The Jakarta Method

Washington's Anticommunist Crusade and the Mass Murder Program that Shaped Our World

De: Vincent Bevins

Narrado por: Tim Paige

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR, THE FINANCIAL TIMES, AND GQ

“A radical new history of the United States abroad” (Wall Street Journal) which uncovers U.S. complicity in the mass-killings of left-wing activists in Indonesia, Latin America and around the world

In 1965, the US government helped the Indonesian military kill approximately one million innocent civilians—eliminating the largest Communist Party outside China and the Soviet Union and inspiring other copycat terror programs.

In this bold and comprehensive new history, Vincent Bevins draws from recently declassified documents, archival research, and eyewitness testimony to reveal a shocking legacy that spans the globe. For decades, it’s been believed that the developing world passed peacefully into the US-led capitalist system. The Jakarta Method demonstrates that the brutal extermination of unarmed leftists was a fundamental part of Washington’s final triumph in the Cold War.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“A radical new history of the United States abroad.”—Wall Street Journal

"Excellent...anchors itself in a history most Americans never learned or would rather forget."
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post

"The Jakarta Method is a must-read to better understand how the U.S. intelligence apparatus became what it is today, and how it's ravaged so many other countries along the way."
—GQ

"Bevins gives a concise account of how US-supported carnage in Indonesia inspired other countries to unleash their own murderous suppression of left-wing movements. By focusing on Indonesia and nations not aligned with either the United States or the Soviet Union, he goes beyond the typical Cold War history of arms races and intrigue....As Bevins effectively describes, we are still living in the world created by these anti-communist purges....[His] account raises necessary questions. Did the anti-communist mania of the 20th century make the world any safer? And if so, for whom?"—Foreign Policy

"Bevins is not the first to note that the Cold War frequently burned hot in the Third World, but he excels at showing the human costs of that epic ideological struggle."
—The New Republic

"The Jakarta Method dismantles and re-positions the American mythos, similar to two recent Pulitzer Prize winners: Nikole Hannah-Jones's The 1619 Project and Greg Grandin's The End of the Myth.... The Jakarta Method is a devastating critique of US hypocrisy during the Cold War, and a mournful hypothetical of what the world might have looked like if Third World movements had succeeded."
—Los Angeles Review of Books

"Riveting....As a polemic, The Jakarta Method is never anything less than conscientious and persuasive, but Bevins's book truly takes flight as a work of narrative journalism, tracing the history of America's violent meddling in Southeast Asia and Latin America through the stories of those it brutalized."
—Jacobin

"[The Jakarta Method] sheds a welcome light on the crimes that took place in Indonesia, a history largely forgotten in the West...but it also asks the fundamental question of why America aided such atrocities... Bevins persuasively argues for his country's blanket anticommunism as a kind of zealotry, an irrational pull with origins in the foundation of the United States."
—Times Literary Supplement

"Exceptional...If Indonesia is counted as a 'win' for the pro-regime change crowd, the idea of promoting regime change is absolutely bankrupt and should never be employed again."—The American Conservative

"Trenchant....powerful....[Bevins] translates the findings of complex scholarly accounts into smooth and readable, if often heartbreaking, prose."
—Boston Review

Deep reporting

excellent book. deep, relatable, detailed reporting. Excellent coverage of history including personal accounts previously unreported. a close look at a brutal global campaign to guarantee the subservience of the global south.

Narration was captivating despite occasional pronunciation issues

Concise and informative

Thank you for including how the terror visited in Jakarta affected 'emerging' governments regionally and globally.

Must read for anyone interested in global history!

Without exaggeration this is one of the best books I’ve read all year. Vincent Bevins does an excellent job connecting the complex histories of the US, the USSR, and the global south into a coherent historically accurate narrative. This Book is written such that it will be understandable even if you don’t have a background in world history and will teach you a lot even if you already know a lot about world history. I am now embarrassed to say that I knew nothing about the genocides which took place in Indonesia and their impact on the Third World movement and socialism in the Third World. This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the current world order and the bloody truth of American imperialism.

excellent necessary history

a broad history told through those who were there. this is a book of beautiful stories of the lives of people throughout the Third World working towards building their countries, against US led capitalism and western geopolitical project. great narrator as well.

Personal Evidence and Narrative

The information provided about Indonesia’s struggles during this time was explained with very interesting and captivating details. The personal evidence Vincent Blevins acquires is very well done, gathered through interviews and other sources.

A book everybody should read

This is a history that is not taught, in fact is constantly denied. Of course, the documents proving it have been classified, and most of the witnesses killed, whereas propaganda to the contrary has been spread by all media and basic education. But now that it is known, it should be known by everybody. Chances are it changes the way you see the world.

Thanks, I hated it.

incredibly informative and depressing. Kind of feel like I need a shower now. Just all around very upsetting. 5 stars.

A must read history of the cold war

a very well written and well researched history of post colonial Indonesia and the less known but more important US cold war proxies.

Tells the story of the history that everyone should know

You’ll be embarrassed and infuriated at how ignorant you were as an American after reading this book. This books gives you a wider understanding of recent world history that you won’t find in mainstream media outlets and exposes the evil doing of the CIA across at least 22 countries.

Every United States citizen should read this

I give this book 5 stars. Strength before weakness, Journey before destination. I need to fifteen words and here are a few more