The entire book is written in the first person and is a narrative account of the life that John Perkins led as an economic hit man. He was molded into an EHM before he even knew what was happening. He fell into the job, and once in, found it hard to escape. He always wanted people to know about what he was doing, and, thus, throughout his career learned all he needed to know about the corporate empire and later exposed it in order to try to help people. The book is intended to be read by everyone, especially Americans who live in the U.S. and have the power to change things. He agrees that this is hard because most Americans, especially those that vote, are quite comfortable living their lives without knowing how others suffer in order for them to live well.