Thy Will Be Done: The Conquest of the Amazon : Nelson Rockefeller and Evangelism in the Age of Oil - Hardcover
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Synopsis
Examining the motives, deeds, and tragic repercussions of their intervention in the Amazon and Central America, a study reveals the legacies of Nelson Rockefeller, who secured natural resources for American corporations, and Cameron Townsend, who saved souls at any cost.
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Reviews
Nelson Rockefeller, who died in 1979, owned vast Latin American real estate and cattle ranching, mining, industrial and financial interests centered in Brazil. To protect his empire and secure Third World assets for exploitation by U.S. capitalism, Rockefeller-a top Latin American adviser to presidents from FDR to Nixon, and Ford's vice-president-played a dominant role in shaping the U.S.'s interventionist policy in Latin America, according to this blistering expose based on 18 years of research. Rockefeller, as President Eisenhower's special assistant for Cold War strategy, oversaw the CIA's covert operations abroad and was privy to assassination plots and mind-control experiments, the authors maintain. Colby (DuPont: Behind the Nylon Curtain) and his wife, Dennett, a freelance journalist, charge that Rockefeller, his banks and their allies, working with the CIA, bolstered repressive regimes in Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Paraguay. Forcible dislocation of native peoples, hunger, disease, genocide and the ongoing destruction of the Amazon rain forest are the legacy of these policies, in the authors' analysis. Another key player in this massive narrative is ultraconservative William Cameron Townsend (1896-1982), founder of the Protestant missionary organization Wycliffe Bible Translators, which worked in concert with Rockefeller and which the authors accuse of destroying indigenous peoples' cultural values to abet penetration by U.S. businesses. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
A movie based on a 1965 novel by Peter Matthiessen entitled At Play in the Fields of the Lord was released two years ago; it showed the devastating impact of overzealous missionaries and the destruction of the Amazonian rain forest upon native life and culture. While the book had been generally well received, the movie was not. Described by one critic as an uninteresting and endless saga, the film would perhaps have done better if it had added some plot twists based on astounding elements from Colby and Dennett's blockbuster of a story. Husband and wife, Colby is author of DuPont: Behind the Nylon Curtain (1974), and Dennett has been researching and writing this book for 18 years. Charging virtual genocide, the authors document the deaths or uprooting of hundreds of thousands of Amazonian and South and Central American tribal peoples. They describe an unlikely and sinister alliance among the Rockefeller family, America's largest missionary organization, and the American government--an alliance formed to benefit each of its members. The Rockefellers wanted oil and other natural resources; the Wycliffe Bible Translators wanted to spread the Word of God; and the American government wanted to fight communism. This is a disheartening, tragic story that needs to be told and will attract much attention. David Rouse
Exploring the genocide of Natives in the Amazon in the mid-1970s, the authors discovered information about Nelson Rockefeller that they believed merited further research. The resulting work, a detailed exploration of the intertwining of two major figures-Rockefeller, politician and Eastern establishment expert on Latin America, and William Cameron Townsend, confidant of Mexican president Lazaro Cardendas and founder of the Wycliffe Bible Translators-and their life's work in the region. Colby and Dennett argue that both men colonized Latin America, the first economically, the second culturally, in collusion with certain U.S. government interests over many decades. Their actions had severe consequences detrimental to development in the region, specifically to the human rights and social evolution of indigenous groups. This damning thesis, based on substantial field research, interviews, and fresh documentation, will provoke considerable controversy. Highly recommended.
