The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

By: John Perkins

Narrated by: Tom Taylorson

Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's Summary

The New York Times best seller, updated and expanded, featuring 15 explosive new chapters.

The previous edition of this now-classic book revealed the existence and subversive manipulations of "economic hit men". John Perkins wrote that economic hit men (EHM) "are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars. Their tools include fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex, and murder". In Perkins' case, the tool was debt - convincing strategically important countries to borrow huge amounts of money for enormous "development" projects that served the very rich while driving the country deeper into poverty and debt. And once indebted, these countries could be controlled.

In this latest edition, Perkins provides revealing new details about how he and others did their work. But, more importantly, in an explosive new section, he describes how the EHM tools are being used around the world more widely than ever - even in the United States. The cancer has metastasized, yet most people still aren't aware of it.

Fear and debt drive the EHM system. We are hammered with messages that terrify us into believing that we must pay any price, assume any debt, to stop the enemies who, we are told, lurk at our doorsteps. The EHM system - employing false economics, bribes, surveillance, deception, debt, coups, assassinations, and unbridled military power - has become the dominant system of economics, government, and society today. It has created what Perkins calls a "death economy". But Perkins offers hope: He concludes with dozens of specific, concrete suggestions for actions all of us can take to wrest control of our world away from the economic hit men and help give birth to a life economy.

©2004 John Perkins (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Starts off interesting, but a lot of it is filler

The author pretends to take responsibility for his actions, but is really looking to do some virtue signalling. On the one hand, he admits that the bad stuff happened because guys like him (and worse guys) used lies, threats and even violence to force foreign leaders to make bad decisions. But he also wants us to believe that the economic problems in the world are the fault of free market capitalism. It's ridiculous. Free market capitalism is very much opposed to the practices that he describes in the book, and yet he wants to blame capitalism and sympathize with left wing terrorists.

Don't buy the first "confessions. .." buy this one

A lot of repeat information for about the first half with some, not much more detail or clarity of the first book. So I wouldn't waste the money buying the first rendering. The remaining 15 or so chapters are packed full of new and some repeat information for clarity purposes because there is a lot going on.
Now about the content, it had and has me pissed off knowing all the misinformation that has been pushed to the general public while the greedy bastards are still continuing to conquer, destroy, kill, manipulate, ..... and no one is held accountable. The outsiders pay dearly on a continuous basis without the slightest smidgen of guilt or compassion. Pure evil is the best way to describe it.

Good message garbled in self-pity

This book could've been 25%, possibly 35% shorter if the author spent less time wading around in guilt and self-pity and spent more time on the details of the mini-stories and the overall message. A worthwhile read if you can block out the annoying interludes of guilt confessions.

Bits of gold in utter garbage

I will start out with this.
John makes some solid points about modern economic system, and had some excellent insight into the US/Saudi Arabia link. If you start panning, you'll find some good bits. But around those good bits is solid trash. Like turned up to 3.5x and wishing for 4x levels of a mix of self-flagatation and explaining how its not really his fault, while also pushing his personal new-age philosophy.

I will also say the US is far from saintly on the international stage, but is no worse than anyone else (And better than most) when you compare the US's actions to what adversaries and contemporaries get up to. But you'll find no nuance here, only praise for dictators and mass murders simply because they were on the other side of table from the US.

The interesting bits about the real workings of international finance, and the way the media controls the information. But for example, when discussing Panama he leaves out key events, such as Norriega declaring war on the US and US citizens and service personnel being attacked and killed by Panamanian forces. There is plenty wrong with how Just Cause went down, but insufficient provocation is not one of them.
In the lead up to the first gulf war, John leaves out the massive loans Iraq took from its neighbors - which it invaded to try to cancel - focusing only on how its all the US' doing. (which again, is not to say that US' actions didn't play a role, but it was not the primary mover)

Intermixed with all of this, John invites readers (listeners?) to come join his cult in the rainforest.

So if you're looking to hear how everything the America does is wrong, and anyone - literally anyone - counter to that is 100% great with no bad side for 12 hours, this is the book for you. If you want some nuance and actual perspective on how international finance plays out, this isn't the book for you.

John has nothing good to say about the US. But for some reason or another hasn't tried to emigrate to Ecuador or any of the other countries he praises. I wonder why that is.

Time to Open our Eyes - and Say Enough!

After listening to The Creature from Jekyll Island and others, The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man really is a eye opener and it fills in the gaps. This book is a must listen if you really want to understand what is going on in the global economy. If your concerned for the environment and why the World Bank says they want to eradicate global poverty but in fact are the agents who support global corporations to rape the 3rd world, then your ready to swallow the red pill and buy this book.

Read, read, read!!

This book is a must read, especially for any American who may be struggling to understand the world we live in today and what role the US plays in it.

Vivid accounts of historic hidden truth, it's a...

Sad Necessary Awakening to the Real State of the Union. This updated edition brings us right up to 2015 atrocities and sources of hope and action.

Confirmations of Fear

This book confirms much of what you fear goes on among massive multinational corporations and our governments. Much of the "aid" we send other countries through various financial mechanisms is a veiled attempt at strangling them with debt and dependences as those countries develop. Perkins does a great job sharing the behind the scenes activity and the reasons for it, painting a complete picture of the things we suspected were happening. Perhaps the only negative about this book is that some of the later chapters get washed out with generic suggestions to prevent this in the future albeit a very positive message. When even our political system is used against us, keeping us fighting unimportant battles with each other, it is hard to accept a simple message of buying goods from good companies and acting in good conscience after the level of moral disregard and wanton malevolence is made clear.

