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John Perkins should know—he was an economic hit man for an international consulting firm that worked to convince developing countries to accept enormous loans and to funnel that money to U.S.corporations. Once these countries were saddled with huge debts, the American government and international aid agencies were able to request their “pound of flesh” in favors, including access to natural resources, military cooperation, and political support.

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man is the story of one man’s experiences inside the intrigue, greed, corruption and little-known government and corporate activities that America has been involved in since World War II, and which have dire consequences for the future of democracy and the world.

“[A] gripping tell-all book.”—The Rocky Mountain News
“Astonishing.”—Boston Herald
“This riveting look at a world of intrigue reads like a spy novel . . . Highly recommended.”— Library Journal
“Here are the real-life details—nasty, manipulative, plain evil—of international corporate skullduggery spun into a tale rivaling the darkest espionage thriller.”—Greg Palast, author of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy

Average Customer Rating:

Unbridled Capitalism & Foreign Policy

Customer Rating:

The author gives us a rare insight into how the US conducts "foreign policy" that primarily benefits US corporate/conglomerate profit interests. Similar to the US "military-industrial complex" that President Eisenhower warned us about in 1961, the author sounds a warning about how narrow monied interests guide the conduct of foreign "assistance" and "relations" so that the public interests, in both the US and the "target" country are ill-served. This is a MUST READ for American voters and the new generation of elected decision-makers.

act out of your conscience or live the consequences

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there are many great, kind and charitable americans. the presidents and the government represented american.... for years, as now everyone knows that there was no nuclear weapon found in iraq, haliburton is still making great money. people like bush family, dick cheney have a lot to do with this company. they made great money. they were the one declaring war. and they were the ones making friends with the dictators of the world. look where it has got america and the world. i hope McCain will not win. and obviously the lady running mate of his. with all due respect, someone who has little education, and pro-live and pro-gun. imagine the future of america and the world in the hands of these duo. this book is an eye opener. the view it presented has tied in with the facts i have previously known. american should care more about the rest of the world and the action of their leaders. indifference can otherwise be very costly

Great Thesis - No Proof

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Mr. Perkins has a great thesis and great angst about his role in the world. His thesis is simple - American engineering and oil companies go to third world countries and give hugely inflated estimates of growth potential. Using those inflated numbers, they induce the countries to get loans so they can hire the American companies to do the work. The country then is unable to repay the loan. The theory implicates American companies, the many politicians with ties to them and the World Bank, IMF and other financial institutions. Unfortunately, Mr. Perkins fails to come up with the proofs. His outline appears feasible, but he never gives any instances of the loan and default portion of the thesis. There is nary a number or statistic to back him up. He does not cite a single defaulted loan. Further, Mr. Perkins often draws parellels to the American Founders and our Revolution. His grasp of American history is sophomoric at best. He uses a cartoonish image of 1776 that one would expect from an elementary school student, not someone indicting corporations, international banks and presidential administrations. Mr. Perkins does have some sources and they are noted. Again, they occasionally show his sloppiness with the facts. In one instance, he states with firmness that the Reagan and Bush administrations had been proven to have dirtied their hands in this corporatocracy (his term) scheme. The text said this was proven by testimony. When one checks the note, the testimony was by John Dean in 1973 and 1974 - six and seven years before the Reagan and Bush administrations. Such errors in fact and use of bad history undermine the reader's confidence in the basic theory of the book. That all having been said, the book does show how America's corporations have gone into Third World countries focused only on their own bottom line. Their is no altruism in the corporate world. This pure greed is aided and abetted by connected politicians. Most interesting are his accounts of the American-Saudi relationship where the corporate scheme worked with oil money rather than World Bank funds. Although Perkins seemed to criticize the plan, it worked well for both sides. It was a true win-win. Somehow, the author tried to tie in the Saudis' support of terrorism with its modernization and westernization. The parallel did not work - especially since he had given Saudi Arabia's history of being founded by fundamentalist Islamists long before the corporations came in. Mr. Perkins then tried to draw another parallel to Iraq. Unfortunately, he could never explain why the system that worked so well for Saudi Arabia did not work for Iraq. There are some alarming aspects of this book and it really does read, in parts, like a novel. Alarm is what Mr. Perkins expects to raise with his "Confession". There is a lot to look at behind his accounts. Sadly, Mr. Perkins just did not deliver the goods to prove his points.

credible	Customer Rating:
I started reading this with some skepticism but it all seemed to add up to me - - believe it or not - up to you, but I think an interesting read and for me, it was credible..

Great book to read	Customer Rating:
This book is everything I hoped for. Very informational and helpful in understanding how the U.S interferes with other countries and how they are able to do what they do. Even though this is an easy read you should be familiar with the IMF and World Bank to better understand the process.