Bitter Fruit: The Story of the American Coup in Guatemala, Revised and Expanded (Series on Latin American Studies)

Schlesinger's and Kinzer's classic study examines one of the more disgraceful chapters in the history of American foreign policy: the CIA-sponsored overthrow in 1954 of the democratically elected government of Guatemala. The long-term repercussions of this unprovoked excursion are still felt today; many Latin American countries still do not trust United States intentions because of our actions in both Guatemala and, two decades later, Chile.

"Bitter Fruit" explodes some cherished myths that apologists for the coup have proffered over the years. First, it's clear that Roosevelt rather than Stalin provided the inspiration to the presidencies of Juan Jose Arevalo (1945-1951) and Jacobo Arbenz Guzman (1951-1954). Both Arevalo and Arbenz were motivated by the policies and practices of the New Deal; their support for labor and their actions towards American businesses must be viewed in this light and were never any worse than the laws passed during the Depression in the United States. Regardless of whatever tolerance Guatemalan Communists may have enjoyed, or influence they may have had--and it's clear that they didn't have much--the Eisenhower administration was motivated as much by scorn of the Roosevelt and Truman years as by anti-Communism. (Tellingly, those who cite Che Guevera's presence in Guatemala often fail to note that his arrival, at the age of 25 in early 1954, postdated the planning of American intervention and predated by many years Guevera's notoriety.)

Second, the succession of American puppets who succeeded Arbenz were certainly not supported by the people of Guatemala: the ragtag opposition "army" never exceeded 400 troops in number, and none of the dictators during the next four decades could have survived a freely held election. Between 1954 and the early 1990s, tens of thousands of civilians were imprisoned, executed, or "disappeared" at the fleeting whims of a series of brutal tyrants--and this, to most Central Americans, is the "bottom line" legacy of American interference. Third, some defend American intervention because the Guatemalan land reforms in the early 1950s "stole" property from the United Fruit Company. What the supporters of the company's property rights rarely acknowledge is that one of the company's early founders, Samuel Zemurray, acquired its land, as well as a railroad monopoly, by organizing from New Orleans a coup in 1905 that overthrew the existing government and installing UFC's own puppet--all in violation of American law. In addition, when the Arbenz government attempted to compensate UFC for the land (all of it fallow), the company admitted that it had fraudulently undervalued their holdings for tax purposes at $627,000; the land was worth closer to $16 million.

And, finally, what is clear from Schlesinger's and Kinzer's account is that the Americans behind the 1954 coup, from Ambassador John Peurifoy to the Dulles brothers to Eisenhower himself, knew that what they were doing was indefensible. In order to "sell" the coup at all they had to invent a propagandistic war against a democratically elected government to a gullible American media. Not surprisingly, they covered up and denied American involvement not only at the time but during the ensuing years. Furthermore, many of the participants who survived into the late 1970s either confessed their regret to the authors of this book or admitted that the horrific long-term consequences of the coup in no way justified its short-term "success."

The American adventure in Guatemala was fostered by bad intelligence, furthered by greedy intentions, and executed with no coherent strategy, and it dealt a serious blow both to democracy and to the immediate and long-term interests of the United States government. Meticulously documented, this blood-boiling yet even-handed study should be read by all who are concerned by the consequences of ill-conceived, unilaterally executed, and short-sighted foreign policy planning.

Whether you're a connoiseur with a PhD in international relations, a high-school dropout looking to enhance their missing education, or someone who just wants to read an engrossing book with a little intellectual flare to it, one can be both entertained and appalled by the story contained in "Bitter Fruit".
Kinzer and Schlesinger's writing is impeccable, and somehow manages to stay apolitical. The authors do an excellent job of not flaunting the miscues of the American overthrow of Guatemala's democratically elected government, but merely let the facts from all angles tell their own story. In addition, the writing is quite fast-paced in style but pays attentive detail to fact and exhautively denotes the sources behind the writing. I purchased this for reading as part of a class assignment - and then cited it in two places in my senior essay!
So instead of buying a FICTIONAL thriller or adventure or spy novel for your downtime reading, why not pick up a book where the plot . . . actually happened?! In addition, despite being originally published a quarter century ago, the book is amazingly relevant to issues in today's foreign policy (*cough* Iraq *cough*). Also, I HIGHLY recommend for history buffs like myself - but this book can be enjoyed by anyone. Well, "enjoyed" isn't really the word - after reading this book, I felt a sense of anger towards our government for their selfish actions 50 years ago, and a sense of pity toward the people of Guatemala, who had no idea what hit them. But the feelings weren't on the level as to wish that I had never read the book - on the contrary, it made me feel more enlightened both about the Cold War era as well as today's international climate.

