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John Perkins

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man Hardcover – November 9, 2004

by John Perkins (Author)

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"Economic hit men,” John Perkins writes, “are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars. Their tools include fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex, and murder.”

John Perkins should know—he was an economic hit man. His job was to convince countries that are strategically important to the U.S.—from Indonesia to Panama—to accept enormous loans for infrastructure development, and to make sure that the lucrative projects were contracted to U. S. corporations. Saddled with huge debts, these countries came under the control of the United States government, World Bank and other U.S.-dominated aid agencies that acted like loan sharks—dictating repayment terms and bullying foreign governments into submission.

This New York Times bestseller exposes international intrigue, corruption, and little-known government and corporate activities that have dire consequences for American democracy and the world. It is a compelling story that also offers hope and a vision for realizing the American dream of a just and compassionate world that will bring us greater security.

Print length

250 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Publication date

November 9, 2004
Dimensions

6.46 x 0.95 x 9.5 inches
ISBN-10

1576753018
ISBN-13

978-1576753019
Lexile measure

1160
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From the Publisher

About John Perkins

As Chief Economist at a major international consulting firm, John Perkins advised the World Bank, United Nations, IMF, U.S. Treasury Department, Fortune 500 corporations, and countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. He worked directly with heads of state and CEOs of major companies, and his books on economics and geo-politics have sold more than 1 million copies, spent many months on the New York Times and other bestseller lists, and are published in over 30 languages.

The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

The latest version of this shocking bestseller!

In this astonishing tell-all book, former economic hit man (EHM) John Perkins shares new details about the ways he and others cheated countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars. Then he reveals how the deadly EHM cancer he helped create has spread far more widely and deeply than ever in the United States and everywhere else—to become the dominant system of business, government, and society today. Finally, he gives an insider view of what we each can do to change it.

Expanded edition with 15 new chapters
Detailed chronology documenting EHM activity since the first edition was published in 2004
Exclusive insider views from John Perkins

Touching the Jaguar: Transforming Fear into Action to Change Our Lives and the World

Coming soon! As a young Peace Corps volunteer dying in Ecuador, John Perkins was saved by a shaman who taught him to “touch the jaguar”—to change his perception of what he feared and transform it into energy for positive action. Then he became an “economic hit man,” convincing developing countries to build huge projects that put them perpetually in debt to the World Bank and other US-controlled institutions—a new form of colonialism. Returning to the Amazon and seeing the damage foreign companies had done opened his eyes to the destructive impact of his work. In this book coming in the summer of 2020, Perkins details the powerful influence shamanism had on his transformation to decolonizer. He discusses his work with native people in Latin America and provides a strategy for us to overcome our fears, decolonize our minds, and collaborate in new ways to heal the wounds inflicted on our planet.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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

From Publishers Weekly

Perkins spent the 1970s working as an economic planner for an international consulting firm, a job that took him to exotic locales like Indonesia and Panama, helping wealthy corporations exploit developing nations as, he claims, a not entirely unwitting front for the National Security Agency. He says he was trained early in his career by a glamorous older woman as one of many "economic hit men" advancing the cause of corporate hegemony. He also says he has wanted to tell his story for the last two decades, but his shadowy masters have either bought him off or threatened him until now. The story as presented is implausible to say the least, offering so few details that Perkins often seems paranoid, and the simplistic political analysis doesnt enhance his credibility. Despite the claim that his work left him wracked with guilt, the artless prose is emotionally flat and generally comes across as a personal crisis of conscience blown up to monstrous proportions, casting Perkins as a victim not only of his own neuroses over class and money but of dark forces beyond his control. His claim to have assisted the House of Saud in strengthening its ties to American power brokers may be timely enough to attract some attention, but the yarn he spins is ultimately unconvincing, except perhaps to conspiracy buffs.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"A bombshell. One of those rare instances in which someone deeply entrenched in our governmental/corporate imperialist structure has come forward to reveal in unequivocal terms its inner workings. A work of great insight and moral courage."
—John E. Mack, Harvard professor and Pulitzer prize-winning author of A Prince of Our Disorder: The Life of T. E. Lawrence

