusion.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers interested in war and peace who want to encounter early anti-war writing
Students of international law or the history of political thought who need primary polemical material
Readers who enjoy argumentative writing and are willing to question the author's stance as they read
Learners who need a public-domain English text for reading or translation practice

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a systematic history of war or military-technical detail
Researchers seeking analysis of contemporary international security policy
Readers who dislike a polemical tone and prefer neutral narration

Reading tips

Start with the table of contents and preface to grasp the author's central question, then proceed chapter by chapter so a single passage does not throw you off course.
After each chapter, write two or three sentences on the author's main argument and where you agree or object; this trains critical reading.
Set the book's arguments against war issues in today's news, distinguishing period context from questions that remain universal.
If English reading is difficult, first get the gist of a paragraph, then look up key political and legal terms; there is no need to wrestle with every word.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a novel or a political tract?

It is a work of political argument, debating the purposes and roots of war rather than telling a fictional story. Read it for the author's reasoning and values, not for plot.

Can I read it without a background in international law?

Yes. The author writes for general readers and builds his case on familiar concepts. When international-law terms appear, context is enough; you need not study the field systematically first.

Do the book's views still apply today?

Its questioning of profit-driven war remains suggestive, but the specific arguments are rooted in the early twentieth century. Read it as intellectual history alongside contemporary scholarship rather than applying its conclusions directly.

Why read the original English?

The book is a public-domain English e-book, and the original preserves the author's polemical tone and precise wording, which matters for understanding argumentative writing. Readers with modest English can use a dictionary and read in sections.

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About the author

Kirkpatrick, George R. (George Ross), 1867-1937 Author

George R. Kirkpatrick (1867–1937) was an American writer often referred to in Chinese materials as “Kirkpatrick.” His birth and death years are clear, but public information about him is limited, and his early life, education, and professional background are difficult to verify; only one of his works is held in the collection. He is known to later readers for his book War—What For?, which examines the causes and costs of war and carries a strong tone of social criticism. Written in direct, argumentative prose, it questions the meaning of war from the standpoint of ordinary people. Produced in the context of early twentieth-century anti-war and socialist currents, the book has had some influence among readers interested in those traditions and is often regarded as an accessible text for understanding the pacifist and left-wing thought of its time. His other writings and activities remain to be further investigated.