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Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Having made a splash with Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, Perkins offers similarly entertaining but disturbing accounts of the American government wreaking havoc around the world in support of American business. In Perkins's view, American presidents willingly comply with their CEO masters, distributing foreign aid to corrupt Third World leaders who keep a share and return the rest to U.S. business for major projects, leaving their nations poor and massively in debt, and requiring more loans and slavish obedience to U.S. policy. If any leader objects, the CIA destabilizes his government, by assassination if necessary. Gathering evidence is not Perkins's strong suit. Typically, a shadowy figure pulls him aside, insists on anonymity, then reveals all. Critics will rightfully accuse Perkins of dreadful journalism and a taste for conspiracy theories. Yet economists admit that loans and "expert advice" to poor nations are often harmful. Few deny that America has ruthlessly undermined uncooperative governments and supported dictators including Saddam Hussein. Perkins's assertions that the U.S. assassinated Ecuador's reformist president and connived at genocide in Timor and Sudan are not absurd, merely unproven. This book's greatest value may be to encourage a competent journalist to cover the same ground. (June 5)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Book Description
A riveting exposé of international corruption-and what we can do about it, from the author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, which spent over a year on the New York Times bestseller list.
In his stunning memoir, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, John Perkins detailed his former role as an "economic hit man" in the international corporate skullduggery of a de facto American Empire. This riveting, behind-the-scenes exposé unfolded like a cinematic blockbuster told through the eyes of a man who once helped shape that empire. Now, in The Secret History of the American Empire, Perkins zeroes in on hot spots around the world and, drawing on interviews with other hit men, jackals, reporters, and activists, examines the current geopolitical crisis. Instability is the norm: It's clear that the world we've created is dangerous and no longer sustainable. How did we get here? Who's responsible? What good have we done and at what cost? And what can we do to change things for the next generations? Addressing these questions and more, Perkins reveals the secret history behind the events that have created the American Empire, including:
- The current Latin-American revolution and its lessons for democracy
- How the "defeats" in Vietnam and Iraq benefited big business
- The role of Israel as "Fortress America" in the Middle East
- Tragic repercussions of the IMF's "Asian Economic Collapse"
- U.S. blunders in Tibet, Congo, Lebanon, and Venezuela
- Jackal (CIA operatives) forays to assassinate democratic presidents
From the U.S. military in Iraq to infrastructure development in Indonesia, from Peace Corps volunteers in Africa to jackals in Venezuela, Perkins exposes a conspiracy of corruption that has fueled instability and anti-Americanism around the globe. Alarming yet hopeful, this book provides a compassionate plan to reimagine our world.
In his stunning memoir, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, John Perkins detailed his former role as an "economic hit man" in the international corporate skullduggery of a de facto American Empire. This riveting, behind-the-scenes exposé unfolded like a cinematic blockbuster told through the eyes of a man who once helped shape that empire. Now, in The Secret History of the American Empire, Perkins zeroes in on hot spots around the world and, drawing on interviews with other hit men, jackals, reporters, and activists, examines the current geopolitical crisis. Instability is the norm: It's clear that the world we've created is dangerous and no longer sustainable. How did we get here? Who's responsible? What good have we done and at what cost? And what can we do to change things for the next generations? Addressing these questions and more, Perkins reveals the secret history behind the events that have created the American Empire, including:
- The current Latin-American revolution and its lessons for democracy
- How the "defeats" in Vietnam and Iraq benefited big business
- The role of Israel as "Fortress America" in the Middle East
- Tragic repercussions of the IMF's "Asian Economic Collapse"
- U.S. blunders in Tibet, Congo, Lebanon, and Venezuela
- Jackal (CIA operatives) forays to assassinate democratic presidents
From the U.S. military in Iraq to infrastructure development in Indonesia, from Peace Corps volunteers in Africa to jackals in Venezuela, Perkins exposes a conspiracy of corruption that has fueled instability and anti-Americanism around the globe. Alarming yet hopeful, this book provides a compassionate plan to reimagine our world.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
I was ready to rape and pillage when I headed to Asia in 1971. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
I was ready to rape and pillage when I headed to Asia in 1971. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Insite on Globalization,
By
This review is from: Secret History Of The American Empire (Hardcover)
I am not going to write a long review but what I am going to say is this book really is an interesting one. It gives you very good fact and insight on what is really going on in the globalization empire.This book continuation of John Perkin's best seller 'Confession of an Economy Hitman' while filling in the gaps on events he did not previously discuss. Through out the book, he makes references to this book and assumes that the readers has already read his previous book or have background knowledge on globalization. 'Secret History of the American Empire' is written like a story while capturing the reader with interesting information and facts, making this book hard to put down. I truly recommend this book. Kevin
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of those books that changes the way you look at the world,
By
This review is from: The Secret History of the American Empire: The Truth About Economic Hit Men, Jackals, and How to Change the World (Paperback)
I read Confessions of an Economic Hit Man with fascination, deep interest and a certain amount of skepticism; I didn't know how seriously I should take this guy. Now with this book, my guard is dropping, and I'm starting to take this fellow very seriously indeed. What an amazing book, and the material is as vital to our current state of affairs as anything you might care to read.Perkins picks up where he left off in Confessions, discussing what he has learned since then, the people who have contacted him and come out of the woodwork, the way he looks at things today compared to how he did so twenty or thirty years ago. He shows the reader the deadly cost of allowing corporate interests free rein without oversight. Finally, he leaves the reader with an urging towards real, meaningful change; his own and others' manifesto on how change can and must happen. To understand, though, you have to read it for yourself. A tremendously important book.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hit Man Turns Peaceful Warrior,
By
This review is from: The Secret History of the American Empire: The Truth About Economic Hit Men, Jackals, and How to Change the World (Paperback)
In this book, Perkins makes several contrary things hang together. He tries to give an eyewitness account of secret intrigues, but also a big picture of recent world history. He damns both the American establishment and himself, but then gets motivational for changing the powers that be.At first the book reads almost like a spy novel. Perkins wants to convey the glamor of high finance conspiracies, with the posh hotels, the geisha girls, the jackels, and the mirror sunglasses. How else did a man of conscience get sucked into all this? But then he meets more and more local leaders from countries around the world, who tell him the real scoop on the effects of US "development" policy. These people often need to remain anonymous, which sometimes leaves Perkins to vouch for his own testimony. Still, the accounts build up to an overwhelming case, which checks with lots of things we all know. Then Perkins tries his hand as a motivational writer for global change. And here he gets downright authentic. A lot of this section comes from rather spontaneous speeches, where he set out to talk from the heart without notes. His stories of activists influencing corporate policy are practical, inspiring, and challenging to all disengaged critics. By the time he's done, you wanta be on this guy's side.
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