How does a young person who volunteers to serve in the U.S. military become a war-resister who risks ostracism, humiliation, and prison rather than fight? Although it is not well publicized, the long tradition of refusing to fight in unjust wars continues today within the American military.

In this book, resisters describe in their own words the process they went through, from raw recruits to brave refusers. They speak about the brutality and appalling violence of war. They describe how their ideas about the justification for the current wars changed and how they came to oppose the policies and practices of the U.S. empire, and even war itself. The stories in this book provide an intimate, honest look at the personal transformation of each of these young people and at the same time constitute a powerful argument against militarization and endless war.

Also featured are exclusive interviews with Noam Chomsky and Daniel Ellsberg. Chomsky looks at the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the potential of GI resistance to play a role in bringing the troops home. Ellsberg relates his own act of resistance in leaking the Pentagon Papers in 1971 to the current WikiLeaks revelations of U.S. military secrets.

Buff Whitman-Bradley, a long-time peace and social justice activist, has been working with Courage to Resist since 2003. He has been a member of the CtR organizing collective, and was the originator and producer of the Courage to Resist Audio Project. He is also a member of ¡Presente! a non-violent direct action affinity group actively opposing war and empire.

Cynthia Whitman-Bradley has been a member of Courage to Resist since 2003 and served on the organizing collective from 2003 to 2009. As one of the members of the affinity group, ¡Presente!, she has participated in many direct actions to stop the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Michael Thurman is a Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) era Air Force veteran. Michael's military experience, specifically working with surveillance aircraft, led him to oppose our nation's wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. With the help of Courage to Resist, Michael received an honorable discharge as a conscientious objector. Today he is a Courage to Resist staff organizer working in support of accused WikiLeaks whistle-blower Bradley Manning.