“Perkins combines the brilliance and suspense of a Graham Greene thriller with the authority of his insider vantage point to tell a true, powerful, revealing, and bone chilling personal story that names names and connects the dots . . . ”
—David Korten, author of the bestselling When Corporations Rule the World

"A stunning and groundbreaking book that is a must-read for anyone who cares about our world.”
—Lynne Twist, Global Activist, author of the bestselling The Soul of Money

"… provocative and disturbing…. This book succeeds as a wake up call because the reader cannot help but assess his or her role on a personal level, thus providing an impetus for change.”
—R. Paul Shaw, former Lead Economist, currently Program Adviser, Human Development Group, World Bank Institute

“Must reading for those who know another world is possible!”
—Hazel Henderson, author of Beyond Globalization and Building a Win-Win World

" … a fascinating insider's view of how a private multinational company legally robs the poor of the third world, country after country.”
—Josh Mailman, cofounder, The Threshold Foundation, Social Venture Network, and Business for Social Responsibility

" With unflinching honesty, Perkins narrates his moral awakening and struggle to break free from the corrupt system of global domination he himself helped to create. This book … comes from the heart. I highly recommend it."
—Michael Brownstein, author of World on Fire

"A thrilling story. . . the true account of a deeply dedicated and courageous man…"
—Stephan Rechtschaffen, M.D., CEO, Omega Institute, and author of Timeshifting

About the Author

John Perkins currently writes and teaches about achieving peace and prosperity by expanding our personal awareness and transforming our institutions. He founded an alternative energy company that successfully changed the U.S. utility industry. From 1971 to 1981 he worked for the international consulting firm of Chas. T. Main, where he held the titles of Chief Economist and Manager of Economics and Regional Planning but in reality was an economic hit man. He continued to play out his EHM role until the events of 9/11 convinced him to expose this shadowy and secret side of his life.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berrett-Koehler Publishers (November 9, 2004)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 250 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1576753018
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1576753019
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1160
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 0.035 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.46 x 0.95 x 9.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #110,572 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #23 in Political Trades and Tariffs
- #83 in Government Management
- #155 in Globalization & Politics

Customer Reviews:
2,385 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		74%
4 star		14%
3 star		6%
2 star		2%
1 star		3%

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Top reviews from the United States

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PV

A bad travel guide ocatinaly spinkleref with some political intrigue

Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2019

Verified Purchase

Seducted by so many starred reviews I red the first 50 pages while expecting what the was promised in the reviews to finally start, until I realized that 99% of the content is about the “psychedelic” struggles of a man who is having a good time while trying to make the remains of his cautiousness fade away. The remaining 1% is an attempt to describe something of a corporatocracy intrigue a la James Bond but very poorly told and obviously attempting not to reveal too much (if there was something to reveal in the first place). All of what is “confessed” as if from the insider perspective is widely awailable on internet in a much more informative and organized form. Mixing the raw information with the authors personal “experiences” wining and hair pulling does not add to the “Intrigue” but just waters the story and ads to the confusion of what the writer really wants to share. The final “words of wisdom” we read in the epilogue come unsupported out of nowhere reinforcing the impression that the initial bipolar disorder of the author split between on one hand the desire to have a good life, money, yachts, sex etc. and on the other hand the punishment of his own cautiousness is still going on. It is clearly waste of paper and time.

