All American Boys: Draft Dodgers in Canada from the Vietnam War (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780275972684)

This unique study argues that the draft dodgers who went to Canada during the Vietnam War were not always the anti-war radicals portrayed in popular culture. Many were the products of stable, conservative, middle class homes who were more interested in furthering their education and careers than in fighting in Southeast Asia. The conflict in Vietnam was just one cause among many for their deep sense of disaffection from the land of their birth. These expatriates remained quintessentially American, because evading the draft was in their opinion consistant with the very best American traditions of individualism and resistance to undue authority or state servitude.

Although the war was not the only or even the primary reason for their immigration to Canada, it was the final action in response to an increasing sense of alientation from America that many had felt since childhood. Kusch's work also raises questions about what it means to be an American. Intriguingly, it suggests the actions of these expatriates should be seen not merely as a drastic response to the Vietnam war, but as a commitment to the core ideals of American and European thought since the Enlightenment.

Author: Frank Kusch
ISBN-10: 0275972682
ISBN-13: 9780275972684
Publisher: Praeger
Language: English
Published: 08/30/2001
Pages: 192
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.92lbs
Size: 9.52h x 6.06w x 0.69d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 04/01/2002 pg. 1483
Reference and Research Bk News 02/01/2002 pg. 233