Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
by John Perkins

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
List Price: $16.00
Our Price: $8.99
You Save: $7.01 (44%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.91 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: John Perkins
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-12-27
ISBN: 0452287081
Number of pages: 303
Publisher: Plume
Product features:
  • ISBN13: 9780452287082
  • Condition: New
  • Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Book Reviews of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

Book Review: An expose of United States foreign policy
Summary: 5 Stars

An expose of the United States foreign policy; on their unsavory methods to undermine other countries financially to attain leverage on them with duress. The means by which leverage is attained, lies with the two "international financial institutions" (IFI's). The institutions were founded in 1945 during the genesis of the United Nations as "do-good" enterprises. The IMF would assist countries trying to keep their currencies tied to the dollar under the terms of the 1944 Bretton Woods Agreement. The World Bank would lend money at low interest rates gathered from the rich countries to help poor countries get off their backs.
Over the years, the process has become corrupt, with both the IMF and World Bank becoming controlled by the multinational corporations and their banks. When President Nixon went off the gold standard in 1971, the IMF's reason for existence evaporated, because Bretton Woods and the fixed dollar went up in smoke. Now the problem for the big banks like Chase Manhattan, Citicorp and the Bank of America became two-fold:

1) As surplus dollars accumulated in their reserves and there were no credit-worthy Americans wanting to borrow, the banks had to think of ways to lend the money abroad or it would sit in their vaults earning zip, which means it really is losing money as the paper dollar - freed from its gold anchor - was inflating and losing purchasing power. Citigroup's Walter Wriston came up with the idea that the surplus should be loaned to poor countries, even though they had no collateral, because governments had to pay off their hard-currency loans or lose their international credit ratings.
2) If the countries that borrowed from Chase or Citicorp could not pay back interest or principle and did not worry about stiffing the private bankers, they would have to swallow the non-performing loans. The solution was to have the IMF, looking for something to justify its existence, step in to collect the debt. All it had to do was persuade the U.S. Congress to ante up billions of taxpayer dollars to fill their coffers. They could then go to the deadbeat country and say, "We will give you this money so you can pay Chase and Citicorp what you owe them, but you will have to raise taxes on your own people and devalue your currency as the conditions for the loan"

This book is an account by Mr. Perkins a foot soldier in these operations of the Evil Empire. In extension Mr. Perkins does identifies Bechtel Corporation and Halliburton as agents in this quiet conspiracy to make sure the good old USA flourishes, at the expense of relentless impoverishment of the poorest countries of the world. In his book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man he describes how as a highly paid professional, he helped the U.S. cheat poor countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars by lending them more money than they could possibly repay and then taking over their economies.

The scam: Mr. Perkins worked for was a company named Chas. T. Main in Boston, Massachusetts. He was responsible for giving loans to other countries, much bigger than they could possibly repay. One of the conditions of the loan is that they would then have to give ninety percent of that loan back to a U.S. company, or U.S. companies, to build the infrastructure - a Halliburton or a Bechtel. These companies would then go in and build an electrical system or ports or highways, and these would basically serve just a few of the very wealthiest families in those countries. The poor people in those countries would be stuck ultimately with this amazing debt that they couldn't possibly repay. A country today like Ecuador owes over fifty percent of its national budget just to pay down its debt. And it really can't do it. So, we literally have them over a barrel. So, when we want more oil, we go to Ecuador and force them to provide us with access to our oil companies your Amazon rain forest, which are filled with oil. The entire loan with interest finds its way back into the Unites States indirectly, while the host country is left with the debt plus lots of interest, and they basically become our servants, our slaves.

Panama: In 1903 with the mammoth effort to build the Panama Canal underway; the United States under Theodore Roosevelt demanded Columbia to sign a treaty turning the isthmus over to a North American consortium. Columbia refused; Roosevelt sent in the marines; who removed a popular commander and declared Panama an independent nation. A puppet government was installed and the first canal treaty was signed; it established an American economic zone on both sides of the waterway. The country was ruled by an oligarchy of wealthy families with strong connections to Washington. A coup overthrew Arnulfo Arias; the last in the parade of puppet dictators and Omar Torrijos emerged as the head of the state. Torrijos was highly regarded by the Panamian middle and lower class as the champion for the people. His fate was an assassination at the hands of CIA.

