Barnes Against the Blackout: Essays Against Interventionism

by Harry Elmer Barnes

American intellectual giant Harry Elmer Barnes - historian, sociologist, criminologist, journalist, and controversialist without peer — was, for over half a century, our country's leading voice for avoiding unnecessary wars through objective study of their causes. A pioneer in the Revisionist school of history, Barnes evaded the snares by which "conservatives" and "liberals' alike have been lured into fighting one costly war, "conflict" or "police action" after another during this century. A bolt of lightning against the establishment's historical blackout, Barnes had the courage to find and reveal the facts on how our government lied us into two world wars once upon a time when almost all Americans trusted their leaders, and his and was a prescient voice in the wilderness against our involvement in the Korean and Vietnam quagmires. These nine classic essays are Barnes at his best. Informed, passionate, more relevant than ever, they show how the twentieth century's equivalent of the corrupt court historians of despots past erected a glittering facade of lies to hide the hollowness of America's "victories" in the two world wars, then used the false arguments that got us into those wars to inflict a post- 1945 "perpetual war for perpetual peace" warfare state on three generations of Americans who have come of age since. As current as today's headlines, Barnes Against the Blackout is must reading for every American concerned to keep our country strong, free, and at peace.

Genres: American

347 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1991

Reviews

[JW · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this collection of essays, originally published in the 1950s and early 60s, Barnes expresses his frustration with what he terms the “historical blackout”. Unlike in the 1920s and 30s, when revisionist interpretations of the origins of World War I quickly entered the mainstream, the World War II revisionists were harshly criticized and then ignored. After 70 years the situation has, for the most part, remained the same. Only in the last year or two, and mainly online, has there been some lifting of the blackout curtain.

Being an essay collection on one subject, the book is often repetitious. The first and last chapters are taken from PERPETUAL WAR FOR PERPETUAL PEACE, revisionist essays by Charles Tansill, Frederic Sanborn, George Morgenstern and others on the war’s origins that Barnes discusses in BARNES AGAINST THE BLACKOUT. PERPETUAL WAR presents the case, while BLACKOUT gives you the controversy.

This edition of BLACKOUT put out by the Institute for Historical Review has a fair number of typos and one glaring printing error. The text after page 255 jumps to page 260. Then continue reading to page 263, go back to page 256, read to page 259, then skip to page 264.