Thread: Economic Hitmen - by John Perkins

A review on Amazon.

246 of 300 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Self-obsessed and exaggerated, June 3, 2005
By
Mark "Mark" (Seattle, WA)


This review is from: Confessions of an Economic Hit Man (Hardcover)
John Perkins is somewhat confounding. I was so excited to read about economic espionage and American high intrigue. The book's billing does not match its content. The story does not deliver the promise of the coverleaf. Perkins indulges way too much in himself and a formulaic plotline that seems almost fictional. It feels like a first-time writer's self-published memoir of a life not as eventful as he himself imagines. His vignettes seem contrived. I don't see any balanced reason. There is no real confirmation that his life story is true, not because it lacks evidence, but because it reads like a life imagined instead of a life lived. He squanders many chances to make salient points about America's engagement with the world. This book, however, is all about his ego and very little about the world or his impact on much of anything.

If you want to learn the back story on America's dealings around the globe, and something actually current, try America's Secret War. This book is well-reasoned, supported by lots and lots of facts, and comes with very little bias. In the end, Perkins' is too wrapped up in his idyllic, but weirdly made to be tortured, youth and some queer anti-US agenda that makes you question his objectives from the beginning.

Not sure why DOMS posted a negative review of the book from some random on Amazon, but anyway. I thought the book was awesome. One of my friends that I work with on the road told me about it. I have now passed it on to everyone in my family. Great story. Very revealing. Yeah, so what, he talks about his family, girlfriends and wives. Doesn't every person who is writing a biography? I think the story does deliver. That is my review.

For those that haven't read the book nor want to spend the time to read it, here is a brief series of interviews by John Perkins. How he got into this business, what he did, and what he thinks of it now. Very interesting! It's short. Check it out and comment if you want:

Total: Ten Parts. Here are 6.

Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3:


Part 4:


Part 5:


Part 6: On Saudi Arabia & OPEC

Part 7:


Part 8:


Part 9:


Part 10:

Its a solids book that reinforces some things that have already been brought to light...that being said, the author definitely has some image and self awareness issues. They really come out in towards the end during his moments of self reflection. He talks about how much he hated himself and the work he did and how he is not trying to profit on them anymore...then he sells this books (mind you it was about 20bucks a copy for paperback in 2007. He come off hypocritical.

liked the geopolitical material of the book for the most part, the author was not as likeable though

I'm reading the book now. It's a quick read. I hope as many Americans - and people of this world read this book.

i read this a while back and found it very interesting. the author bio does seem a little inventive though; a lost soul, who lacked any moral objective that did the bidding of the empire, only to become an idealist psychonaut fighting for the good of the common man.

economic hitman was a good read. as a man in the center though, he comes off as a preachy liberal douche with no convincing argument in his other books.

i will say though, that the books that he references in secret history of the american empire are spectacular. worth looking at if only for that.

^^ Yes, he was dealing with a conscience and his emotions. He seems to feel more than others, but I think this is a plus. At least he was honest in his feelings.

It think living in the Amazon for 3 years made a positive influence on him.

^ Yes, the secrets of the empire building is described well. Something all Americans should be aware of.

A good presentation. Details on Saudi Arabian deal in the 1970s, and the Petro dollar deal.

Here is a little more:

Originally Posted by Big Smoothy

^ Yes, the secrets of the empire building is described well. Something all Americans should be aware of.

this is easier said then done in the land of illusions, aka the US. the hubris of Americans as a whole blinds them from many facts. they laugh and mock other countries that are manipulated by their governments (take China and N. Korea as examples) while the exact same thing happens and is happening to an even greater extent here.

Originally Posted by DOMS

A review on Amazon.

246 of 300 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Self-obsessed and exaggerated, June 3, 2005
By
Mark "Mark" (Seattle, WA)


This review is from: Confessions of an Economic Hit Man (Hardcover)
John Perkins is somewhat confounding. I was so excited to read about economic espionage and American high intrigue. The book's billing does not match its content. The story does not deliver the promise of the coverleaf. Perkins indulges way too much in himself and a formulaic plotline that seems almost fictional. It feels like a first-time writer's self-published memoir of a life not as eventful as he himself imagines. His vignettes seem contrived. I don't see any balanced reason. There is no real confirmation that his life story is true, not because it lacks evidence, but because it reads like a life imagined instead of a life lived. He squanders many chances to make salient points about America's engagement with the world. This book, however, is all about his ego and very little about the world or his impact on much of anything.

