All the Shah's Men - an engrossing page-turner - learn how the hidden history of the CIA comes back to haunt us. At the urging of the British, the U.S. overthrows a deomacratic regime in Iran, and things are never quite the same. An A+ for timeliness, as the Shah's son is being touted as a new U.S. puppet, ready and willing to start a new cycle of woe.

First off, the authors are from the liberal establishment, so there view is the U.S.A. was wrong to bring down the government
of Guatemala in 1953-1954. Even though I believe most of the story, they did not write an objective analysis.

The U.S. Government viewed the Arbenz government as tolerating
Communists in the McCarthy era, along with nationalizing certain
land held by the United Fruit company based in Boston. These two conflicts resulted in the U.S. government authorizing the overthrow of the Arbenz government and the installation of the
Castillo Armas government. Bitter fruit is a play on words due to the involvement of the United Fruit government.

As stated, I think what the U.S. government did was wrong, but I
view this book as not being completely objective. Communists were involved in the government, and Guatemala was like a magnet
to Communists in the 1950s. See Anderson's book on Che Guevarra to note that there were not just a few here. I think the authors overlook this, and view Eisenhower and the Dulles brothers as too concerned for United Fruit.

The book was well written and short enough to read in one or two
days. The book did a good job portraying the actors in this drama, along with the environment in which they operated in.

A brilliantly written account of just one of the CIA/US govt crimes in the world (this one was called Operation Success), this book was so compelling that I couldn't put it down. The US paranoia against the communist threat led to some not very intelligent people, including Eisenhower, to assist in ridding the Western Hemisphere of anything that vaguely resembled a left wing movement, and installing the usual Latin American style, U.S. sponsored despotic dictatorship (also, see Nicaragua, Chile, El Salvador, Honduras, etc). When Arbenz reasoned about the Comunists in his goverment by saying "it's better to have them visible then to have them underground", no one, of course took notice. According to one set of research figures published in the book, the years which followed Arbenz's downfall have seen the death or dissapearance of up to 200,000 people. The authors of this book have done a fantastic job of revealing this part of American history in a very clear and concise manner, and all I can say is that it's a shame that Allen Dulles, the CIA director at the time, and his stoolies never got to be tried in court for the atrocities they were responsible for committing.

Well, OK, Watergate actually triggered the erosion of my faith in the US government. But I was barely a teenager as that story broke. I was in my early 20's when I read Bitter Fruit, prior to meeting Stephen Schlesinger at a university function.

This is the story of how the United States Government plotted against and overthrew the first democratically elected government in Guatemala. It clearly demonstrates how our government became an instrument, not of Democracy, but of oppression for the benefit of the wealthy. The right-wing coup, planned and supported by the CIA, led to other covert operations, many of which succeeded in enriching American corporations at the expense of Democracy.

Jacobo Arbenz, elected to the presidency of Guatemala was faced with a crisis of poverty. Most of the nation's land belonged to a very few rich, and to United Fruit Company. Much of that land lay fallow. Arbenz instituted a land reform package which called for turning over fallow land to the country's impoverished campesinos. Land would be purchased by the government from the owners at the value THE OWNERS had declared for property tax purposes. Sounds fair enough, right? Honest landowners would receive fair recompense for unused land. Dishonest landowners would get their just desserts.

Nevertheless, United Fruit Company, using its pull with John Foster & Allen Dulles, Secretary of State & CIA Director, respectively, managed to have their own revolution created and funded by the US Government, wrapped in a shroud of anti-communism. The dictator they instated continued the tradition of repression that Guatemala had known for decades before.

The only real winners of in this story were the stockholders of United Fruit. Today, in the "New World Order," we're more subtle, using international development loans and free trade agreements to undermine Democracy in third world nations. The tools may have changed, but the goal remains the same: Corporate wealth continues to supersede and destroy Democracy worldwide.

Good comprehensive book on the causes and outcomes of Revolution in Nicaragua. Does a pretty good job of not taking sides. Kinzer was bureau chief in Nicaragua for the New York Times during the 80's. He sheds light on alot of the hypocricies and contraditions the CIA, Contras and Sandinistas were all guilty of.

