The Jakarta Method
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4.6 • 49 Ratings
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
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.
Customer Reviews
Interesting the whole way through
Generally informative and very listenable throughout. There are a few amusing moments where the author’s restraint on his own pro-Communist bias fails him —for instance, I never thought I’d live long enough to hear someone use adjectives like “budding” to describe the horrors of Mao’s Cultural Revolution 🤣— but the Jakarta story is indisputably undertold, and even a decidedly pro-leftist take on these Cold War activities can be worth knowing.