Introduction: ''Arguably the Single Most Powerful Antiwar Act in
American History"
Chapter 1: "I Want You to Meet This Priest"
Chapter 2: "What About Destroying a Death Certificate?"
Chapter 3: "In Jail For the Right Reason"
Chapter 4: "A Great Human Act Done by Sincere Men"
Chapter 5: "Guatemala Smells Like South Vietnam Did a Few Years
Ago"
Chapter 6: "Did You Hear What We Are Planning?"
Shawn Francis Peters teaches in the Integrated Liberal Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the author of When Prayer Fails, Judging Jehovah's Witnesses, and The Yoder Case.
"In 1967, the respected Vietnam historian Bernard Fall warned that
Vietnam 'is threatened with extinction [under] the blows of the
largest military machine ever unleashed on an area of this size.'
This remarkable study brings to life the courageous activists who
sought to prevent this horrifying outcome with a principled act of
civil disobedience, exploring the complex circumstances and
consequences with rare sensitivity and insight." --Noam Chomsky
"Peters offers a rich and engrossing study of nine passionate
activists who displayed their disgust with the war in Vietnam by
destroying draft registration files in the Baltimore area. The book
vividly depicts the lives of these men and women; who they were,
what they did, why they did it, and the notable trial that followed
their arrest. The Catonsville Nine is a valuable contribution to
social and legal history; and an absorbing study, too, of the
psychology, politics, and theology of protest and non-violence."
--Lawrence Friedman, Marion Rice Kirkwood Professor of Law,
Stanford Law School
"The definitive account of 'arguably the single most powerful
antiwar act in American history.' Well researched and well told, it
reads like a thriller, with all the pain, drama, and power of the
1960s anti-war movement--but it's far more important than any
thriller. Peters deftly takes us through the epic tale and trial of
ordinary activists determined to do what they could to help end the
U.S. war in Viet Nam, how they broke new ground in symbolic
nonviolent
civil disobedience, and sparked a movement that indeed helped end
the war. Like Taylor Branch's Parting the Waters, The Catonsville
Nine makes movement history come alive and pushes us to carry
on
their mission for the abolition of war once and for all." -- John
Dear, activist and author of Living Peace, Jesus the Rebel
"Combining a novel's readability with in-depth historical research,
Peters recounts the genesis of the Catonsville Nine and the
protest." --Publishers Weekly
"[A] mammoth historical account . . . The Catonsville Nine tells in
detail the story of the nine activists, why they acted, what
happened to them and the impact of their witness against the
Vietnam War. Meticulously researched, it reads like a thriller with
a compelling message about the power of ordinary people to make a
difference in changing the world . . . Peters' superb account will
touch and inspire everyone who cares about peace. It lifts up
nine people and their colleagues who gave all they could to end a
horrendous war. Their Christian witness exemplifies the nonviolent
resistance of Jesus who engaged in civil disobedience in the
Jerusalem temple
and was arrested, imprisoned and executed. May their story live on,
and the witness for peace continue." --National Catholic
Reporter
"[A] a comprehensive account of this high-profile event in the
antiwar protest movement of the 1960s and '70s, along with an
examination of its aftermath and legacy. This readable history,
based on eyewitness accounts, archival documents, and previously
unreleased FBI files, recounts how the protesters came together,
follows them through the storming of the government offices,
chronicles their dramatic trial, describes the flight underground
by the Berrigans
and some other members of the group after the guilty verdict, and
the group's time in jail." --Boston Globe
"Peters has contributed a thorough account of each individual and
the events before and after their their ritual napalming of draft
records. It is required reading in the growing literature about
American religious responses to the Vietnam War." --The Journal of
American History
"Peters offers up a compelling hybrid, a masterful work of history
and group biography . . . The Catonsville Nine helps us understand
and re-evaluate the social justice movements of our recent past. It
expands the traditional view of this important anti-war action,
favoring heroic acts and ideas over heroes. Considering the current
levels of polarization and political helplessness-a decade of
endless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, new civil rights
issues like racial profiling and marriage equality, and politicians
who seem to have no real solutions-this book couldn't come at a
better time." --Baltimore City Paper
"Peters has produced an original, balanced study in which the Nine
are depicted neither as heroes nor charlatans . . . Objective,
well-written and highly interesting from a variety of angles, The
Catonsville Nine stands out for two very definite reasons: it
provides the most detailed and sustained account of the five-day
trial itself (October 7-11, 1968) that we possess, with all its
rituals, theater, and standing ovations, and it tells us what we
have
always wanted to know about the forgotten Catonsville Seven who
have never received their due: Tom Lewis, John Hogan, Tom and
Marjorie Melville, George Mische, Mary Moylan, and Brother David
Darst." --HNN.com
"A well-researched tale...Peters' compelling narrative renders the
Catonsville Nine not as saints nor as villains, but as human beings
who could no longer be silent in the face of injustice and war.