If you want to learn the back story on America's dealings around the globe, and something actually current, try America's Secret War. This book is well-reasoned, supported by lots and lots of facts, and comes with very little bias. In the end, Perkins' is too wrapped up in his idyllic, but weirdly made to be tortured, youth and some queer anti-US agenda that makes you question his objectives from the beginning.

You should try thinking for yourself...

^ MyCat,

Out of all of the reviews...hundreds of them....you choose to post this one. Ha-ha.

I've read the book and it's still on my shelf. What Perkins described has been confirmed. Of course, being an auto-biographical book, we cannot prove or disprove if Perkins really ate chicken for lunch on May 7, 1977......

He also put his entire resume in the book and has named the company he worked for.

Originally Posted by LAM

this is easier said then done in the land of illusions, aka the US. the hubris of Americans as a whole blinds them from many facts. they laugh and mock other countries that are manipulated by their governments (take China and N. Korea as examples) while the exact same thing happens and is happening to an even greater extent here.

very true. I moved here 4 years ago and to an outsider this is very obvious that people are systematically tought to worship the dollar and therefore greed and all that follows. In china you worship the ruler, in America you worship a worthless piece of paper and the sad part is almost everybody is unhappy!
another thing i was thinking about today is the travel industrie, when do you see deals to other major cities outside the U.S.? its usually to some American-ran resort where they make sure you are not exposed to too much. If you talk to older military cats that spent years over seas (when they were allowed to be a part of that countries culture, not locked up on base out of fear) you will see they see things very diffirently

Americans listen to american music, whatch american movies and whatch american news.. this is really one of the more isolated western countries in the world...if you think about it

Originally Posted by Gissurjon

very true. I moved here 4 years ago and to an outsider this is very obvious that people are systematically tought to worship the dollar and therefore greed and all that follows. In china you worship the ruler, in America you worship a worthless piece of paper and the sad part is almost everybody is unhappy!
another thing i was thinking about today is the travel industrie, when do you see deals to other major cities outside the U.S.? its usually to some American-ran resort where they make sure you are not exposed to too much. If you talk to older military cats that spent years over seas (when they were allowed to be a part of that countries culture, not locked up on base out of fear) you will see they see things very diffirently

Americans listen to american music, whatch american movies and whatch american news.. this is really one of the more isolated western countries in the world...if you think about it

Gissurjon,

This is one of the most memorable posts I've read all year. Spot-on. I see things the same way because I've lived outside of the US for 10 years.

And yeah, I notice how the long-term military guys that have lived abroad perceive things differently than Americans that never left.

I see it the same way on the foreign resorts, also.

Brilliant post.

Thanks man!

Originally Posted by Gissurjon

very true. I moved here 4 years ago and to an outsider this is very obvious that people are systematically tought to worship the dollar and therefore greed and all that follows. In china you worship the ruler, in America you worship a worthless piece of paper and the sad part is almost everybody is unhappy!
another thing i was thinking about today is the travel industrie, when do you see deals to other major cities outside the U.S.? its usually to some American-ran resort where they make sure you are not exposed to too much. If you talk to older military cats that spent years over seas (when they were allowed to be a part of that countries culture, not locked up on base out of fear) you will see they see things very diffirently

Americans listen to american music, whatch american movies and whatch american news.. this is really one of the more isolated western countries in the world...if you think about it

you are spot on....

the fact that many americans are not well traveled causes them to have a skewed perception of the country in an overly positive manner. all of the information put out by us media outlets (which are controlled by the government) holds the US in a very positive light as expected, this is not the case in the real world. those of us that have traveled out of country extensively in the military or work/travel, etc. have a completely different perspective and have access to different information not spoon feed to us by the us government. take for example when you go to the UK, on the bbc they vilify wallstreet, the stockmarket, us banks, etc. and for good reason since the US is the epicenter of neo-liberal economics and the IMF is located here.

the grand scheme is so massive its mind boggling. Lets take health for an example. One thing i noticed quickly was the fact that in some areas (mostly newly built areas) you cannot find a sidewalk longer than a couple hundred feet. Now if I wanted to walk to the store, which is located 2 miles away, I would have to walk in traffick and/or in high grass, which is not a good idea in GA.

washington debates on things like what kind of healthcare system we need and what it will cost and then blames the illegals (which are doing most of the dirty work vital to the country's function) for putting pressure on the system. Well if they really wanted to tackle the problem they would do so where it starts. Bad and misleading information when it comes to general nutrition! I talked to a mother the other day that honestly thought that chicken nuggets and hawaiian punch were healthy products. "well nuggets have chicken in them and the punch is a fruit punch". lets not even mention the power that fast food chains have in washington.

the downside to correcting this problem though is that sales of type 2 diabetes and blood pressure medication among many others would almost disapear, which is really bad for those who make those drugs.

