A fast-paced narrative history of the coups, revolutions, and invasions by which the United States has toppled fourteen foreign governments — not always to its own benefit.

"Regime change" did not begin with the administration of George W. Bush, but has been an integral part of U.S. foreign policy for more than one hundred years. Starting with the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893 and continuing through the Spanish-American War and the Cold War and into our own time, the United States has not hesitated to overthrow governments that stood in the way of its political and economic goals. The invasion of Iraq in 2003 is the latest, though perhaps not the last, example of the dangers inherent in these operations.

In Overthrow, Stephen Kinzer tells the stories of the audacious politicians, spies, military commanders, and business executives who took it upon themselves to depose monarchs, presidents, and prime ministers. He also shows that the U.S. government has often pursued these operations without understanding the countries involved; as a result, many of them have had disastrous long-term consequences.

In a compelling and provocative history that takes readers to fourteen countries, including Cuba, Iran, South Vietnam, Chile, and Iraq, Kinzer surveys modern American history from a new and often surprising perspective.

"Kinzer has written a detailed, passionate and convincing book....Most important, it helps explain why, outside of Eastern Europe, American pronouncements about spreading democracy and freedom, as repeatedly employed by the Bush administration, are met with widespread incredulity." New York Times

"To be shocked and awed by history is not a common reading experience. One usually reserves such reactions for edgy fiction, juicy memoirs or newsy exposes....Overthrow is as gripping as any of these." San Francisco Chronicle

"The lightning-swift invasion of Iraq and the subsequent slog through a bloody insurrection...haunts this book as yet another lesson unlearned about how much like our former colonial masters we have become." San Antonio Express-News

"I have a sad suspicion that, with Iraq's seemingly endless toll, Overthrow will likewise become required reading." Washington Post

"Citizens concerned about foreign affairs must read this book....We deposed fourteen foreign governments in hardly more than a century, some for good reasons, more for bad reasons, with most dubious long-term consequences." Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.

"Bush has had plenty of company in the past century — presidents who believe that America, as Kinzer tells us, has the right to wage war wherever it deems war necessary." Seymour M. Hersh

"Stephen Kinzer's book is a jewel....It is a tale of imperialism American-style, usually in the service of corporate interests." Chalmers Johnson

"If Overthrow sounds like an anti-American rant, it isn't. Kinzer's sources are well footnoted. He makes a thoughtful effort to present all sides." Cleveland Plain Dealer

"...Overthrow is a timely and important book whose arguments deserve extensive debate....[E]ffectively challenges our historical amnesia...in ways that can only enrich our national political discourse." Chicago Tribune

A fast-paced narrative history of the coups, revolutions, and invasions by which the United States has toppled fourteen foreign governments?not always to its own benefit.

"Regime change" did not begin with the administration of George W. Bush, but has been an integral part of U.S. foreign policy for more than one hundred years. Starting with the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893 and continuing through the Spanish-American War and the Cold War and into our own time, the United States has not hesitated to overthrow governments that stood in the way of its political and economic goals. The invasion of Iraq in 2003 is the latest, though perhaps not the last, example of the dangers inherent in these operations.

In Overthrow, Stephen Kinzer tells the stories of the audacious politicians, spies, military commanders, and business executives who took it upon themselves to depose monarchs, presidents, and prime ministers. He also shows that the U.S. government has often pursued these operations without understanding the countries involved; as a result, many of them have had disastrous long-term consequences. In a compelling and provocative history that takes readers to fourteen countries, including Cuba, Iran, South Vietnam, Chile, and Iraq, Kinzer surveys modern American history from a new and often surprising perspective.

Stephen Kinzer is an award-winning foreign correspondent for the New York Times who has reported from more than fifty countries on four continents. He has served as the paper's bureau chief in Turkey, Germany, and Nicaragua. His previous books include All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror; Crescent and Star: Turkey Between Two Worlds; and Blood of Brothers: Life and War in Nicaragua. He is also the co-author of Bitter Fruit: The Untold Story of the American Coup in Guatemala. He lives in Chicago.