19 people found this helpful

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jumper34

One of the most educational and accurate books about government corruption

Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2019

Verified Purchase

During a recorded meeting between President Nixon and CIA director Helms along with the IC officials October 8, 1971, Nixon is attempting to get information about the Bay of Pigs from the I.C. (intelligence community). He wasn't on a need to know basis, like all presidents. Obviously, the CIA doesn't open the secret files and share them with the POTUS. While Nixon is pleading with the I.C. he makes the statements that I know what we did in Iran and I know Guatemala. In other words, Nixon knew that the US assassinated Arbenz and Mossedegh.
Nixon knew the CIA was doing the wet work in order to assassinate the President of Iran and the PM Guatemala.
One only needs to look at what transpired after the book came out. Government officials, along with the media, immediately began to discredit Perkins and attempted to discredit him.
This should automatically raise your ire. Why are the media outlets and government officials commenting critically on a biography? While at the same time, they label Perkins a conspiracy theorist.
This is right out of Nixon's playbook. First off, discredit Perkins, and then attack him. This should tell you how accurate this book is. I haven't read the second Perkins book yet, but by all accounts as to what he says, it lines up very well.
One only needs to look at what is going on in Venezuela today. I am sure when the drone exploded above Maduro's head Perkins just laughter and said, "the CIA sure stepped in it this time". Everything Perkins describes in his book is exactly what is happening in Venezuela today. Hopefully our POTUS doesn't fall for this.
Great book.

15 people found this helpful

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FiveNames

Stick with Fiction

Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2018

Verified Purchase

This should be called “Confessions of an Egomaniac”. Perkins weaves a tale of conspiracy and tries to spice up his life with questionably truthful tales of his interaction in global events and a shadowy side of the U.S. Government guiding his actions and rewarding him.

I was recommended this title by a friend and looked forward to reading it enthusiastically, however, I found myself struggling to stay interested as the book droned on. I really wanted to like it, but I would have rather read an outright work of fiction than this.

21 people found this helpful

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Lektra

Sadly Validated things i have believed without evidence. Read ...

Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2017

Verified Purchase

Sadly Validated things i have believed without evidence. Read it and double checked facts as i went. Convinced he is the real deal. My only question is how does he not get whacked after naming names. Certainly not proud moments for our country. Makes our protestingRussia "meddling" laughable hypocrisy. Definitely do as I saw not as I do.

39 people found this helpful

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Jeff Sheehan

Eye opening!

Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2020

Verified Purchase

The title grabbed my attention and the fact that the term "economic hitman" was used in an intelligence analysts' report I once read. This book starts off sounding a bit like a fictional novel but then drops enough names, dates, and places to verify that this is a real thing. The second biggest thing to happen from WWII is the new world order of "us and them" and how all forms of warfare, hot and cold, were used to make countries pick a side, willingly or not. I recommend this book to anyone interested in geopolitics because it will make the news make more sense and explain a good deal of the stratagems of superpowers.

4 people found this helpful

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Derek Zweig

Powerful and confused

Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2016

Verified Purchase

This is a powerful book offering substantial evidence for fighting the corporatocracy in all countries. It has strongly molded my understanding of hostility toward American foreign policy from the viewpoint of developing countries. The depicted abuses of US influence over the world bank were astonishing. The author explains that the US would encourage developing nations to take on US loans, then force the recipients to hire US corporations for projects, often justified by inflated economic projections. The author bluntly admits that these loans are never meant to be repaid, as all parties involved know the economic projections accompanying these infrastructure loans are bogus. Instead, it is a tool supporting US political power in international negotiations.

The confusion came in the form of the author's insistence that corporations, left alone, are also hurting foreign interests with or without government protection/assistance. He claims that corporations opening foreign factories and paying workers low wages hurts those people...that you'd think $1 a day is better than $0 a day, though in fact this is not the case. However, the author never supports this claim beyond simply asserting it. While the damage corporatocracy causes to indigenous cultures was lucid and apparent, the damage done by corporations alone was not. This seems to highlight an internal struggle the author may have. On the one hand, he makes very clear that corporations' use of government to exploit other nations is a staggering problem, while on the other hand he seems to imply that government needs to be more involved with activities of corporations. See the contradiction here? Given his background in economics I presume he could reconcile his stance, though I don’t think he does so in this book.

