Desertion and the American Soldier: 1776 – 2006 is a history and analysis of military desertion from the Revolutionary War to the Iraqi Occupation. The book describes the official policies on desertion that were in force during each conflict, and details the motivations for desertions. Comprehensive data and interviews with deserters are included.
Most of the causes of desertion are inherent in the military itself, and this is carefully detailed in this book.
“The government has [traditionally] defined military desertion as an act of treason and cowardice. Fantina, himself a peace activist, surveys this topic in concise detail from the American Revolution to the current war in Iraq. Drawing on extensive research, he weighs the political, social, and economic conditions of each conflict, as well as its daily horrors as described by common soldiers (in published sources). Fantina concludes that government policies against deserters exist merely to control soldiers and shape public opinion. He has taken a complicated subject and presented it in a readable format, albeit demonstrating an acknowledged bias against the government’s handling of Vietnam and Iraq. After the 2004 election, the author moved to Canada, where he now resides.” -David Alperstein, Queens Borough P.L., Jamaica, NY for CHOICE MAGAZINE, 2006.
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