In denmark for an example, everybody owns a bicycle, it is harder to find a place to park your bike than it is to park your car. Now like i said earlier, if u want to ride a bike or walk, they make sure you cant really do so without great discomfort. they probably justafy it by saying they are creating jobs for gym employees and BS personal trainers, which 80 % of us would not need if we practiced healthy living.

I could go on and on because it really doesnt stop, all meanwhile we are debating about a Bush or Obama. Makes no diffirence if you ask me, its up to us to change things, not politicians.

Time to swallow some pride and realize that there are things to be learned from everyone and every nation!

Originally Posted by myCATpowerlifts

You should try thinking for yourself...

I do, and it pisses off non-thinkers like yourself.

Greece and the IMF:
Who Exactly is Being Saved?
http://www.cepr.net/documents/public...mf-2010-07.pdf

austerity measures in the US are about to begin...

Congressional leaders meet with Obama on debt ceiling
Congressional leaders meet with Obama on debt ceiling | The Ticket - Yahoo! News

Originally Posted by Gissurjon

One thing i noticed quickly was the fact that in some areas (mostly newly built areas) you cannot find a sidewalk longer than a couple hundred feet. Now if I wanted to walk to the store, which is located 2 miles away, I would have to walk in traffick and/or in high grass, which is not a good idea in GA.

I lived in Northern Virginia, and noticed also.

It was designed to actually dissuade walking. To get milk, bread, or a 6-pack, I'd have to walk a very long distance. And walk on a dirt shoulder of a road with cars traveling 60+ miles an hour.

Cul-de-sacs, cars, and strip-malls.

I moved into the District (DC), and was glad I did.

Originally Posted by LAM

austerity measures in the US are about to begin...

Congressional leaders meet with Obama on debt ceiling
Congressional leaders meet with Obama on debt ceiling | The Ticket - Yahoo! News

its about time

we'll what actually gets passed though...

Originally Posted by lnvanry

its about time

we'll what actually gets passed though...

if this is what you desire I hope you have a couple of million invested for your retirement ALREADY and growing enough interest to combat the next market crash or two and hyperinflation once the petro-dollar is replaced.

the US spends the least percentage of GDP on social protection out of all OECD countries right now we also have the highest percentage of the population getting paid low wages at 25% and the highest rates of inflation. in decades to come we will also have the highest amount of elderly living on the streets like there was in the 30's.

the "prosperous" times in the US for the middle class ended in the early 80's it goes now-where but down from here on.

Originally Posted by LAM

if this is what you desire I hope you have a couple of million invested for your retirement ALREADY and growing enough interest to combat the next market crash or two and hyperinflation once the petro-dollar is replaced.

the US spends the least percentage of GDP on social protection out of all OECD countries right now we also have the highest percentage of the population getting paid low wages at 25% and the highest rates of inflation. in decades to come we will also have the highest amount of elderly living on the streets like there was in the 30's.

the "prosperous" times in the US for the middle class ended in the early 80's it goes now-where but down from here on.

I'm comfortable that I will likely be gainfully employed with a comfortable (yes, I understand that a relative term) quality of life as long as the US has a military.

If the US economy goes down the shitter to the extreme that you are speaking of...well it doesn't matter how much USD you have or where you live for that matter. The whole globe is screwed for decades.

social protection programs were not the cause of our 14T deficit so they obviously will not be the solution. after the reduction of entitlements I suspect next will be mortgage interest deductions and the EITC as there has been talk of ended these already.

Originally Posted by LAM

social protection programs were not the cause of our 14T deficit so they obviously will not be the solution. after the reduction of entitlements I suspect next will be mortgage interest deductions and the EITC as there has been talk of ended these already.

I'm all for mortgage interest deductions for 2nd+ homes or for homes over $X (1m?...not sure where you draw the line)...or if you make over $X/yr (250k?).