Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq
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About this ebook
Stephen Kinzer's Overthrow provides a fast-paced narrative history of the coups, revolutions, and invasions by which the United States has toppled fourteen foreign governments -- not always to its own benefit
"Regime change" did not begin with the administration of George W. Bush, but has been an integral part of U.S. foreign policy for more than one hundred years. Starting with the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893 and continuing through the Spanish-American War and the Cold War and into our own time, the United States has not hesitated to overthrow governments that stood in the way of its political and economic goals. The invasion of Iraq in 2003 is the latest, though perhaps not the last, example of the dangers inherent in these operations.
In Overthrow, Stephen Kinzer tells the stories of the audacious politicians, spies, military commanders, and business executives who took it upon themselves to depose monarchs, presidents, and prime ministers. He also shows that the U.S. government has often pursued these operations without understanding the countries involved; as a result, many of them have had disastrous long-term consequences.
In a compelling and provocative history that takes readers to fourteen countries, including Cuba, Iran, South Vietnam, Chile, and Iraq, Kinzer surveys modern American history from a new and often surprising perspective.
"Detailed, passionate and convincing . . . [with] the pace and grip of a good thriller." -- Anatol Lieven, The New York Times Book Review
Stephen Kinzer
Stephen Kinzer is the author of many books, including The True Flag, The Brothers, Overthrow, and All the Shah’s Men. An award-winning foreign correspondent, he served as the New York Times bureau chief in Nicaragua, Germany, and Turkey. He is a senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University, and writes a world affairs column for the Boston Globe. He lives in Boston.
Read more from Stephen Kinzer
Poisoner in Chief: Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA Search for Mind Control Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The True Flag: Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and the Birth of American Empire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Crescent and Star: Turkey Between Two Worlds Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Thousand Hills: Rwanda's Rebirth and the Man Who Dreamed It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Iran: The Essential Guide to a Country on the Brink Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5
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Reviews for Overthrow
140 ratings10 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A brisk and interesting chronicle of fourteen instances of U.S. intervention to promote "regime change" -- the ouster of an existing government in favor of one that the U.S. preferred. Well-written and interesting, though it would be nice if he ventured further into the broader implications of U.S. interventionism.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An important book for all Americans. We seem to have no memory of our own history. After 9/11, the President said the terrorists hate us for our freedom. This book suggests that there are many in the world with good reason to dislike the United States.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Started off with a flourish, ended with a hamfisted bore fest designed to put the reader to sleep. Worth reading in my opnion for the first chapter on Hawaii - which was excellent. The rest deviated onto weird incredibly boring side tangents filled with plenty of pedestal mounted preaching.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A very interesting and fascinating history on an American century of regime change--starting with the overthrow of the Hawaiian Queen Liliuokami and ending with our present debacle in Iraq. Kinzer goes behind the scenes to ferret out the characters behind the coups and the more often than not hapless victims of their ambitions. For the most part these are cautionary tales of ambition, greed and deceit filtered through a more often than not blinkered and arrogant view of righteousness and 'good' intentions and more often than not come back to haunt us sometimes 20--30 even 60 years afterwards. Many of these countries are very familiar to us--Cuba, Vietnam, Iran, Iraq. Kinzer argues that what may seem politically expedient today can have awful ramifications far into the future if not thought out carefully--a secondary theme being how little Americans in general know (or are even interested for that matter) about world history and how this leaves us unprepared to objectively view the machinations of regime change when one president or another of ours gets an idea in his head.Particularly poignant are the chapters on Iran (the Mossadegh coup), Guatemala (Arbenz), Vietnam (the Diem assassination that JFK unwittingly provoked less than a month before his own assassination), Chile (Allende) and our aid to the Afghan rebels many of whom later will become soldiers for the Taliban or terrorists for Al Quaeda. American foreign policy throughout the century has a tendency to take its eye off the ball after deposing its enemies often leaving a slowly boiling population to suffer under the hands of ' friendly to american interests' military tyrants. Kinzer makes the point also that the aspirations of those people though usually in time come to fruition albeit more often than not with much resentment towards our government--seen afterwards for its cynicism and hypocrisy. Kinzer is an excellent storyteller--who writes skillfully and with much verve. He is able to pare things down without losing focus on the personalities and politics involved. He is able to tie the stories together into a coherent whole. They are easy to read--not hard to understand and give much food for thought. Very well done and very much recommended.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5not a bad overview. Tends toget a little heavy handed in the last 1/3.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5"Regime Change" has been on the edge of everyone's tongue for the last 5 years. Iraq, Afghanistan, and perhaps Iran are the countries we think of, that and the United States executing the change. But what Stephen Kinzer brilliantly illustrates is that this idea, this preemptive, hegemony is a cornerstone of American politics and is not to be exclusively associated with George W. Bush and his cronies. From Hawaii to Iraq Kinzer draws the political lines between the bourgeois and people's democracy struggling over resources, and values.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5So perceptive and detailed - set against the backdrop of current world sentiments
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the history of US foreign policy.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book is incredibly well researched and incredibly nuanced and critical. I'm very happy and grateful I read it!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kinzer's main thesis is that, from the end of the 19th Century through the present, the U.S. has used military power (both overtly and clandestinely) to overthrow governments seen as unfriendly to American interests. In most cases, these interests have been of an economic nature or coincident with economic benefits. In every instance, however, the manipulation of the fate of other countries and their people has been cloaked in more "elevated" rhetoric. Each chapter is devoted to a short history of one country ‘s takeover, beginning with Hawaii, then Central America, and ending with Iran and Iraq. Kinzer points to the use of patriotism and religious fervor to win over American popular opinion, backed by the big dollars and political support of corporations ”eagerly looking abroad for new markets and sources of raw materials.” Of contemporary interest, Kinzer draws parallels between George W. Bush and William McKinley, noting with sarcasm that “Neither man was troubled by his ignorance of the countries whose governments he overthrew.” Both, he observes, believed they were agents of divine inspiration, carrying out America’s “sacred mission to spread its form of government to faraway countries.”In spite of the lofty ideals professed by presidents under whose administrations regime changes were effected, the bottom line is that “Americans have believed they deserve access to markets and resources in other countries. When they are denied that access, they take what they want by force, deposing governments that stand in their way.”Kinzer tells some very interesting stories that are not the usual textbook fare: U.S. control of the banana republics by United Fruit; CIA destabilization tactics in Guatemala; the horrific determination of Nixon and Kissinger to, in Nixon’s words, “smash” that “son of a bitch Allende” in Chile; our love affair, and then change of heart, over Noriega; how the CIA worked behind the scenes to undermine Mossadegh in Iran (creating a nation full of America-hating youth, some of whom went on to take American diplomats as hostage and drive Jimmy Carter from office); and of course the piece de resistance – George W. Bush’s obsession with Iraq. “And in the end,” one would have to say with John Lennon, “the love you take, is equal to the love you make.” If we’re not much loved in the world right now, there are plenty of good reasons, and Kinzer makes a good start in delineating them.