Guatemala: The United Fruits Company had been Guatemala's political equivalent of the Panama Canal. Founded in the 1880s, United Fruit grew into one of the most powerful forces in Central America. During the 1950s, reform candidate Jacob Arbenz was elected president of Guatemala in an election hailed all over the hemisphere as a model of the democratic process. At the time less than 3% of Guatemalans owned 70% of the land. Arbenz promised to help the poor dig their way out of starvation, and after his election he implemented a comprehensive land reform program. The United Fruit Company opposed these measures; since they were the largest and the most oppressive land owners in the country. The company in retaliation launched a public relations campaign in the United States; aimed at convincing the American public and congress that Arbenz was part of a Communist plot and Guatemala had become a Soviet satellite. In 1954, the CIA orchestrated a coup; American pilots bombed Guatemala City and the democratically elected Arbenz was overthrown; replaced by Cornel Armas a ruthless ally of America.

Saudi Arabia: A deal was worked out with Saudi Arabia, whereby the Royal House of Saud agreed to send most of their petro-dollars back to the United States and invest them in U.S. government securities. The Treasury Department would use the interest from these securities to hire U.S. companies to build Saudi Arabia new cities, new infrastructure which we've done. And the House of Saud would agree to maintain the price of oil within acceptable limits to us, which they've done all of these years and in return the United States were the guarantors of power remaining in the House of Saud. And in Iraq we tried to implement the same policy that was so successful in Saudi Arabia, but Saddam Hussein didn't buy. When the economic hit men fail in this scenario, the jackals move in. Jackals are C.I.A.-sanctioned people that come in and try to foment a coup or revolution. If that doesn't work, they perform assassinations. Or try to. In the case of Iraq, they weren't able to get through to Saddam Hussein. So the third line of defense, if the economic hit men and the jackals fail, the next line of defense is to send in the marines to invade the country.

Summary of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

From the author of the phenomenal New York Times bestseller, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, comes an exposé of international corruption? and an inspired plan to turn the tide for future generations

With a presidential election around the corner, questions of America?s military buildup, environmental impact, and foreign policy are on everyone?s mind. Former ?Economic Hit Man? John Perkins goes behind the scenes of the current geopolitical crisis and offers bold solutions to our most pressing problems. Drawing on interviews with other EHMs, jackals, CIA operatives, reporters, businessmen, and activists, Perkins reveals the secret history of events that have created the current American Empire, including:

? How the ?defeats? in Vietnam and Iraq have benefited big business

? The role of Israel as ?Fortress America? in the Middle East

? Tragic repercussions of the IMF?s ?Asian Economic Collapse?

? The current Latin American revolution and its lessons for democracy

? U.S. blunders in Tibet, Congo, Lebanon, and Venezuela

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, with consequences reflected in our daily headlines. Having raised the alarm, Perkins passionately addresses how Americans can work to create a more peaceful and stable world for future generations.


John Perkins started and stopped writing Confessions of an Economic Hit Man four times over 20 years. He says he was threatened and bribed in an effort to kill the project, but after 9/11 he finally decided to go through with this expose of his former professional life. Perkins, a former chief economist at Boston strategic-consulting firm Chas. T. Main, says 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. "Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars," Perkins writes. Confessions of an Economic Hit Man is an extraordinary and gripping tale of intrigue and dark machinations. Think John Le Carré, except it's a true story.

Perkins writes that his economic projections cooked the books Enron-style to convince foreign governments to accept billions of dollars of loans from the World Bank and other institutions to build dams, airports, electric grids, and other infrastructure he knew they couldn't afford. The loans were given on condition that construction and engineering contracts went to U.S. companies. Often, the money would simply be transferred from one bank account in Washington, D.C., to another one in New York or San Francisco. The deals were smoothed over with bribes for foreign officials, but it was the taxpayers in the foreign countries who had to pay back the loans. When their governments couldn't do so, as was often the case, the U.S. or its henchmen at the World Bank or International Monetary Fund would step in and essentially place the country in trusteeship, dictating everything from its spending budget to security agreements and even its United Nations votes. It was, Perkins writes, a clever way for the U.S. to expand its "empire" at the expense of Third World citizens. While at times he seems a little overly focused on conspiracies, perhaps that's not surprising considering the life he's led. --Alex Roslin