33 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Carol

For me this is proved to be an interesting good read. I had heard about this stuff he ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 29, 2016

Verified Purchase

For me this is proved to be an interesting good read. I had heard about this stuff he wrote about over the years from people I know or did know. and thought oh yah right.... Being an older person I remember reading buried in newspaper some of the things he talked about. What he writes is very true. I do know people talk about this but are put down as nut jobs by governments. I suggest you read the book and form your own opinion but I can say after reading this book even if you do not believe it you will start to question some things that government and big business say.

6 people found this helpful

awais z

Brilliant book about the global power game

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 7, 2020

Verified Purchase

The author shares his candid experiences on the machinations of economic supremacy and political dominance. As these are first hand, it makes compelling reading. It brings to light a hidden world of corruption and deceit that one sometimes hears of in media scandals but is sometimes dismissed as a `conspiracy theory`. The world makes a little more sense after reading this first-class account. In some ways it casts a shadow on the ruling classes of first and third world countries and how they have sold out to protect their own interests.

Mr Q

Bless me father for I have sinned !!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 30, 2012

Verified Purchase

This book makes me think of the analagy of there being nothing worse than a reformed smoker, to preach about the perils of inhaling.
Perkins falls into this category very well and at times I found his confessional style more than a little hypocritical.
I also agree with other reviewers who note that it is hard to distinguish between fact and fiction in his recollections, of his very charmed life, which he does his best to dress up as some sort of hair shirt experience.
Mea Culpa boo hoo my heart bleeds for you !!
Having said that I did find this an interesting read and have no doubt that much of what he alludes to is based upon well known govermental "foreign policy" practices, a stark reminder of the world we live in today.
It is as direct result of actions by Perkins and his ilk that the protesters on both sides of the Atlantic e.g (anti Wall St and City Banker bashers) are trying to change in their own direct way.
Perkins has chosen to write a confessional and continue to add to his no doubt considerable assets - perhaps in a bid to clense his soul, whilst still managing to polish both his halo & ego ??.
Definitely worth a read but I am not sure that it will actually change the world he appears to have helped create.

So all we can conclude is that history tells us that when The King is dead, we proclaim long live the KIng or should it be Here comes the new boss - same as the old boss ...... Discuss.

5 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

I've experienced similar insights to John

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 26, 2016

Verified Purchase

My line of work has seen me interact heavily with themes John talks about, albeit not directly as an EHM or individual representing big corporations.

That said, I have been heavily involved in the non-profit world globally - including in the Amazon, Israel and Palestine on the African continent and in far east Asia, I have had meetings and gained insights from some of the biggest political families, attended govt-to-govt meetings, survived the 2013 egyptian coup and got insights into the continental reach and inner workings of multi-nationals, all the while keeping informed and diverse networks as a result.

There is nothing I've seen to suggest that this book isn't extremely authentic but also incredibly honest with it's portrayal of the way the world works. The only difference being now is that water is known more publicly as being the world's most important resource and that we are not managing what we have well enough or strictly enough. Other resources that we need to be aware of are materials that go into tech - like lithium (batteries) and Coltan (most tech devices) - found in the DRC and then those natural and fast growing resources whose properties have far greater significance than we allow them, like hemp.

3 people found this helpful

Unsung Heroines

How US Corporations Profit from Constant War

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 22, 2018

Verified Purchase

The author's first hand experiences explained to me why America is too broke financially to provide safe healthcare, education, housing or drinking water to its citizens, as every other civilized country provides its citizens, and why it is too broken morally to care. Factual, historical, and eye-opening.

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Confessions of an Economic Hit Man Hardcover – November 9, 2004

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From the Publisher

About John Perkins

The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

The latest version of this shocking bestseller!

Touching the Jaguar: Transforming Fear into Action to Change Our Lives and the World

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Amazon.com Review

From Publishers Weekly

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About the Author

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Confessions of an Economic Hit Man Hardcover – November 9, 2004

There is a newer edition of this item:

Frequently bought together

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From the Publisher

About John Perkins

The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

The latest version of this shocking bestseller!

Touching the Jaguar: Transforming Fear into Action to Change Our Lives and the World

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

From Publishers Weekly

Review

About the Author

Product details

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Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

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