An economic hit man (EHM) organizes huge loans for developing countries that cause those nations to become beholden to US governmental and corporate interests. It is a form of coercion that poses a growing danger to the world. Author John Perkins serves for decades as an EHM, but his conscience torments him, and he wants to warn others and, perhaps, help protect the world for his grandchildren. He tries multiple times to write a confessional but is dissuaded and bought off.

In 2003 he finally finishes the manuscript and presents it to a major publishing house, but its president turns Perkins down on the grounds that his international corporate bosses might object. Perkins finds another publisher, and in 2004 Confessions of an Economic Hit Man is released. The story is true and based on his notes, recollections, and historical accounts by others. Perkins is not killed because the book, out in the public, becomes his insurance policy.

By 2015 the EHM system has grown enormously, taking over America’s own corporate world, and it is time to update the original book. The revised edition, The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, is meant to warn readers of the growing danger.