16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Economic Imperialism, Part 3, July 16, 2006
I hate not being able to finish a book.
Jonathan Kwitny, a former NYT reporter, describes in excruciating detail U.S. foreign policy disasters in Zaire, Angola, Iran, Afghanistan, Guatemala, Cuba, The Philippines, China, Lebanon, El Salvador, Vietnam, Korea, Ethiopia and elsewhere -- and frankly after a couple hundred pages of this I was simply too dispirited to continue reading.
I'm probably naive or idealistic or both, but I want to believe my country stands for the principles expounded in our Declaration of Independence. Reading this exhaustive, carefully-researched, emotionally-detached and factual account to the contrary turned out to be painful and destructive to my civic pride.
Kwitny's book, written at the end of Reagan's first term, makes it clear that economic meddling has been going on at least since WWII, and so I guess it should come as no surprise that it's in full swing again, as detailed by John Perkins' "Confessions of an Economic Hitman." Stephen Kinzer's "All The Shah's Men" tells more of the story of Iran (which is heavily censored here due to lawsuits at the time of publishing).
One lesson taken from this book is that it's not just the conservative Republican administrations which have sent troops to further the economic interests of financial contributors. Apparently ALL politics is infected with the virus of economic imperialism -- a sad truth I'd rather not have learned.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A little outdated, but still right on for today's standards!, November 4, 2002
Although this book is over 15 years old, everything it states still seems to stand to be true- Which only shows as a Country how much we aren't changing in the areas we should be. I was very impressed with this book, the knowledge and the variety of views. Great reading, and grab your highlighter!!
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eye-opening, March 2, 2004
This is an excellent and thought provoking guide to American foreign policy. This is one of those muckraking books that not only shreds the conventional line, but also forms a clear and convincing synthesis in its place. If you want to understand how business interests, the World Bank, the IMF, and Cold War politics fit together to make the world we have today -- read this book.
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