In the book "Overthrow" Steven Kinzer breaks down all the invasions and overthrows done by the United States government. By being an author and reporter he has written stories from more than 50 countries on 5 continents which gives him an open view on other nations. Through examples and evidence of numerous invasions throughout history Kinzer is able to portray his argument that "A century of American "regime change" operations has shown that the United States is singularly unsuited to ruling foreign lands" (309). Going battle by battle allows readers to see the buildup of how the United States handles countries they feel the need to fix and be involved in. Throughout this book Kinzer breaks down every chapter into a country where the United
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These next few chapters will analyze how the United States went into countries in order to go against leaders leaning towards communism. However looking at all of these chapters it 's clear that Kinzer was attempting to portray that the US military used the threat of communism expansion in order to disguise the imperialistic reasons they truly invaded each country. Chapter 6 discusses the idea that the Guatemalan government began taking control over its country which put US companies, such as United Fruit, in a loss of economic value. When the government attempted to take a portion of the companies land, the US declared that it was a sign of communism. Because of this they determined they must overthrow Arbenz, the current government, in order to put a stop to the rise of communism. They used propaganda in order to glorify their company United Fruit and shame the current leader of the country. However Kinzer states that "Guatemala 's communist party was a modest affair. Even at peak it had only a few hundred active members" (135) which goes to show that the US government had ulterior motives when it came to overthrowing the government of Guatemala. Kinzer uses arguments like this war because it shows that the US couldn’t come out saying their true plans for Guatemala because our society would not have supported it as …show more content…
By putting examples such as the evidence that some government officials thought the US should evacuate countries so they could work it out on their own it allows readers to see that not everyone believed fighting was the first conclusion. Another aspect Kinzer focuses on is the amount of economic interests that bring the United States into getting involved in other countries. It becomes easy to see how many times the US claims they want to help other nations when it 's obvious they 're focused on the amount of resources they could gain by taking them over. The evidence that Kinzer uses to back up all of his arguments is what makes them so valid and understanding to readers. Throughout the first two parts of the book Kinzer developed his arguments and backed them up in a manner that was convincing, interesting, and understandable to readers. However when reaching the final part of the book I believe he became rushed in his writing. The ending felt less structured and deep compared to the other chapters of the book. The invasions did not seem as tied together compared to all of the nations he talked about during the first two parts. This book helps readers understand why other nations might have a negative look on
These next few chapters will analyze how the United States went into countries in order to go against leaders leaning towards communism. However looking at all of these chapters it 's clear that Kinzer was attempting to portray that the US military used the threat of communism expansion in order to disguise the imperialistic reasons they truly invaded each country. Chapter 6 discusses the idea that the Guatemalan government began taking control over its country which put US companies, such as United Fruit, in a loss of economic value. When the government attempted to take a portion of the companies land, the US declared that it was a sign of communism. Because of this they determined they must overthrow Arbenz, the current government, in order to put a stop to the rise of communism. They used propaganda in order to glorify their company United Fruit and shame the current leader of the country. However Kinzer states that "Guatemala 's communist party was a modest affair. Even at peak it had only a few hundred active members" (135) which goes to show that the US government had ulterior motives when it came to overthrowing the government of Guatemala. Kinzer uses arguments like this war because it shows that the US couldn’t come out saying their true plans for Guatemala because our society would not have supported it as …show more content…
By putting examples such as the evidence that some government officials thought the US should evacuate countries so they could work it out on their own it allows readers to see that not everyone believed fighting was the first conclusion. Another aspect Kinzer focuses on is the amount of economic interests that bring the United States into getting involved in other countries. It becomes easy to see how many times the US claims they want to help other nations when it 's obvious they 're focused on the amount of resources they could gain by taking them over. The evidence that Kinzer uses to back up all of his arguments is what makes them so valid and understanding to readers. Throughout the first two parts of the book Kinzer developed his arguments and backed them up in a manner that was convincing, interesting, and understandable to readers. However when reaching the final part of the book I believe he became rushed in his writing. The ending felt less structured and deep compared to the other chapters of the book. The invasions did not seem as tied together compared to all of the nations he talked about during the first two parts. This book helps readers understand why other nations might have a negative look on