They risked everything and, by doing so, gained much more than they
ever could have lost. It is a story older than Antigone but, when
told as masterfully as Peters does here, it is a story that never
grows old. Nor should it." --Counterpunch.org
"Peters shows himself to be a thorough, detail-oriented and
entertaining author and historian . . . But it is not Peters'
straightforward retelling of the events and characters in the story
that make this particular book stand out. It is his painstaking
attention to detail that keep the reader engaged. It is his
research and writing that make 'The Catonsville Nine' seem like a
firsthand account of the planning, execution, trial and aftermath
of that fateful
protest . . . For the American church history and politics
enthusiast, Peters offers a solid account of this interesting story
of the Vietnam era. But with his ability to entertain with details
and
anecdotes, Peters also grabs the attention of those only vaguely
familiar with and interested in anti-war protests of the late
1960s. It is a book that can be enjoyed by anyone interested in
American history." --Catholic News Service
"[An] assiduously researched history . . . Peters records with a
historian's rigor and the compassionate curiosity of an
investigative journalist. Yet even in this prosaic telling, the
Catonsville draft-file burnings stand out as a poetically holy and
politically relevant act. He covers the drama in the courtroom, the
daily street demonstrations-pro and con-and the nighttime
gatherings at St. Ignatius Church, where heavy-hitters of the peace
movement like
Dorothy Day and William Sloan Coffin praise the Nine for their
'desperate offer for peace and freedom.' Many Baltimoreans are less
generous. 'I think they ought to lock 'em in the can and throw away
the
key,' says a popular disc jockey. Amid such a vivid reconstruction
of events, the reader feels the chaos and hope of that period."
--America Magazine
"Peters has written a complex, gripping account of what led up to
the event, the raid itself, and its aftermath. One by one the
participants are brought to life-an artist, a nurse, three former
missionaries, an Army vet who had become a peace movement
organizer, a teacher who belonged to a Catholic religious order,
plus the Berrigans. It wasn't just the Catonsville Two. The book
becomes much more than the story of the Berrigans and includes much
more than
Vietnam. Finally, the impact of the Catonsville action is
evaluated. Not only were vital records destroyed, but many were
inspired to refuse participation in the war . . . I knew all of the
nine and so come
to the book with more than a bystander's curiosity. The narrative
renews my compassion for who we were and why we put so much on the
line, in my case a year in prison for helping burn draft records in
Milwaukee. Even for an insider, the book has its surprises."
--Sojourners
"In addition to being an excellent work of history, The Catonsville
Nine is a thought-provoking book that forces one to contemplate
just how far an individual should go to fight for his or her vision
of justice. It is written in a clear and well-thought-out manner,
and the author's passion for the topic is evident. The reader gets
the sense that Peters is digesting the facts he is presenting along
with the reader. This subtle narration gives the book
an inviting feel and allows it to avoid the drabness that too often
plagues works of history."
--VVA Veteran
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