Not for the Radical Sandinista or Reactionary Conservative

...the late 1970's-1980's period. I read this book after having spent time in Central America myself. I think Steven did a wonderful job of telling the truth about what happened in Nicaragua during the years he was there. He showed where the Sandinistas failed, and where the U.S. government failed the people of Nicaragua. Throughout the whole book he really made the reader aware of the stories that these people lived out; from a engineer from Portland, Oregon going down to help out, to the children in the hospitals suffering from war wounds. There is a large amount of history, personal experience, and cultural images to be gained from reading by book.

I was a foreign correspondent in Nicaragua for much of the period covered by Kinzer's book. Typically, American correspondents came and went every couple of years; Kinzer was there before the victory of the 1979 revolution and stayed to the end of a most bloody chapter in this country's history. I do not believe anyone has captured better the strange, almost surreal beauty of this land nor the full horror of the bloodbath it had suffered by the end of the 1980s. Those looking for finger-pointing and the moral of the story will be disappointed; but what Kinzer depicts is the truth, a harsh one for all involved.

My home country Turkey is one of the least understood and maybe most misjudged amongst the others in the world. I wanted to say this so many times "Listen my friend, the era of Midnight Express is over. The ancient prison building where that movie was shot now is a 5 star Four Seasons Hotel at which only a few people can afford to stay. And J.F.K. Jr. did not spend his honeymoon in Istanbul to get tortured by Turkish police."

Based on the fact that Kinzer lived in Istanbul (4 years) and reported for NY Times, I was very enthusiastic about reading his book as I read his columns in the paper. I wasn't disappointed after I finished it. It's true that Turkish government ("devlet") has a lot of work to do before it reaches the fully democratic state (not an uncommon situation in the Middle East). But I wouldn't go too far like him reporting some of the gossips he heard from the people on the street as probable facts of Armenian genocide. He should have read more history before giving "advices" to military autocrats regarding Kurdish and Armenian claims. I had a relief after I saw the Amazon.com's statistics; people who bought Crescent and Star also read Justin McCarthy's. Otherwise, I agree with everything else he says. There is a Turkish saying; "best friends tell you the sour truth". He is one of the many Americans who enjoyed being with warm blooded people living in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. He even swam across the Bosphorus in which I couldn't even stay for 5 minutes, definitely drank more Raki and ate more "meze" than me.

Turks will benefit from positively criticizing themselves, work harder to achieve a fully democratic, secular and modern Islamic nation status. A little more understanding from the western world (especially from Europe) would encourage my home country to become the leader of "modern" Islamic states in the world- instead of being forgotten between the east and west. I strongly support the author demonstrating Turkey as an example of being an Islamic nation does not necessarily mean living in the past ages.

Mr. Kinzer truly loves Turkey. His eyes are also wide open. The result is a wonderfully written, easy to read, sensitive book. But, don't be fooled by that. It is also one of the most perceptive books written about Turkishness. Some may dismiss it as simplistic, some may even be offended by its advice. Of course, some will continue to say "Turkey is different. We can't practice democracy like others" etc. But, Turks must heed his advice. It is powerful and it is right on the money. If you are interested in reading about the very recent historical and political events in Turkey while learning the larger Turkish history concisely (and effortlessly, I might add) this is a good book. Fun to read. Clearly written. Good introduction. Mr. Kinzer has a lot of love for Turkey but this doesn't cloud his clear observations. I hope the book is translated into Turkish soon without losing a chapter or two to appease certain powers. I highly recommend this book.

Having traveled to Turkey numerous times for both business and vacation (I generally spend two weeks each summer in Istanbul and Bodrum), I thought Kinzer did a spendid job of describing the crossroads Turkey is at. In the aftermath of September 11th, the book is particularly relevant, as it examines what is frequently being referred to as the "model" for a secular Islamic state.

The book is also an easy read for anyone interested in Turkey and its important future role in Middle East/Central Asia-Western relations, as it provides an excellent view into the various internal and external conflicts Turkey has had to address, without becoming too bogged down in a detailed history. Although at times fairly critical of the Turkish government and military, generally, the captivating spirit and culture of the Turkish people shine through.

The vignettes that precede each chapter about the author's experience with Turkish culture - swimming the Bosphorous, enjoying raki (the Turkish national drink), attending olive oil wrestling and camel fights, and even spending a night in a Turkish jail - add a wonderful personal and human touch to the book.

All in all, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Turkey and/or current affairs in the Middle East/Central Asia.