Picture of author.

John Perkins (1) (1945–)

Author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

For other authors named John Perkins, see the disambiguation page.

9 Works 4,618 Members 91 Reviews 4 Favorited

About the Author

John Perkins was born on January 28, 1945 in Hanover, New Hampshire. He attended Brown University, and Boston University School of Management during the 1960s. His best-known book is Confessions of an Economic Hit Man (2004), an insider's account of the exploitation or neo-colonization of Third show more World countries by what Perkins describes as a cabal of corporations, banks, and the United States government. His 2007 book, The Secret History of the American Empire, provides more evidence of the negative impact of global corporations on the economies and ecologies of poor countries, as well as offering suggestions for making corporations behave more like good citizens. Since the late 1980's he has been heavily involved with non-profit organizations in Ecuador and around the world. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Works by John Perkins

Tagged

Common Knowledge

Members

Reviews

An extremely important book to read for everyone. Atleast the last 5 chapters.
 
Flagged
paarth7 | 5 other reviews | May 6, 2023 |
One of the most interesting books I've read in a long time.

Now, in the interests of the other side of the story, the Department of State has referred to a lack of documented evidence while economic columnist Mallaby for the Washington Post and others disagrees with Mr. Perkins overall understanding of the workings of international finance.

Given the above caveats above, it was still an interesting book and the author certainly, given the current political climate, would not be found anywhere near the Republican camp; at best I'd classify him as an older style Democrat; none of this bares directly upon the events in the book, but does influence, perhaps, his interpretation of those events.

International Finance is a whole other level way beyond our common mundane interactions with Commercial Banks; and one which interacts between the connections of Central Banks, major international corporations, and major world governments. Just look at the recent interaction reported in 2022 of the IMF negotiation with Argentina for continued loans for an example of the reality of this assertion. (This book was published in 2004)

Anybody who has grown up during the two Gulf Wars and recalls the "Blood for Oil" mantra during those events will find this book an interesting take on those events, and the current, and past, situation in the Middle East.

There is proverbially more than one to skin a cat, and certainly - throughout history - economic warfare has been just as deadly, and certainly more stealthy, than open military conflict.

Worth a read; especially for a unique viewpoint on relatively recent history.
… (more)
 
Flagged
MusicforMovies | 76 other reviews | Jan 29, 2022 |
This is a sad case of a 4-4.5 star book turned into a 3-3.5 book in the second addition, due to adding a bunch of "woke" to an already "woke hippie" book.

Essentially, it's a (questionably accurate) book about how in the 60s-70s closely government-affiliated multinationals were involved in a quasi-feudal political relationship between developing nations and the US (and the rest of the developed world). In the first edition this was somewhat tolerable and interesting, as it largely involved engineering/project management/construction companies and was somewhat interesting to learn about (as I'm more familiar with the modern forms of these). His thesis is basically that the process of pitching these projects is inherently corrupt, going to an elite in the nation and often with the intention of having the government default and then have various assets taken by the lender. Some of this was direct, but mostly via intermediaries like the World Bank and IMF. Lots of CIA assassination plots against wonderful leftist leaders, all development being bad, etc.

In the second edition, he updates to reflect the modern world with lots of asset managers, hedge funds, etc seeking returns. He still tries to imply these entities have some conspiratorial nefarious purpose rather than a simple profit-maximization goal. Then, the last 25% of the book is him being a generic boomer hippie and describing shamanism, environmentalism, etc.

If you're going to read this, just read the first 50% or so (which mostly corresponds to the original book), and take it with a very large grain of salt
… (more)
 
Flagged
octal | 5 other reviews | Jan 1, 2021 |
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/10527295

It is often the personal stories that tell the bigger truths. As with Barbara Ehrenreich's intensely personal Nickel and Dimed, Perkins' story illuminates a larger picture in a way that more scholarly treatises cannot match.

I value the perspective I get from Noam Chomsky and Chalmers Johnson and many others who have written about our modern empire. None of these works, though, explains it from the ground up. Perkins does that.

In this book, written in spurts since the early 1980s, Perkins really does tell it like it is. This is the book I have been waiting for, the book that fills in the blanks left behind by the writers of global theories, the book that tells us how it really happens. It is one thing to read that the United States engineered ousters of democratically-elected leaders who did not do the bidding of our corporations. It is another to read of the actual steps that led to these actions. As one who likes to be able to visualize all the steps, I found great comfort in reading a well-written personal story that allows me to do this.

In this rightly-named confession, Perkins puts on his hair shirt and chastises himself as he explains how he gave in to temptation again and again over several decades, while he worked to build an American corporation's profits at the expense of third-world countries. He does not describe in detail the benefits he accrued from being Satan's handyman. We do not hear stories of his exploits with women, of his flaunting his power, the meat of a LifeTime movie. These fruits of his labor are glossed over in favor of greater descriptions of the occasional pangs of conscience.

Take it as a given, then, that Perkins was right for the job of economic hit man because he was so easily tempted by material wealth, power, and adulation. There was, in his character, though, a little hint of conscience. He was interested in the world's people, happy to learn other languages and ways of living, open to old as well as new ideas. Thus he was able to make a more honest comparison of the world according to global corporations and the world as seen and lived by indigenous people. And he was able to see that his work only benefitted the few.

There was in him, as well, the radical view that a benefit to the few was not much of a benefit. I can see this story translated successfully to the big screen; either as a documentary or as the story of one man. Two very different films; either would be dramatic and informative. There are scenes in this book that could have come from a Graham Greene novel (and let's not forget that Greene tells the truth through fiction): clandestine meetings, sudden flights to escape uprisings, epiphanies on the beach.

By its nature, a memoir of this type cannot fully be documented. To the extent that it could be, it is, with many pages of notes and references. These private memories, though, may never be proven to be either true or false. It is my greatest wish that Perkins is telling the whole truth all the way through. Even the smallest of fibs could tarnish a work of great importance, given our media's inability to see bigger pictures. The real message, though, is clearly written and inescapable: this is not the story of "they", a "they" that can simply be removed from power. It is the story of us. [originally written in November 2004]
… (more)
 
Flagged
slojudy | 76 other reviews | Sep 8, 2020 |

Lists

Awards

You May Also Like

Associated Authors

Statistics

Works
9
Members
4,618
Popularity
#5,454
Rating
½ 3.6
Reviews
91
ISBNs
161
Languages
20
Favorited
4

Charts & Graphs