A riveting exposé of international corruption-and what we can do about it, from the author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, which spent over a year on the New York Times bestseller list.
In his stunning memoir, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, John Perkins detailed his former role as an "economic hit man" in the international corporate skullduggery of a de facto American Empire. This riveting, behind-the-scenes exposé unfolded like a cinematic blockbuster told through the eyes of a man who once helped shape that empire. Now, in The Secret History of the American Empire, Perkins zeroes in on hot spots around the world and, drawing on interviews with other hit men, jackals, reporters, and activists, examines the current geopolitical crisis. Instability is the norm: It's clear that the world we've created is dangerous and no longer sustainable. How did we get here? Who's responsible? What good have we done and at what cost? And what can we do to change things for the next generations? Addressing these questions and more, Perkins reveals the secret history behind the events that have created the American Empire, including:
- The current Latin-American revolution and its lessons for democracy
- How the "defeats" in Vietnam and Iraq benefited big business
- The role of Israel as "Fortress America" in the Middle East
- Tragic repercussions of the IMF's "Asian Economic Collapse"
- U.S. blunders in Tibet, Congo, Lebanon, and Venezuela
- Jackal (CIA operatives) forays to assassinate democratic presidents
From the U.S. military in Iraq to infrastructure development in Indonesia, from Peace Corps volunteers in Africa to jackals in Venezuela, Perkins exposes a conspiracy of corruption that has fueled instability and anti-Americanism around the globe. Alarming yet hopeful, this book provides a compassionate plan to reimagine our world.

In this shocking memoir, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, John Perkins tells of his own inner journey from willing servant of empire to impassioned advocate for the rights of oppressed people. Covertly recruited by the United States National Security Agency and on the payroll of an international consulting firm, he traveled the world—to Indonesia, Panama, Ecuador, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Iran and other strategically important countries. His job was to implement policies that promoted the interests of the U.S. corporatocracy (a coalition of government, banks, and corporations) while professing to alleviate poverty—policies that alienated many nations and ultimately led to September 11 and growing anti-Americanism. Within a few weeks of its release , Confessions of an Economic Hit Man landed onThe New York Times Bestseller List, then 19 other bestseller lists including the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. The author has been interviewed repeatedly on national radio and television shows, including Amy Goodman's Democracy Now, CSPAN's Book TV, and PBS' Now with David Brancaccio. And now the book is being published in 9 languages around the world. According to John Perkins, "It is accomplishing an important objective in inspiring people to think and talk and to know that we can change the world."
“[A] gripping tell-all book….”
--Rocky Mountain News “John Perkins' story is so astonishing it defies belief…. imagine the conceptual love child of James Bond and Milton Friedman.”
--Boston Herald
“…compulsively readable and revealing.… Resisting threats and bribes, Perkins persisted and wrote his well-documented confessional. He has produced an unflinching and forceful insider’s look at how the U.S. government, multinational ‘aid’ organizations and corporations are following a dangerous path in their pursuit of oil
and other resources.”
--Winnipeg Free Press

Find out more about this important book and the worldwide movement it has spawned at www.economichitman.comA New York Times bestseller!Read what people are saying about this book and join the conversation?visit our Confessions blog todayRead a transcript of John Perkins' recent interview with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now!Read David Korten's review on www.dragonflymedia.comAn extraordinary, real-life tale of international intrigue and corruptionReveals the hidden mechanics of imperial control behind such major international events as the fall of the Shah, the death of Panamanian president Omar Torrijos, and the invasions of Panama and Iraq, as well as providing an inside view of the corrupt U.S.-Saudi Arabian relationshipOne man's personal journey from eager servant of empire to impassioned advocate for the rights of oppressed peopleIn his controversial book, John Perkins tells the gripping tale of the years he spent working for an international consulting firm where his job was to convince underdeveloped countries to accept enormous loans, much bigger than they really needed, for infrastructure development?and to make sure that the development projects were contracted to U. S. multinationals. Once these countries were saddled with huge debts, the American government and the international aid agencies allied with it were able, by dictating repayment terms, to essentially control their economies. It was not unlike the way a loan shark operates?and Perkins and his colleagues didn't shun this kind of unsavory association. They referred to themselves as "economic hit men."This is a story of international political intrigue at the highest levels. For over a decade Perkins traveled all over the world?Indonesia, Panama, Ecuador, Columbia, Saudi Arabia, Iran?and worked with men like Panamanian president Omar Torrijos, who became a personal friend. He helped implement a secret scheme that funneled billions of Saudi petrodollars back into the U. S. economy, and that further cemented the intimate relationship between the Islamic fundamentalist House of Saud and a succession of American administrations. Perkins' story illuminates just how far economic hit men were willing to go, and unveils the real causes of some of the most dramatic developments in recent history, such as the fall of the Shah of Iran and the invasions of Panama and Iraq. Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, which many people urged Perkins not to write, is a blistering attack on a little-known phenomenon that has had dire consequences for both the lesser-developed countries and for American democracy.