This is a book by an anti-war decorated war hero.

War Is a Racket
Speech and short book by Smedley D. Butler

War Is a Racket is a speech and a 1935 short book by Smedley D. Butler, a retired United States Marine Corps major general and two-time Medal of Honor recipient. Based on his career military experience, Butler discusses how business interests commercially benefit from warfare. He had been appointed commanding officer of the Gendarmerie during the 1915–1934 United States occupation of Haiti. After Butler retired from the US Marine Corps in October 1931, he made a nationwide tour in the early 1930s giving his speech "War Is a Racket". Wikipedia

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Richard Overy“ “Why War”and Chris Blattman’s “WhyWe Fight”and Stephen Van Evera‘s “Causesof War” would be a good start.

My opinion is that the root cause of every war is economic.Even those that overtly appear to be religious such as the Crusades. I think that the big issue was the tolls and tributes that had to be paid crossing Islamic lands making the price of black pepper for instance cost ounce for ounce the same as gold.

The purported Northern Ireland troubleswas more that the Protestants owned everything of value from land to manufacturing leaving the native Irish bearly able to scrape a living. The Japanese were cut off by an embargo of oil in August 1, 1941, causing the Japanese to attempt a preemptive strike to disable the US Pacific Fleet.

Yes, this is a simplified understanding of the causes of wars, but the root, the radical is at it’s purest, simple.

But you can bet somebody thinks their ideas are better than all the rest.

That being said, there are just wars, and unjust ones.

Laurence Lafore

Read the following books:

The Long Fuse, Lafore

Two books by Frederick Morton:

A Nervous Splendor: Vienna 1888 - 1889
Thunder at Twilight 1913 - 1914

And two books by Barbara Tuchman:

The Guns of August
The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World 1890 - 1914

It's a detailed analysis of history since the 15th century. It is more about different generational types, how they affect and are affected by history, including wars. I find it gives me insight into what's going on now. I wish everyone would read it.