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A review by applekern
The Jakarta Method: Washington's Anticommunist Crusade and the Mass Murder Program That Shaped Our World by Vincent Bevins
5.0
This is a very well researched book, a nuanced but objective depiction of what happened during the cold war in the global south. It highlighted that our world is not black or white, but actually a lot of dark and dreadful grey - much darker and much more dreadful than I thought.
History is told by the victors, but it should not be this way and I believe this book is making an effort to change this dynamic. I remember having a conversation with a Canadian friend, who was genuinely confused why Chinese would not simply look up the information that is withheld by their government (e.g. cue: Tiananmen). For the same reasons, why Americans are unaware of what their government did in Indonesia, Brazil, Chile, and Guatemala. You simply do not know what you do not know, and it's hard for a human mind to discover these gaps in the first place.
I appreciate the author's writing style and the accounts of real people having lived through these horrors, while keeping the focus on the political and historical dynamics that emerged instead of collecting horror stories. I would urge not only Americans to read it, but also Europeans who have been actively profiting in the end, as well as citizens of the global south who might have never heard this part of their history or have not been able to connect the dots.
In effect, I'd recommend this book to everyone. There are important lessons to be learned, that have never been as relevant as now.
History is told by the victors, but it should not be this way and I believe this book is making an effort to change this dynamic. I remember having a conversation with a Canadian friend, who was genuinely confused why Chinese would not simply look up the information that is withheld by their government (e.g. cue: Tiananmen). For the same reasons, why Americans are unaware of what their government did in Indonesia, Brazil, Chile, and Guatemala. You simply do not know what you do not know, and it's hard for a human mind to discover these gaps in the first place.
I appreciate the author's writing style and the accounts of real people having lived through these horrors, while keeping the focus on the political and historical dynamics that emerged instead of collecting horror stories. I would urge not only Americans to read it, but also Europeans who have been actively profiting in the end, as well as citizens of the global south who might have never heard this part of their history or have not been able to connect the dots.
In effect, I'd recommend this book to everyone. There are important lessons to be learned, that have never been as relevant as now.