Subtitled, The Shocking Inside Story of How America Really Took Over the World, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man is a semi-autobiographical book written by John Perkins.  The author claims that he was hired at a Boston engineering consulting firm that was secretly directed by the NSA.  The author’s role was to consult the leaders of third world countries and convince them to take sizable contracting and engineering loans from US-based companies. The intent was to knowingly over leverage these countries such that the US could wield considerable political influence in those regions.  

The content of the book has faced harsh scrutiny with most involved parties insisting all claims are false.  Whether true or not, the story is nonetheless fascinating.  It provides an element of history about various foreign countries and their political structure, but it also makes the reader wonder about the existence of a “silent hand” that controls the US and its operations throughout the world. 

At nine hours or 300 pages, its a medium length read that is thoroughly entertaining.