Book Review: Confessions of an Economic Hitman, John Perkins

Overview

Confessions of an Economic Hitman: Every page of this book was a revelation to me. Captured in its pages, is the naked truth about greed, exploitation and abuse of power by the most powerful country on the planet, “The United States of America”. Economic Hitman (EHMs) are America’s unconventional soldiers. They use economics as a weapon to destabilize a target country and whirl it into a cycle of never ending dependence on the United States.

Perkins, a former economic hitman for the United States chronicles his journey in this role. He shares shocking details about how the United States strategically manipulated the governments in countries like Indonesia, Panama, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Columbia, Venezuela and Ecuador to serve its selfish interests. Selfish Interests? Primarily, to take control of Oil and other resources, to influence political decisions, to earn windfall profits for American conglomerates or just plain Bullying!

Through its pages, the book brings to life another world where murder of innocent citizens, blatant assassinations of political dissidents by CIA and horrendous nexus of wealthy families like Bush-Laden is a cruel everyday reality. Accordingly, the economic hitman receive systematic training and support from the US government. The government in turn is replete with business czars and former top US military officers.

Consequently, The United States accumulates Oil, Wealth and Power at the cost of destruction of indigenous cultures, healthy lifestyles and the environmental ecosystem in the target countries. Ironically, even scores of Americans pay for this with their lives. 9/11 attack and wars in Iraq are the sordid examples of that.

Final Word

The content of this book is gripping, the writing style is narrative and the events unfold at a rapid pace. As a reader, I was hooked and found most of the narration plausible. Albeit, the only aspect I didn’t find convincing was the Perkin’s constant portrayal of himself as a guilt ridden man who always wanted to confess and transform into a noble man. After confessing to years of operations in the role of an economic hitman, certainly gaining trust ain’t that easy after all.

Overall, a book that will help you understand the world a little better, a must read. Happy Reading!

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