Confessions of an Economic Hitman
Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkinsby Perkins, John and John Perkins
Shares rank 36 of 152 nonfiction books by recommenders
Recommended as an overview of US relations with Saudi Arabia and how Saudi Arabia was set up, though one critic dismisses it as trash.
Recommended as an overview of US relations with Saudi Arabia and how Saudi Arabia was set up, though one critic dismisses it as trash.
7 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 86%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Overview of US-Saudi relations
“do a good job of describing the relation between the US and the Saudis”
Comment from 23 Oct 2026 in “Dutch government had hacked into Jared Kushner's phone” “its a good overview of how Saudi was set up”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “When oil prices spike, where does the money go?” Strong pick among similar books
“it's hard to go past Confessions of an Economic Hitman”
Comment from 26 Apr 2026 in “The AI Industry Is Discovering That the Public Hates It” “is a book with a similar theme”
Comment from 24 Apr 2026 in “Palantir Employees Are Starting to Wonder If They're the Bad Guys”
Other nonfiction books people recommend
The four most recommended other nonfiction books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Cuckoo's Eggby Clifford Stoll | 40 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Amusing Ourselves to Deathby Neil Postman | 36 | 0 | 100% | 9 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| The Anxious Generationby Jonathan Haidt | 24 | 12 | 67% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Bullshit Jobsby David Graeber | 20 | 12 | 63% | 8 | — | — |
| Confessions of an Economic Hitmanby Perkins, John and John PerkinsThis page | 6 | 1 | 86% | 6 | — | — |
What people said
6 of the 9 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“do a good job of describing the relation between the US and the Saudis”
“its a good overview of how Saudi was set up”
“If you want to know how and why it is like this, read Perkin's books”
“it's hard to go past Confessions of an Economic Hitman”
“is a book with a similar theme”
“ludicrous trash like "Confessions of an Economic Hitman"”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.