The Music
Dylan, Baez, and the anthems of a movement — the soundtrack to a country arguing with itself.
A Memoir · Revised Edition
Matter of Conscience
Revisiting the 60's & 70's — the music, the politics, the protests, the Vietnam War… and prison.
It's hard to imagine that the true story of a Vietnam War dissenter — a man who chose to be imprisoned rather than fight a war he saw as senseless — could be such an enjoyable read. And yet it is. Baby boomers and anyone drawn to the 1960s and early '70s will find in these pages a vivid, deeply human portrait of a generation.
The Story
One decision. Two years behind bars. A lifetime of conviction.
Bruce Neckels voiced his objection to the Vietnam War — not for any religious reason, but simply because he refused to kill people he had no quarrel with, for a cause he could not support. For that act of conscience, he spent two years in a federal prison.
Matter of Conscience is the record of those heady days: the late 1960s and early 1970s, a time of profound social change that played out against a soundtrack of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. It chronicles the life that led to that cell — the years at San Francisco State College, the protest movements that swept the country, a young actor's ambitions, the study of Vietnam's own history, and the reading of Dalton Trumbo's Johnny Got His Gun — all of which shaped one man's refusal to fight.
Author Bruce Neckels gives us a picturesque account, poignantly portrayed with just the right mix of fact, emotion, and humor.
The Turning Point
"Refused to submit to induction."
Six typed words on a government form turned a young man's principles into a federal case: United States of America v. Bruce Howard Neckels. He could have run. He could have recanted. Instead, he stood by his conscience and accepted the consequences.
This is the document at the heart of the book — and the moment that separates a belief held quietly from a belief lived out loud.
Inside the Pages
The themes that carry the story
The Protests
From campus to capital, a generation took to the streets — and Bruce was among them.
The Prison
Two years behind federal walls — and the unexpected rewards that followed a hard choice.
The Conscience
Above all, the question that still echoes: what would you refuse to do?
A Portrait of the Era
More than a memoir — a window into America
This is a book for the baby boomers who lived it and the readers who wonder what it felt like. The marches, the music, the arguments at the dinner table, the draft cards and the headlines — Bruce captures the texture of a decade that changed the country.
Among the pages: the influence of Dalton Trumbo's Johnny Got His Gun, a study of Vietnam's long history, and the slow, deliberate forming of a conviction strong enough to go to prison for.
Praise
5.0 stars across 575 ratings
Readers, veterans, and baby boomers agree — and every single review is five stars.
★★★★★
I really enjoyed this book, not just because it's a very personal story, but also because it was a great history lesson… The writing style is engaging; I finished the book in little over a day.
Beaucat California“Informative” · Verified Purchase
★★★★★
The author's writing style keeps the reader entertained while telling his story. This book is a good read and I highly recommend it.
RHS“Hell no, I won't go” · Verified Purchase
★★★★★
I very much appreciated the directness and honesty shown by the author… He paints a vivid picture of what life was like in those divided and contentious times.
Sonja Paulsen“Thoroughly engrossing” · Verified Purchase
Available in Paperback & Kindle
Bring home Matter of Conscience.
A revised edition of one of the most personal accounts of the Vietnam era you'll ever read.