Business Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Business Books
Discovering the Possible: The Surprising World of Albert O. Hirschman (Titles from the Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies) ImageDiscovering the Possible: The Surprising World of Albert O. Hirschman (Titles from the Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies)
by Luca Meldolesi
University of Notre Dame Press; Published: 1995-04; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops: $34.95
What You See Is What You Get: My Autobiography ImageWhat You See Is What You Get: My Autobiography
by Alan Sugar
Macmillan UK; Published: 2011-02-24; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.88
Price in other shops: $27.95
Sloan Rules: Alfred P. Sloan and the Triumph of General Motors ImageSloan Rules: Alfred P. Sloan and the Triumph of General Motors
by David Farber
University Of Chicago Press; Published: 2002-11-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.92
Price in other shops: $30.00
The Hancocks of Marlborough: Rubber, Art and the Industrial Revolution - A Family of Inventive Genius ImageThe Hancocks of Marlborough: Rubber, Art and the Industrial Revolution - A Family of Inventive Genius
by John Loadman, Francis James
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2009-11-23; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $27.00
Price in other shops: $55.00
William Beveridge: A Biography ImageWilliam Beveridge: A Biography
by Jose Harris
Oxford Univ Pr (Txt); Published: 1977-09; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops: $44.00
The Accidental Investment Banker: Inside the Decade that Transformed Wall Street ImageThe Accidental Investment Banker: Inside the Decade that Transformed Wall Street
by Jonathan A. Knee
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2006-08-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.50
Price in other shops: $49.95
The Vital Few: The Entrepreneur and American Economic Progress (Galaxy Book) ImageThe Vital Few: The Entrepreneur and American Economic Progress (Galaxy Book)
by Jonathan Hughes
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1986-06-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $32.35
Price in other shops: $49.99
The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century ImageThe Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century
by Steve Coll
Penguin Audio; Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2009-03-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.53
Price in other shops: $18.00
The Other Side of Wall Street: In Business It Pays to Be an Animal, In Life It Pays to Be Yourself ImageThe Other Side of Wall Street: In Business It Pays to Be an Animal, In Life It Pays to Be Yourself
by Todd A. Harrison
FT Press; Published: 2011-05-22; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.60
Price in other shops: $24.99
Mr. China: A Memoir ImageMr. China: A Memoir
by Tim Clissold
HarperBusiness; Published: 2005-02-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $19.50
Price in other shops: $24.95
Similar Books and other products
Open Questions: Readings for Critical Thinking and Writing ImageOpen Questions: Readings for Critical Thinking and Writing
by Chris Anderson, Lex Runciman
Bedford/St. Martin's; Published: 2005-02-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $46.69
Hoodwinked: An Economic Hit Man Reveals Why the Global Economy IMPLODED -- and How to Fix It ImageHoodwinked: An Economic Hit Man Reveals Why the Global Economy IMPLODED -- and How to Fix It
by John Perkins
Crown Business; Published: 2011-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops: $14.00
Hoodwinked: An Economic Hit Man Reveals Why the World Financial Markets Imploded--and What We Need to Do to Remake Them ImageHoodwinked: An Economic Hit Man Reveals Why the World Financial Markets Imploded--and What We Need to Do to Remake Them
by John Perkins
Crown Business; Published: 2009-11-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.88
Price in other shops: $23.99
Getting Started in Consulting ImageGetting Started in Consulting
by Alan Weiss
Wiley; Published: 2009-03-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.97
Price in other shops: $19.95
The McKinsey Mind: Understanding and Implementing the Problem-Solving Tools and Management Techniques of the World's Top Strategic Consulting Firm ImageThe McKinsey Mind: Understanding and Implementing the Problem-Solving Tools and Management Techniques of the World's Top Strategic Consulting Firm
by Ethan Rasiel, Ph.D., Paul N. Friga
McGraw-Hill; Published: 2001-09-26; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.41
Price in other shops: $29.95
Introducing Comparative Politics: Concepts and Cases in Context, 2nd edition ImageIntroducing Comparative Politics: Concepts and Cases in Context, 2nd edition
by Carol Ann Drogus, Stephen Orvis
CQ Press College; Published: 2011-07-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $49.99
Price in other shops: $89.95
Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution (Collins Business Essentials) ImageReengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution (Collins Business Essentials)
by Michael Hammer, James Champy, James Champy
HarperBusiness; Published: 2003-12-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.15
Price in other shops: $16.99
The Secret History of the American Empire: The Truth About Economic Hit Men, Jackals, and How to Change the World ImageThe Secret History of the American Empire: The Truth About Economic Hit Men, Jackals, and How to Change the World
by John Perkins
Plume; Published: 2008-04-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.37
Price in other shops: $16.00
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism ImageThe Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
by Naomi Klein
Picador; Published: 2008-06-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.50
Price in other shops: $16.00
Hoodwinked: An Economic Hit Man Reveals Why the World Financial Markets Imploded--and What We Need to Do to Remake Them ImageHoodwinked: An Economic Hit Man Reveals Why the World Financial Markets Imploded--and What We Need to Do to Remake Them
by John Perkins
Crown Business; Published: 2009-11-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.60
Price in other shops: $23.99
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories