Captain Jinks, Hero

Written as a biting response to America’s wars in Cuba and the Philippines, this satire follows Sam Jinks from a childhood spent drilling toy soldiers to a military career built on obedience and slaughter. Crosby, a disciple of Tolstoy, mocks the machinery that turns an ordinary boy into a decorated killer, skewering the jingoism and hero worship of the imperial age. The comedy is broad and the target unmistakable, a sustained attack on militarism dressed as the life story of a simpleton in uniform. The book has since been read as a forerunner of later antiwar fiction. Offered here free as a PDF and EPUB edition.