The War Prayer by Mark Twain Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The War Prayer
Book Review: Should be required reading for politicians
Summary: 5 Stars
This short book should be required reading for all politicians. While there may be valid reasons for starting a war, the unintended consequences are not always considered, including the impact on families and the innocent. We should all temper our patriotism with a little dose of reality.Book Review: The War Prayer was an extreme eye-opener.
Summary: 5 Stars
Mark Twain made his essay great by putting it in the form of a prayer. It was very eye-opening and meaningful. It is a book that should be offered to everyone.Book Review: Thought provoking
Summary: 5 Stars
When reading this, and seeing the pictures that illustrate this work, I could almost hear what is happening, and what he was trying to say, which is to be careful what you pray for, sometimes when you wish good for yourself, you wish for harm for others, even if you do not intend to do so. This is a story that I think should be read more, and I happen to like the drawings and production value, unlike a couple of reviewers who did not think it appropriate, I thought they made it more relevantBook Review: Unforgettable
Summary: 5 Stars
"The War Prayer" is one of Mark Twain's most powerful works, which truly says much. Indeed, it is one of the most powerful written by anyone, especially considering that it is but a few pages. This is Twain at the height of his ever-admirable economy and a superb example of his dark, political later works. Much has been written of war and its horrors, but they have perhaps never been shown so truly and thus horrifically. Whatever we think of war, it is important to see it from each angle, and Twain helps us do that, shedding much-needed light of oft-neglected areas. He was no pacifist but had a healthily skeptical attitude toward war, as anyone should after reading this affecting masterpiece. It also takes on religious hypocrisy, blind patriotism, and other failings; that it manages to pack so much into so few words is truly incredible. This is one of Twain's best and most important works and deserves to be as famous as his best-known pieces. It is essential for anyone interested in Twain or war. Though available in collections - such as Library of America's Tales, Sketches, Speeches, and Essays 1891-1910 -, it is well worth buying in itself. This edition has numerous illustrations accentuating the text, which may or may not be to one's taste, but the important thing is to read the work in some form.Book Review: Victory and Loss
Summary: 5 Stars
No other book has ever hit me this hard with its message in so few pages like Twain's The War Prayer. In our troubled world today, this book should be read by everyone. The book portrays the unspoken side of a war prayer, the consequences of victory and conquest. This dark tale of Twain is bound well into a small book that is accompanied by illustrations. The drawings here (just look at the cover page) are eloquent as they are haunting and accompany the grimness of Twain's piece absolutely beautifully. A buy you will never forget. After you read it, buy a few more copies, and give this to family and friends. To ignore such a book with a powerful message, bound in a beautiful edition with illustrations as melancholy as the story itself, would be a sin.