Chapter 1 Summary and Analysis

John Perkins was born into a middle class family in New Hampshire. His parents taught at the Tilton boarding school for boys. They were poor in comparison to the students, yet they had a superiority complex, and John was taught their brand of snobbery. He was offered a full atheletic scholarship to Brown and an academic one to Middlebury, choosing the later. Middlebury is not the place for him and rebels. He drops out, gets a job as a reporter, and registers at Boston University to avoid the draft. To continue to avoid the draft, he applies for a job with NSA, but ultimately joins the Peace Corps. John is happy living among the natives of the Amazon.

Einar Greve, an employee of Chas. T. Main, Inc. (MAIN) talks to John about the benefits of working for a private corporation such...