Stephen Kinzer Boeken

During the 1950s, when the Cold War was at its peak, two immensely powerful brothers led the US into a series of foreign adventures whose effects are still shaking the world. In this book, the story of John Foster Dulles and Allen Dulles is the story of America. It illuminates and helps explain the modern history of the US and the world.

The David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University work to increase knowledge of the cultures, histories, environment, and contemporary affairs of Latin America; foster cooperation and understanding among the people of the Americas; and contribute to democracy, social progress, and sustainable development throughout the hemisphere. Book jacket

BITTER FRUIT is about the means & methods the USA, thru the CIA & its ambassador, used to overthrow Guatemala's democratically elected government in '54. Guatemalan president Jacobo Arbenz was leading an administration working to enact land reform. It was hoped that these efforts, among others, would stem the tide of poverty in a country still bound to a labor system that forced poor people to work a certain number of days on large farms or face prison time. Shaking off the vestiges of a dictatorship that was defeated by popular elections in the '40s, Guatemala sought such reforms to enfranchise more citizens. The "fruit" of the title is that of the United Fruit Company, an American concern with large land, labor & capital holdings in Guatemala & the Caribbean. UFC also had much influence in government, particularly with Eisenhower's Republican administration. When Arbenz's government took the rights to UFC land (much of it was left uncultivated, held as an "in case" the company said) & paid it the value the company had listed on its Guatemalan tax returns, influence was peddled in Washington, the word "communism" was thrown around & Eisenhower gave the go-ahead to covert operations to overthrow Arbenz & replace him with an American supported military junta. Ironically, the Guatemalan move to democracy in the '40s was inspired by FDR & the country's belief in rights for all humans, whatever the economic level. (Truman wouldn't approve such operations, so UFC had to wait for Eisenhower to effect the outcome it wanted.) The book is a model historical work, heavily footnoted, clearly written, factually presented & overwhelmingly upsetting. It has a chapter on Freud's nephew Edward Bernays, an early PR practioner, hired by United Fruit to advance its goals in the USA. Bernays did powerful work & was probably instrumental in the coup taking place by building public sentiment against the Arbenz government. The greatest & most painful irony was that not long after the coup, which was instigated, basically on behalf of United Fruit, the US government, concerned that it would seem a little "too convenient" to have overthrown a popularly elected president on behalf of a banana company, decided to bring an anti-trust suit against UFC, hobbling the company. One has to ask at that point, "What the heck was it all for, then?" The final chapter answers that: An April 1998 report found that 150,000 people had been killed & 50,000 had disappeared in the time since the coup in '54, with 80% of the casualties caused by government forces. What this book reports is sad & disgusting, but the book is well written & fascinating, a model historical account of a pivotal incident in the history of both Guatemala & the USA.--Stacey M. Jones (edited)

The bestselling author of All the Shah's Men and The Brothers tells the astonishing story of the man who oversaw the CIA's secret drug and mind- control experiments of the 1950s and 60s.

Traces the events leading to the 1953 coup in Iran and it's consequences, discussing the covert operations under the joint authority of Eisenhower and Churchill involving prime minister Mossadegh and CIA officer Roosevelt.

The bestselling author of Overthrow offers a new and surprising vision for rebuilding America's strategic partnerships in the Middle East What can the United States do to help realize its dream of a peaceful, democratic Middle East? Stephen Kinzer offers a surprising answer in this paradigm-shifting book. Two countries in the region, he argues, are America's logical partners in the twenty-first century: Turkey and Iran. Besides proposing this new "power triangle," Kinzer also recommends that the United States reshape relations with its two traditional Middle East allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia. This book provides a penetrating, timely critique of America's approach to the world's most volatile region, and offers a startling alternative. Kinzer is a master storyteller with an eye for grand characters and illuminating historical detail. In this book he introduces us to larger-than-life figures, like a Nebraska schoolteacher who became a martyr to democracy in Iran, a Turkish radical who transformed his country and Islam forever, and a colorful parade of princes, politicians, women of the world, spies, oppressors, liberators, and dreamers. Kinzer's provocative new view of the Middle East is the rare book that will richly entertain while moving a vital policy debate beyond the stale alternatives of the last fifty years.

This examination is Kinzer's report on the truth about a nation of contradictions, poised between Europe and Asia, between the glories of its Ottoman past and its hopes for a democratic future. His compelling book shows why Turkey could become "the most audaciously successful nation of the twenty-first century." Index.

Americký historik a novinář Stephen Kinzer ve své poutavé knize líčí život dvou mocných bratrů, Allena a Johna Fostera Dullese, kteří v letech studené války formovali zahraniční politiku USA. Allen Dulles byl šéfem CIA a John Foster Dulles ministrem zahraničí Eisenhowerovy vlády. Ačkoli byli povahově odlišní, tvořili silný tandem, který rozhodoval o osudech milionů lidí, aniž o tom většina Američanů věděla. Vyrůstali v přísné zbožnosti a s misionářským zápalem, snažili se přetvářet svět podle svých představ a v každém, kdo nebyl horlivým spojencem USA, viděli hrozbu. Dullesové byli architekty politiky, která vedla válku proti zemím usilujícím o nezávislost, zejména v třetím světě, kde USA ztrácely vliv. Kinzer popisuje klíčové události, jako puč v Guatemale, svržení íránského premiéra Mosaddeka, intervence v Indonésii a Kongu, a operace proti Kubě. Autor se však nezaměřuje pouze na události, ale zkoumá motivy bratrů, jejich názory a rodinné zázemí, a klade si otázku po příčinách amerického excepcionalismu a intervencionismu. Dullesové nebyli výjimeční jedinci, ale typičtí představitelé americké tradice, a jejich příběh je příběhem Ameriky. Kinzer odhaluje temnou stránku americké historie, která vyvolává kritiku a s níž se Amerika dosud nevyrovnala.

Amerikas angebliche „demokratische Missionen“ gefährden oft die Stabilität der Welt. Die Verbreitung demokratischer Ideen führt häufig zu katastrophalen Ergebnissen. Seit 1893, als amerikanische Plantagenbesitzer mit Unterstützung der US-Regierung die hawaiianische Monarchie stürzten, haben die Vereinigten Staaten dreizehn ausländische Regierungen aus ideologischen, wirtschaftlichen oder politischen Gründen gewaltsam abgesetzt. Geheimdienste, Waffenhändler und gelegentlich auch amerikanische Streitkräfte waren dabei aktiv, um den globalen Einfluss der USA auszubauen. Das schlechte Gewissen der ältesten Republik der Welt spielte dabei stets eine Rolle. Ein Beispiel ist der Irak, wo der amerikanische Präsident versicherte, es gehe um die Beseitigung von Massenvernichtungswaffen und die Förderung demokratischer Werte in einer autoritären Region. Das Wort „Öl“ wurde jedoch nie erwähnt. In vielen Fällen widersprachen die politischen Konsequenzen den Hoffnungen Washingtons auf Demokratie; stattdessen siegte oft der Antiamerikanismus. Der langjährige Reporter der New York Times beleuchtet die skurrilen Umstände der offenen und geheimen Coups d'Etat, sei es in lateinamerikanischen Bananenrepubliken oder im Iran. Dabei zeigt sich, dass die zweifelhafte Kompetenz der CIA oft mit der außenpolitischen Kurzsichtigkeit der Entscheidungsträger im Weißen Haus einherging.