The Jakarta Method#

Vincent Bevins (2020)
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)

The Jakarta Method is required reading for anyone seeking to understand the global scale of the Cold War’s anti-communist purges. The book is frequently recommended as an essential text, and for good reason. While Bevins focuses on the mass killings in Indonesia, he also traces how similar U.S.-supported movements took hold around the world — from Brazil and Central America to East Asia.

Even if you’re already familiar with U.S. covert operations during the Cold War, much of this book still hits hard. The patterns of meddling, destabilization, and violent “anti-communist” mobilization recur again and again, connecting disparate regions into a single grim project.

It’s a powerful, disturbing, and necessary read — especially for readers unfamiliar with the events in Indonesia and the global machinery that enabled them.