Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
John Perkins
book reviews:
· general fiction
· chick lit/romance
· sci-fi/fantasy
· graphic novels
· nonfiction
· audio books

Click here for the curledup.com RSS Feed

· author interviews
· children's books @
   curledupkids.com
· DVD reviews @
   curledupdvd.com

newsletter
win books
buy online
links

home

for authors
& publishers


for reviewers

click here to learn more




Buy *Confessions of an Economic Hit Man* online

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
John Perkins
Berrett-Koehler Publications
Hardcover
264 pages
November 2004
rated 3 of 5 possible stars

previous review next review

Confessions Of An Economic Hit Man is John Perkins (oddly enough he is also the author of a book on shape shifting and shamans) take on his secret life working for an international consulting firm that made sure it economically destroyed small, oil rich countries through huge loans that couldn’t be paid back. Supposedly recruited by the NSA, John eventually went to work for Chas. T. Main, Inc., as an economist in a clandestine effort to make third-world countries the puppets of the United States. Seduced by the mysterious Claudine to be trained as an EHM (Economic Hit Man), John then goes onto describe his missions in 007 fashion.

The book not only starts to read like fiction but also becomes a soapbox for John’s incessant complaints of childhood troubles as if he was abused when in reality he comes from a background of privilege. This self-loathing becomes unbearable at times. Also, the frequent guilt he displays seems incredibly forced and gratuitous (the mea culpas are aplenty). It starts to read more like the confession of a depressed man with his painting himself as a victim.

After starting to write this book many times (threatened and bribed to stop several times along the way) over the last twenty years, Perkins finally finds someone to publish his book. Here is a part of why he felt compelled to get this book done:

“This story must be told. We live in a time of terrible crisis – and tremendous opportunity. The story of this particular economic hit man is the story of how we got where we are and why we currently face crises that seem insurmountable. This story must be told because only by understanding our past mistakes will we be able to take advantage of future opportunities; because 9/11 happened and so did the second war in Iraq; because in addition to the three thousand people who died on September 11, 2001, at the hands of terrorists, another twenty-four thousand died from hunger and related causes. In fact, twenty-four thousand people die everyday because they are unable to obtain life-sustaining food. Most importantly, this story must be told because today, for the first time in history, one nation has the ability, the money, and the power to change all this. It is the nation where I was born and served as an EHM: the United States of America.”
With that said, there is serious subject matter discussed within this book. The globalization and privatization are real issues so if the hoopla and hype surrounding this book sling shots you into reading more on the subject, then that is a good thing.



© 2005 by Bobby Blades for curledup.com.

buy *Confessions of an Economic Hit Man* online
click here for more info
Click here to learn more about this month's sponsor!


fiction · sf/f · comic books · nonfiction · audio
newsletter · free book contest · buy books online
review index · links · · authors & publishers
reviewers

site by ELBO Computing Resources, Inc.