November 20, 2004: Headlines: COS - Ecuador: Writing - Ecuador: Development: Economics: Amazon: Reviews of Ecuador RPCV John Perkins writes "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man"

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Ecuador: Special Report: Ecuador RPCV and Author John Perkins: November 20, 2004: Headlines: COS - Ecuador: Writing - Ecuador: Development: Economics: Amazon: Reviews of Ecuador RPCV John Perkins writes "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man"

By Admin1 (admin) (pool-151-196-36-89.balt.east.verizon.net - 151.196.36.89) on Monday, November 29, 2004 - 4:05 am: Edit Post

Reviews of Ecuador RPCV John Perkins writes "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man"

Reviews of Ecuador RPCV John Perkins writes Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

Reviews of Ecuador RPCV John Perkins writes "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man"

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 doesn’t 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.

Jim Garrison, author, America As Empire, President of the State of the World Forum
"John Perkins has written a book that shakes one's confidence in the ethics of the prevailing economic system."

Michael Brownstein, author of World on Fire
"Perkins narrates his moral awakening to break free from the corrupt system of global domination he himself helped to create."

Gary Margolis Ph.D., Director, Center for Counseling and Human Relations, Associate Professor of English, Middlebury College, author, Fire in the Orchard and Falling Awake
"This book is Perkins' story, that through necessity and courage offers us a way back, beyond salvation, to human justice."

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

David Korten, author of the bestselling When Corporations Rule the World
"… true, powerful, revealing, and bone chilling personal story that names names and connects the dots . . . "

Dragonfly Review, November 2004
An adventure thriller that connects the dots between corporate globalization, American Empire, and the dynasty of the House of Bush.

About the Author
John Perkins is founder and president of the Dream Change Coalition, which works closely with Amazonian and other indigenous people to help preserve their environments and cultures. He was previously founder and CEO of Independent Power Systems, an alternative energy provider. From 1971 to 1981 he worked for the international consulting firm of Chas. T. Main, where he became Chief Economist and Director of Economics and Regional Planning. He is the author of five books, including Spirit of the Shuar: Wisdom from the Last Unconquered People of the Amazon.

Product Description:
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. And Perkins should know. For many years he worked for an 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. This book, which many people warned Perkins not to write, is a blistering attack on a little-known phenomenon that has had dire consequences on both the victimized countries and the U.S.





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Story Source: Amazon

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Ecuador; Writing - Ecuador; Development; Economics

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