Thy Will Be Done: The Conquest of the Amazon : Nelson Rockefeller and Evangelism in the Age of Oil [Paperback]

Gerard Colby (Author), Charlotte Dennett (Author), Charlott Dennett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1996

Examining the motives, deeds, and tragic repercussions of their intervention in the Amazon and Central America, a study reveals the legacies of Nelson Rockefeller, who secured natural resources for American corporations, and Cameron Townsend, who saved souls at any cost.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This extraordinary saga moves from the Oval Office to the Amazon rain forests to show how Cold War intrigue linked a powerful American family, the U.S. government, and a missionary organization in a forty-year campaign to conquer the Amazon. At the heart of this story are two intensely ambitious men: Nelson Rockefeller, scion of the liberal and immensely wealthy Standard Oil family, and William Cameron Townsend, founder of the ultraconservative Wycliffe Bible Translators. Although leaders of opposing camps, they found common cause in the struggle against fascism and then communism, with the result that hundreds of thousands of Amazonian tribespeople died or were displaced. The systematic campaign of colonization fathered by Rockefeller and Townsend was a chilling foreshadowing of American intervention in the Third World to secure valuable natural resources in the name of democracy. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Nelson Rockefeller, who died in 1979, owned vast Latin American real estate and cattle ranching, mining, industrial and financial interests centered in Brazil. To protect his empire and secure Third World assets for exploitation by U.S. capitalism, Rockefeller-a top Latin American adviser to presidents from FDR to Nixon, and Ford's vice-president-played a dominant role in shaping the U.S.'s interventionist policy in Latin America, according to this blistering expose based on 18 years of research. Rockefeller, as President Eisenhower's special assistant for Cold War strategy, oversaw the CIA's covert operations abroad and was privy to assassination plots and mind-control experiments, the authors maintain. Colby (DuPont: Behind the Nylon Curtain) and his wife, Dennett, a freelance journalist, charge that Rockefeller, his banks and their allies, working with the CIA, bolstered repressive regimes in Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Paraguay. Forcible dislocation of native peoples, hunger, disease, genocide and the ongoing destruction of the Amazon rain forest are the legacy of these policies, in the authors' analysis. Another key player in this massive narrative is ultraconservative William Cameron Townsend (1896-1982), founder of the Protestant missionary organization Wycliffe Bible Translators, which worked in concert with Rockefeller and which the authors accuse of destroying indigenous peoples' cultural values to abet penetration by U.S. businesses. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 1008 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins (May 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060927232
• ISBN-13: 978-0060927233
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #616,002 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a book to buy... not check out from library, July 26, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Thy Will Be Done: The Conquest of the Amazon : Nelson Rockefeller and Evangelism in the Age of Oil (Paperback)

The book title does not make full justice to its contents. It only touches on one among the many areas that are covered. The main story line follows the Rockefeller family (specially Nelson's) financial interests in the third world in parallel with the evangelizasion efforts in the same areas. However, it is difficult to imagine a wider coverage of those issues. Full account of the ties between the financial and religious interest is presented. Those range from fundraisers, political campaigns and economic interests at home to political, logistical and conspiratory collaboration abroad. Each facet is well documented so that the reader which can't possibly be well versed in all the different world areas understands the background. It took 18 years for the authors to complete the research. It may take me that long to fully appreciate all the different areas where both Rockefeller and the Evangelism movement had an impact. It is not enough to check out the book from the library... it has to be on the bookshelf of any person intereted in understanding the new type of collonialism.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Political and Economic History of the US from 1930-1980: Those who Control and Shape the Movement, August 10, 2006

By 

Mark Fegley (Philadelphia Area) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thy Will Be Done: The Conquest of the Amazon : Nelson Rockefeller and Evangelism in the Age of Oil (Paperback)

This book is simply superb in the information it presents. This book receives my higest level of recommenation. Colby spent 19 years researching the material for this book. The story is largely told through quotes, letters, and words of the Rockefellers, Presidents, Politicians, and big business leaders.

The book covers many topics. There are two main story lines. The first is the invasion of foreign lands and people using religion as the means to pacify the indigenous people, with the central focus on SIL and Cam Townsend. I found this part of the book interesting but not as interesting as the other topics in the book.

The other story line emphasized politics, economics, and influences from the Rockefellers; focuses on Nelson and his manipulation of presidents and use of government authority for his (and his family's) own interest. The most interesting topics were Nelson's manipulation of FDR and establishing a branch of government to push the Rockefeller Latin American interest, Nelson's authority and power over the CIA. Nelson's manipulation and pushing of the Cold War and an "American War Economy," The Rockefeller Kennedy struggle, Business interest in the Vietnam War, LBJ and Nelson Rockefellers personal friendship, and the crafting of the "Dollar Zone" by David and Nelson that models modern day NAFTA and CAFTA.

The book also has very interesting insight on the Kennedy assignation without ever mentioning conspiracy. The book highlights hatred of Kennedy from both David and Nelson Rockefeller, briefly mentions the Kennedy and the Steel Crisis, highlights the Kennedy movement from private to government loans to government to government loans something which David Rockefeller deeply resented Kennedy for. The book also goes into detail about the wrongdoings of the CIA and the Bay of Pigs and later describes the CIA investigation in the 1970s, which was headed by and manipulated by Nelson Rockefeller.

Another Review pointed out Battling Wallstreet by Donald Gibson. This is an excellent book which can be read in conjunction with the JFK material in Thy Will Be Done. Dr. Gibson's book focuses on the economic politics of JFK and the opposition JFK faced from the Rockefellers and big business. Highlights the Steel crisis in great detail and goes more into the objectives and motives certain business interest. Again never mentions any conspiracy.

Thy Will Be Done is an essential must read book if you want to understand what is wrong with politics. It is packed with loads of information, I suggest reading it slowly and taking time to think about the material. The behind the scenes looks of politics and economics is guaranteed to greatly interest anyone interested in economics, political science, or history. Like one reviewer said this is a book to own not just to read. I have gone back cited and re-read many sections.

42 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic reference on who runs our world & how they do it, December 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Thy Will Be Done: The Conquest of the Amazon : Nelson Rockefeller and Evangelism in the Age of Oil (Hardcover)

I agree with all the reviews above, especially the last writerwho said to buy it and keep it.

I would only add that the authorsof Thy Will Be Done did an outstanding job of illuminating the intense conflicts between the Kennedys and Rockefellers on almost every business and government issue. Each well-sourced fact paints a picture of how much Big Business, Big Oil and Big Banks hated the Kennedys.

Col. Fletcher Prouty (Man X in the JFK movie) and the makers of the movie Executive Action pointed to a cabal of Big Money as the group that set the JFK assassination machinery in motion. I have always thought this a plausible theory but it needed more facts to support it. Colby's book provides them, in bits and pieces, scattered througout its chapters without ever announcing any belief in a conspiracy to kill JFK.

Yet, when I finished the book, I had a much clearer picture of these Big Money fat cats sitting around, discussing matters of mutual interest, including the fate of the Kennedys. And, there, at the head of the table, sat the Rockefeller Brothers.

Anyone interested in finding out more should consider reading a book by Donald Gibson called Battling Wall Street: The Kennedy Presidency.