Review: An imperialist repents in ‘Gangsters of Capitalism’

By FRANK BAJAK
Associated Press

Jonathan M. Katz’s lively, deeply researched “Gangsters of Capitalism” tracks the blood-soaked transformation of Smedley Butler, a Quaker from Philadelphia’s Main Line suburbs and congressman’s son, from his role as spearhead of U.S. imperialism beginning in 1898 as a swashbuckling Marine officer to repentant antiwar activist. The author, a former Associated Press foreign correspondent, combines scholarship and travelogue in a fascinating portrait of a little-known historical figure. The book also helps readers fathom how, a century after Butler’s ignominious exploits, a defeated U.S. president could rally a violent mob to storm the U.S. Capitol in a bid to thwart what had long been considered one of the world’s most stable democracies.