Stephen Kinzer, a veteran New York Times foreign correspondent will discuss his new book.
Monday, April 17, 2006
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
UCLA
Faculty Center - Hacienda Room
CA
ABOUT OVERTHROW - America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq Since the U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, many Americans and others have accused the Bush administration of ripping the United States away from a tradition of cooperative diplomacy by violently overthrowing foreign governments. The opposite is true, argues Stephen Kinzer, longtime New York Times foreign correspondent and author of the critically acclaimed All the Shah's Men, in his provocative new book, OVERTHROW: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq (Times Books; April 6, 2006; ISBN: 0-8050-7861-4; $27.50).
By sponsoring “regime change” operations to overthrow foreign governments, Kinzer asserts, the Bush administration is actually following a long-established American tradition. Beginning with the ouster of Hawaii's monarchy in 1893 and continuing through the Spanish-American War, the Cold War, and the “war on terror,” OVERTHROW takes readers to fourteen countries––in Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, and the Caribbean––whose governments the United States has deposed. With vivid, hour-by-hour accounts, Kinzer tells the stories of these clandestine coups and stage-managed revolutions. Along the way, he introduces readers to a rogue's gallery of American spies, politicians, generals, businessmen, and mercenaries.
Many of these “regime change” operations, Kinzer argues, have destroyed democracies, led to the rise of dictators, and thrown entire regions of the world into upheaval. Their long-term consequences have been disastrous not only for the target countries but for the security of the United States.
OVERTHROW examines America's role in the world from a new perspective. It is not only a fast-paced work of popular history but also a warning to this country's current and future leaders.
Praise for OVERTHROW
“Citizens concerned about foreign affairs must read this book. Stephen Kinzer's crisp and thoughtful OVERTHROW undermines the myth of national innocence.”
––Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.
ABOUT STEPHEN KINZER
Stephen Kinzer is an award-winning foreign correspondent who has reported from more than fifty countries on four continents. He has served as The New York Times bureau chief in Turkey, Germany, and Nicaragua. Before joining the Times, he was the Latin America correspondent for The Boston Globe. His previous books include All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror; Crescent and Star: Turkey Between Two Worlds; and Blood of Brothers: Life and War in Nicaragua. He is also the co-author of Bitter Fruit: The Untold Story of the American Coup in Guatemala. He lives in Chicago.
Open to the public. Guests seated on a first arrival basis.
Cost : free
Krista Eulberg
310-825-0604
keulberg@international.ucla.edu www.international.ucla.edu/bcir
Sponsor(s): Burkle Center for International Relations, Center for Near Eastern Studies