More like Liberal Hit Piece

A friend recommended this book to me and, although I know his political positions, he revealed a limited premise that really got me excited. What I found, however, was chapter after chapter of a mea culpa by a man who, while self-admittedly escaping his puritanical upbringing, claims to have known he was doing wrong, but did it anyway.

The story is actually fascinating, but rings hollow as not once during the book does he give any detail of being an economic hit man. In fact the book reads more like a loosely, tied-together, string of Wikipedia entries wherein he inserts himself into that history and then blames Capitalism for every death around the world that could plausibly be related to a western company's market entrance.

All that being said, there's plenty in this book that I do believe and admire Mr. Perkins for writing a generalized book of a highly slanted perspective of 'Corporatocracy'. At the end of the day, much of this stuff can't be denied, regardless of personal political persuasion. For me, it's really not so much the problems (although hyperbole doesn't help anyone) I disagree with, it's the solutions proposed (e.g., government sponsored via tax-payer dollars) which only continues the cycle of fraud and filling the coffers of other companies.

If only Mr. Perkins left out the political partisanship (although in two instances he does mention Democrat party officials as facilitators and benefactors of said Corporatocracy), provided some details of how his economic forecasts actually forced governments to accept these loans, some context to his accusations via similar countries that didn't accept the economic incentives and their parallel growth, and didn't just throw crap up to see what sticks (i.e., one of his last chapters he just starts citing random articles that he thinks may corroborate his work, but also says he didn't do any vetting of the articles themselves), I might have been more swayed to what he was peddling.

Apparently as an Economic Hit Man, Mr. Perkins was superb since he managed to stay and grow in that field, but I seriously doubt his claims of "recruitment by the NSA" led to anything more than a peripheral interest in him due to his association with the son of a foreign dignitary. Also, his writing and conclusions aren't the work of any seasoned intelligence officer as they are laced with conjecture, hyperbole, speculation, and partiality.

The narrator was superb and I was able to listen at 3x speed without any problem; audio was clear and crisp.

Good start, pathetic last half

After enjoying the first half of the book I was thoroughly disappointed with the rest. If I wanted to hear about shamanic healing and tree hugging I'd have bought a different book. The author thinks he's James Bond but comes across as more of a Walter Mitty.

TERRIFYING!!!

As far as writing goes, it's pretty good. But, and I don't mean it as a negative review, the content is pretty depressing and demoralizing. Especially tha latter parts. It's just the realization and the scope of all the financial wrongdoing on a world scale kinda make me feel powerless. The second to lost part, when he lists all the schemes that have been exposed is deeply depressing. But in all fairness it must be told, it must be acted upon and it must be taken seriously be the society. It is strange that books such as that one, The Panama Papers and so on are recieved with perhaps some outrage by the populace, but not nearly as much as the Harvey Wainstein case (not to make it sound unimportant). It's just on a different scale, as far as the number of people that are affected negatively, yet we as a world society fail to react accodingly to it. It is a horrible trend and one may wonder whether in 40-50 years the big companies will even bother to conceal their activities...

More of the same

What did you like most about The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man?

If, like I did, you expected this book to be a sequel to the first gripping tale, you will be, as I was, somewhat disappointed. It is for the most-part,the retelling of the same story, albeit with a few extra bits added. The last section of the book does indeed add fresh information which is interesting. It just felt like so much of the book was superfluous, if you had already read the original.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Angry, as I was the first time I read the book.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Made me angry, and wanting to change the system.

Revealing and terrifying

What an incredible book!

The American empire is alive and well and continuing to expand and it would seem we are all pawns in a much bigger game.

This book makes me feel like dropping off the grid and living a much simpler life. It has made me re-evaluate my priorities for career and life in general. A must read.

Riveting!

This book shines a light on the dark dealings of the corporatocracy over the past 4 decades.... absolutely riveting!

Great insight into what is really going on...

Fascinating book for those keen to know what Governments get up to in our name. It took guts for John Perkins to write this book because the Jackals could easily have taken him out (and he knew that). I'd strongly recommend this book.

A Non-Fiction American Psycho

This book's contents are obscene, depressing and breathtakingly disappointing because we all know what's going on and let it. Perkins writes with a tone of self-flagellation but if you can make it past that, his message is very important.

If you don't yet understand globalisation and the implications of lobbying, overseas aid, NGOs and tax breaks for corporations and the super rich, you will. And you probably won't like it.

fakenews

although it is a good read it is all fiction. I enjoyed it but wish I had done my research first

Great beginning but ends poorly.

It starts off very well, with no reason to doubt the events, even if it labels them strangely. The last third, written 10 years after the first, is a notable break with a descent into self-aggrandising conspiracy theories.

Excellent

Informative and historical on the US empire expansion but presented in a story format. Enjoyed immensely.

Made-up conspiracy theories

I wish I had done more research before buying this book. After 15 minutes of listening to it I had to put it away. It was a lot rambling about various conspiracy theories. Very cliche, big corporation controlling everything etc. I then did some research on the book and found out how much it has been criticized for inaccuracies and unsubstantiated claims.