Erik Graff's Reviews > The War Prayer

Part of my ideological-philosophical formation was accomplished in association with and under the influence of friends, some under that of publications and organizations. In high school, for instance, I belonged to the Students for a Democratic Society and The War Resisters' League, association with the latter continuing through college and beyond.
I believe I purchased Twain's The War Prayer from an WRL literature offering either in high school (this edition first came out in '68) or during the beginning of college. Among Twain's many political publications this may be the most widely circulated, in part because it has a relevance beyond the imperialist adventure (the invasion and subjugation of the Philippines) which occasioned it.
Twain had been vice-president of the American Anti-Imperialist League from 1901 until his death. For a summary of his political views see Helen Scott's "The Mark Twain they didn't teach us about in school". International Socialist Review 10 (Winter 2000), pp. 61–65