Confessions Of An Economic Hit Man

From Strand Bookstore

"Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" reveals a game that, according to John Perkins, is "as old as Empire" but has taken on new and terrifying dimensions in an era of globalization. The author should know. For many years, he worked foran international consulting firm where his main job was to convince LDCs (less developed countries) around the world to accept multibillion-dollar loans for infrastructure projects and to see to it that most of this money ended up at Halliburton, Bechtel, Brown and Root, and other United States engineering and construction companies. What a guy!

From the Publisher

A former consultant to the U.S. government reveals the inner workings of the high-stakes economic game that encourages third world economies to borrow money so that major corporations like Halliburton end up getting the lucrative contracts.

Review

David C. Korten - Dragonfly Review
"John Perkins was for 10 years a player in a high-stakes game of global empire. CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIC HIT MAN is his very personal account of the events that forced him to choose between conscience and a glamorous life of power, luxury and beautiful women. It is also an adventure thriller worthy of Graham Green or John Le Carré that connects the dots between corporate globalization, American Empire, and the dynasty of the House of Bush."

More about the book

John Perkins, in this controversial book, defines a job that few people are aware of: economists whose sole function is to persuade developing countries to take on enormous loans so that they can hire American companies, thus diverting vast sums of money back into the US. When these governments have trouble repaying, the American government steps in and dictates terms, essentially hijacking the economy of the place. Perkins's view of the domination of the global economy by the US and of the greed and power plays this involves, is a controversial one that his former employers attempted to suppress for many years. Perkins claims that this "confession" could pave the way for reform but that, if nothing else, it has eased his conscience.

First Line

It began innocently enough.