National Network for Equitable Library Service

Economic hit men (EHMs) “are highly paid professionals who cheat countries out of trillions of dollars. Their tools include fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex, and murder.” John Perkins wrote those words—he was one of them. In this extraordinary new version of his now-classic book, Perkins reveals how economic hit men, the assassin jackals who back them up, and the system they represent, have spread all over the globe—and how we can fight back. Over 40% of this book is completely new. Besides providing more details about his activities as an EHM, Perkins has written a new Introduction and fifteen explosive chapters that bring the story up to date. The system he and other EHMs pioneered has spread globally. As Perkins puts it, “the cancer has metastasized.” The material in the new chapters exposes how the EHM system has spread across the planet, from the Seychelles to Honduras, Ecuador, Libya, Turkey, Western Europe, Vietnam, China—and the United States. Shockingly, it has become the dominant system of business, government, and society today. Perkins also provides a timeline of EHM activities since 2004 with extensive documentation to back it up. But Perkins doesn’t just leave us hanging. He offers specific ideas and strategies for how each of us can transform what he calls a failing Death Economy into
a Life Economy that provides sustainable abundance for all.