Synopses & Reviews
In his controversial book, John Perkins tells the gripping tale of the years he spent working for an international consulting firm where his job was to convince underdeveloped countries to accept enormous loans, much bigger than they really needed, for infrastructure development and to make sure that the development projects were contracted to U. S. multinationals. Once these countries were saddled with huge debts, the American government and the international aid agencies allied with it were able, by dictating repayment terms, to essentially control their economies. It was not unlike the way a loan shark operates and Perkins and his colleagues didn't shun this kind of unsavory association. They referred to themselves as "economic hit men."
This is a story of international political intrigue at the highest levels. For over a decade Perkins traveled all over the world Indonesia, Panama, Ecuador, Columbia, Saudi Arabia, Iran and worked with men like Panamanian president Omar Torrijos, who became a personal friend. He helped implement a secret scheme that funneled billions of Saudi petrodollars back into the U. S. economy, and that further cemented the intimate relationship between the Islamic fundamentalist House of Saud and a succession of American administrations. Perkins' story illuminates just how far economic hit men were willing to go, and unveils the real causes of some of the most dramatic developments in recent history, such as the fall of the Shah of Iran and the invasions of Panama and Iraq.
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, which many people urged Perkins not to write, is a blistering attack on a little-known phenomenon that has had dire consequences for both the lesser-developed countries and for American democracy.
Review
"Confessions of an Economic Hit Man is a brave and potent book written by a man whose commitment to the truth transcends any personal concerns about revealing his own previous blindness....This is a stunning and groundbreaking book that is a must-read for anyone who cares about our world." Lynne Twist, global activist and author of The Soul of Money
Review
"John Perkins has written a book that shakes one's confidence in the ethics of the prevailing economic system. We are in troubling times and need to understand realistically the price we are paying for the 'free' market we enjoy. Perkins has written an extraordinary tale." Jim Garrison, author of America As Empire, President of the State of the World Forum
Review
"Confessions of an Economic Hit Man is a unique book, brave because it is personal....This book possesses an immediacy that separates it from the numerous studies we already have of American Empire. It comes from the heart. I highly recommend it." Michael Brownstein, author of World on Fire
Review
"John Perkins was for 10 years a player in a high-stakes game of global empire. Confessions of an Economic Hit Manis his very personal account of the events that forced him to choose between conscience and a glamorous life of power, luxury and beautiful women. It is also an adventure thriller worthy of Graham Green or John Le Carré that connects the dots between corporate globalization, American Empire, and the dynasty of the House of Bush." David C. Korten, Dragonfly Review
Synopsis
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man reveals a game that, according to John Perkins, is "as old as Empire" but has taken on new and terrifying dimensions in an era of globalization. And Perkins should know. For many years he worked for an international consulting firm where his main job was to convince LDCs (less developed countries) around the world to accept multibillion-dollar loans for infrastructure projects and to see to it that most of this money ended up at Halliburton, Bechtel, Brown and Root, and other United States engineering and construction companies. This book, which many people warned Perkins not to write, is a blistering attack on a little-known phenomenon that has had dire consequences on both the victimized countries and the U.S.
Synopsis
Perkins, a former chief economist at a Boston strategic-consulting firm, confesses he was an ""economic hit man"" for 10 years, helping U.S. intelligence agencies and multinationals cajole and blackmail foreign leaders into serving U.S. foreign policy and awarding lucrative contracts to American business.
Synopsis
"Economic hit men,” John Perkins writes, “are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars. Their tools include fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex, and murder.”John Perkins should know—he was an economic hit man. His job was to convince countries that are strategically important to the U.S.—from Indonesia to Panama—to accept enormous loans for infrastructure development, and to make sure that the lucrative projects were contracted to U. S. corporations. Saddled with huge debts, these countries came under the control of the United States government, World Bank and other U.S.-dominated aid agencies that acted like loan sharks—dictating repayment terms and bullying foreign governments into submission.
This New York Times bestseller exposes international intrigue, corruption, and little-known government and corporate activities that have dire consequences for American democracy and the world. It is a compelling story that also offers hope and a vision for realizing the American dream of a just and compassionate world that will bring us greater security.
About the Author
John Perkins currently writes and teaches about achieving peace and prosperity by expanding our personal awareness and transforming our institutions. He founded an alternative energy company that successfully changed the U.S. utility industry. From 1971 to 1981 he worked for the international consulting firm of Chas. T. Main, where he held the titles of Chief Economist and Manager of Economics and Regional Planning but in reality was an economic hit man. He continued to play out his EHM role until the events of 9/11 convinced him to expose this shadowy and secret side of his life.
Table of Contents
PART I: 1963 – 19711. An Economic Hit Man Is Born
2 “In for Life”
3 Indonesia: Lessons for an EHM
4 Saving a Country from Communism
5 Selling My Soul
PART II: 1971 – 1975
6 My Role as Inquisitor
7 Civilization on Trial
8 Jesus, Seen Differently
9 Opportunity of a Lifetime
10 Panama's President and Hero
11. Pirates in the Canal Zone
12 Soldiers and Prostitutes
13 Conversations with the General
14 Entering a New and Sinister Period in
Economic History
15 The Saudi Arabian Money-laundering Affair
16 Pimping, and Financing Osama bin Laden
PART III: 1975 – 1981
17 Panama Canal Negotiations and Graham Greene
18 Iran's King of Kings
19 Confessions of a Tortured Man
20 The Fall of a King
21. Colombia: Keystone of Latin America
22 American Republic versus Global Empire
23 The Deceptive Résumé
24 Ecuador's President Battles Big Oil
25 I Quit
PART IV: 1981 – PRESENT
26 Ecuador's Presidential Death
27 Panama: Another Presidential Death
28 My Energy Company, Enron, and George W. Bush
29 I Take a Bribe
30 The United States Invades Panama
31. An EHM Failure in Iraq
32 September 11 and its Aftermath for Me, Personally
33 Venezuela: Saved by Saddam
34 Ecuador Revisited
35 Piercing the Veneer