Hell No, We Won't Go

Opposition to war is as old as war itself but, writes Gottlieb, a Southern California bookseller, who collected these oral histories, resistance to the draft during the Vietnam War was also fueled by 1960s moral and political consciousness and the failure of government to make credible the Communist menace. While many draft evaders sought refuge abroad or went to prison, 172,000 draftees, citing pacifists and religious convictions, served periods of alternative service. Draft dodgers also employed a variety of ingenious scams, from flunking or falsifying physical and mental tests and records (often in connivance with physicians) to feigning drug addiction or homosexuality, or by prolonging their academic studies. Draft evaders of that era might find the book nostalgic, but other readers will wonder at its point, especially since few of the contributors have interesting observations to make. (July)