Oakland, CA— Addressed to America’s current national security elite, a new satirical book lambastes those who manage to control the public narrative, quash dissent, secure lavish funds, and lead America to incur the breathtakingly high cost of war—in treasure and blood. Readers will get a look behind the curtain of America’s war-making factory and realize that bureaucrats who profit from war are not all-powerful patrons of peace.

How to Run Wars: A Confidential Playbook for the National Security Elite by Independent Institute Senior Fellows Christopher J. Coyne and Abigail R. Hall, reveals the long history of public deception and censorship—activities that are fundamentally at odds with a free society.

“Utilizing satire is not covering up the horrors of war. It shows the folly and waste that wars have cost in lives, treasure, freedom and liberty,” said Abigail R. Hall.

“The truth is often lost in our discourse about the impact of war. Citizens need to realize the absurdity of spending so much of our fortune and future in foreign entanglements,” added Christopher J. Coyne.

The United States accounts for only about 15 percent of global GDP but nearly 40 percent of the world’s military spending—higher than the next nine nations combined. If Americans knew the real cost of military foreign adventures, both monetary and nonmonetary, most would never agree to pay, say the authors. Those who read this book will hopefully never look at war the same way again.

Drawing inspiration from the 1936 classic How to Run a War, by Bruce W. Knight, this book is a must-read for anyone who would know the truth about America’s endless wars. Sanitizing war through media manipulation that minimizes the brutality and dehumanization seen by the public has a long history in America. Violence, torture, and death—for Americans and foreigners alike—are the necessary costs of this arrangement.

Merciless in its penetrating analysis, How to Run Wars: A Confidential Playbook for the National Security Elite is the preeminent satirical portrait of America’s contemporary military-industrial complex.

Author Biographies:
Christopher J. Coyne is a Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute and Co-Editor of The Independent Review, and Professor of Economics and Director of Graduate Programs for the Department of Economics at George Mason University. He received his Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University.

Abigail R. Hall is a Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute and Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Tampa. She received her Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University.

For more information, contact Robert Ade, [email protected], or (510) 635-3690.

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