Confessions of an Economic Hit Man: The shocking story of how America really took over the world - Softcover

Perkins, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0091909104 ISBN 13: 9780091909109

Publisher: Ebury Press, 2006

Synopsis

As an Economic Hit Man (EHM), John Perkins helped further American imperial interests in countries such as Ecuador, Panama, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. As Chief Economist for the international consulting firm Chas. T. Main, he convinced underdeveloped countries to accept massive loans for infrastructure development and ensured that the projects were contracted to multinational corporations. The countries acquired enormous debt, and the US and international aid agencies were able to control their economies. He tried to write this book four times but was threatened or bribed each time to halt. The events of 9/11 - a direct result of the activities of EHMs in the 1970s - finally forced him to confront the role he played himself, and to reveal the truth to the rest of the world. Confessions of an Economic Hit Man has become a word-of-mouth bestseller in the US. It has been called the book that finally 'connects the dots, the book that best explains what is really going on in the world'.

About this title

About the Author

John Perkins was covertly recruited to be an economic hit man (EHM) by the US National Security Agency during his last year at Boston University's School of Business Administration, in the late 1960s. Following his EHM work, Perkins founded Independent Power Systems, an alternative energy provider that successfully changed the US utility industry. He is now president of Dream Change Coalition, a nonprofit organization working with Amazonian and other indigenous people to help preserve their environments and cultures. 'As I travel around the world, I find that people know that their country just received a billion-dollar loan, for example, from the World Bank and that American corporations are there benefiting from the loan, but that their own lives are getting worse,' he says.

From the Back Cover

ECONOMIC HIT MEN are highly paid professionals who cheat countries round the globe out of trillions of dollars. Their tools include fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex and murder. They play a game as old as Empire but one that has taken on terrifying dimensions during this time of globalization.'

JOHN PERKINS should know - he was an economic hit man for an international consulting firm that worked to convince poorer countries to accept enormous development loans - and to make sure that such projects were contracted to U.S companies. Once these countries were saddled with huge debts, the American government would request their "pound of flesh" in favours, including access to natural resources, military co-operation 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 the U.S. have been involved in since World War II. The message is clear, unless these clandestine activities are stopped, they will have dire consequences for our future.

'Perkins has ripped open the belly of the financial buccaneers. Here are the real-life details of international corporate skullduggery spun into a tale rivalling the darkest espionage thriller' Greg Palast, author of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy

'A true, powerful, revealing and bone-chilling story' David Korten, author of the bestselling When Corporations Rule the World

Edition details

• Publisher: Ebury Press
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0091909104
• ISBN 13: 9780091909109
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272