The Jakarta Method

'Exceptionally well-written .... In a fascinating journey around the world, Bevins documents Washington's virulent anticommunist crusade across several continents' Tribune 

'Riveting' Jacobin

'A brilliant history of the Cold War told through global anti-communist violence'
New Statesman

'Excellent...anchors itself in a history most Americans never learned or would rather forget' Washington Post

'A must-read to better understand how the U.S. intelligence apparatus became what it is today, and how it's ravaged so many other countries along the way' GQ

In 1965, the U.S. government helped the Indonesian military kill approximately one million innocent civilians. This was one of the most important turning points of the twentieth century, eliminating the largest communist party outside China and the Soviet Union and inspiring copycat terror programs in faraway countries like Brazil and Chile. But these events remain widely overlooked, precisely because the CIA's secret interventions were so successful.

In this bold and comprehensive new history, Vincent Bevins builds on his incisive reporting for the Washington Post, using recently declassified documents, archival research and eye-witness testimony collected across twelve countries to reveal a shocking legacy that spans the globe. For decades, it's been believed that parts of the developing world passed peacefully into the U.S.-led capitalist system. The Jakarta Method demonstrates that the brutal extermination of unarmed leftists was a fundamental part of Washington's final triumph in the Cold War.

Vincent Bevins is an award-winning journalist and correspondent. He covered Southeast Asia for the Washington Post. He previously served as the Brazil Correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, and before that worked for The Financial Times. He has written for a huge range of newspapers and magazines including The New York Times, the Economist and the Guardian.