--Roderic A. Camp, Latin American Ctr., Tulane Univ., New Orleans
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Thy Will Be Done; The Conquest of the Amazon: Nelson Rockefeller and Evangelism in the Age of Oil
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ISBN 13: 9780060167646
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Hardcover. Condition: Very good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very good. xvi, 960 pages. Illustrations. Appendix A. Appendix B. Notes. Selected Bibliography. Index. Minor DJ wear. Examining the motives, deeds, and tragic repercussions of their intervention in the Amazon and Central America, a study reveals the legacies of Nelson Rockefeller, who secured natural resources for American corporations, and Cameron Townsend, who saved souls at any cost. Gerard Colby (earlier known as Gerard Colby Zilg) (born 1950) is an author and past president of the US National Writers Union, where he previously held various chair positions. From 1997 to 2001 he served as chair of the Vermont section. He is notable for authoring Du Pont: Behind The Nylon Curtain. The book painted a portrait of DuPont enterprises and the DuPont family that was characterized as "sober but unflattering" by some. In anticipation of lower sales, Prentice-Hall reduced its print run and scaled back its marketing plans. Colby (Zilg) sued Prentice-Hall for breach of contract. In the federal case Zilg v Prentice-Hall, Inc., the Federal District Court in New York awarded Colby damages of $24,000. In 1984 the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit overturned the ruling. The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal. The suit is an example of case law relating to the practice of private publishing, where a publishing house reduces its print run and support of a book so much that the book fails to reach the public. Charlotte Dennett is an American author, journalist, and political activist known for her work in investigative journalism and her writings on environmental issues and corporate accountability. Though chilling, this unfocused narrative fails to illuminate the purported relationship between Nelson Rockefeller, missionaries in South America, and the modern genocide of Amazonian Indians. Colby and investigative journalist Dennett detail Rockefeller's rise to power (both unofficial power through his family's oil interests and official power in government); this is coupled with a description of William Cameron Townsend's creation of Wycliffe Bible Translators, a network of evangelical missionaries working under the auspices of the elusively named Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL). The authors describe the links between the SIL's in-depth knowledge of indigenous people and their languages and the creation of a sophisticated communications and intelligence-gathering network serving the business interests of multinational corporations and the anti-communist policies of the US government. Also important is the documenting of Rockefeller's powerful role in the development of US policy toward Latin America and his early vision of a ``peaceful conquest of the world'' through economic aid and political manipulation. William Cameron Townsend (July 9, 1896 April 23, 1982) was an American Christian missionary-linguist and the founder of Wycliffe Bible Translators and the Summer Institute of Linguistics (now SIL Global). Both organizations emphasized the translation of the Bible into minority languages, as well as the development of literacy and bilingual education programs. Nelson Aldrich "Rocky" Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 January 26, 1979) was the 41st vice president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford. A member of the Republican Party and the wealthy Rockefeller family, he was the 49th governor of New York from 1959 to 1973. He was the leader of the moderate faction of his party, known as the Rockefeller Republicans. In 1940, after he expressed his concern to President Franklin D. Roosevelt over Nazi influence in Latin America, the President appointed Rockefeller to the new position of Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs (CIAA) in the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs (OCIAA). Rockefeller was charged with overseeing a program of U.S. cooperation with the nations of Latin America to help raise the standard of living, to achieve better relations among the nations of the western hemisphere, and to counter rising Nazi influence in the region. He facilitated this form of cultural diplomacy by collaborating with the director of Latin American Relations at the CBS radio network Edmund A. Chester. In 1944, President Roosevelt appointed Rockefeller Assistant Secretary of State for American Republic Affairs. As assistant secretary of state, he initiated the Inter-American Conference on Problems of War and Peace in 1945. The conference produced the Act of Chapultepec, which provided the framework for economic, social, and defense cooperation among the nations of the Americas and set the principle that an attack on one of these nations would be regarded as an attack on all and jointly resisted. Rockefeller signed the Act on behalf of the United States. Rockefeller formed the International Basic Economy Corporation (IBEC) in 1947 to jointly continue the work he had begun as Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs. He intermittently served as president through 1958. IBEC was a for-profit business that established companies that would stimulate the underdeveloped economies of certain countries. It was hoped that the success of these companies would encourage investors in those countries to set up competing or supporting businesses and further stimulate the local economy. Rockefeller established model farms in Venezuela, Ecuador, and Brazil. He maintained a home at Monte Sacro, the farm in Venezuela. 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Thy Will Be Done: The Conquest of the Amazon : Nelson Rockefeller and Evangelism in the Age of Oil
Published by
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ISBN 10: 0060167645
ISBN 13: 9780060167646
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Thy Will Be Done: The Conquest of the Amazon : Nelson Rockefeller and Evangelism in the Age of Oil
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ISBN 10: 0060167645
ISBN 13: 9780060167646
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