I first heard of the book, Bitter Fruit, when I was traveling in Guatemala. Our half Mayan guide told some stories of his country's recent history, of massacres and bombings, and of the severe hardships his family endured while he was growing up. Although he mentioned that those horrors were executed by those who were financed, trained, and directed by the USA, I had no knowledge of the history of that part of the world or of my country's intervention. When I returned home, I ordered the book on Amazon for about half the price it sold for in Guatemala.

I had thought it would be hard reading as an academic production. I was wrong. This carefully documented book gives in great detail the recent history of Guatemala, and America's role in that history. For me, it was extremely interesting. It read like a John Grisham novel; I couldn't put it down; I wanted to know what happened next. Tragically, it is a true horror story, with terrible consequences for Guatemala and thus for all of us. An estimated 200,000 Guatemalans died in a civil war begun by the clearly illegal and immoral actions of the USA CIA and army, with the knowledge and approval of US Presidents starting with President Eisenhower. As a result, progress in such matters as land reform and justice for all in Guatemala has been compromised to this day.

I hope that all Americans read and take to heart this very powerful book.

Schlesinger and Kinzer did indeed write a classic. The book is well-written and very readable. While it is certainly an academic work and may be considered a textbook, it is not as dry as such the connotation suggests. On the contrary, the story at times feels like a best-selling espionage novel or a Hollywood conspiracy-theory movie, but much better in my opinion.

More importantly, Bitter Fruit is supported by excellent sources - many Freedom of Information Act documents and also many memoirs and interviews of people involved in the events. This is comforting and assures that while the book is almost written in the style of a fictional thriller, the authors did not take any liberties of rewriting or embellishing history to make the book more fun to read.

Schlesinger and Kinzer also do an excellent job of providing the background of the parties involved and the historical context in which the revolution and coup took place. They also wrap up the book well in their 'Aftermath' final chapter and provide much needed closure to the story, in which they discuss the fates of the major players since the coup.

Highest recommendations.

This is a very interesting book, but its premise is false and misleading.
The book is advertised as revealing a wicked conspiracy among the CIA and the United Fruit Company, against the people of Guatemala, who were
purportedly robbed of their country and murdered by those terrible American Capitalists. Not quite. There's another side to it.

In order to uncover this, however, the reader must skip past the
introduction, the forward, the preface, and the first few chapters,
and begin with the FIFTH chapter. Chapter 5. Use the index, folks:
United Fruit Company, background of, pages 65-69.

In Chapter 5 we read about how this supposedly nefarious American
corporation, United Fruit Company, came about.

In 1870, Captain Loranzo Dow Baker discovers bananas in Jamaica,
takes them to America where they are unknown, and begins a very
successful business. In 1885 the Boston Fruit Company is formed.
The company grows, and soon the fields of Jamaica, Cuba and
Santo Domingo are insufficient, so Central American countries are
considered. Enter Mr. Minor Keith, Brooklyn-born entrepreneur who
has built a railroad in Costa Rica, the first one, in 1870.

Boston Fruit merges with Keith and, on March 30, 1899, United Fruit
is born. The new firm has 112 miles of railroad in Central America,
and 212,394 acres of land, 61,263 of which is producing bananas.

Pay attention to this: "At that time, LAND in the undeveloped tropical
lowlands could be had for almost nothing, since the local rulers
HAD NO OTHER USE FOR IT [emphasis mine], AND WERE HAPPY
TO BE PAID ANYTHING FOR IT [emphasis mine]." (page 67)

The land was not "stolen," it was purchased, and sold voluntarily.
Later, some greedy communists decided to STEAL this land
away from the Americans, and THAT'S why it got rough. And bloody.
GREEDY COMMUNISTS, NOT GREEDY AMERICAN CAPITALISTS.
THIEVING, greedy communists, who STOLE land that had been
purchased LEGITIMATELY. Not merely legally, but LEGITIMATELY.

Why don't we have a look at another source:
[...]

Here's an excerpt: "These reforms were continued by his successor,
Colonel Jacobo Arbenz, ...also legalized the communist Guatemalan Labor Party."

[NOTE:] "The Labor Party BEGAN TO CONTROL labor unions,
peasant organizations, and the governing political party." [emphasis mine]

"American firms in Guatemala such as the United Fruit Company
became increasingly discontent with the Guatemalan government,
especially after the Arbenz government passed a law expropriating large estates, a law which greatly affected the United Fruit Company's plantations."

"The United States itself also began to fear the increasingly communist nature of the Arbenz government and coupled with pressure from the
United Fruit Company and other firms, the CIA supported a coup that invaded Guatemala from Honduras and quickly took control of the government, installing military dictator Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas."

"The coup and the resulting regime began an almost 50-year period of
military dictators, fraudulent elections, and civil wars that claimed 200,000 lives, many of them civilians." [ end of excerpt ]

Remember Kruschev's threat: "We will BURY you!" Communism was a REAL THREAT to the United States back then...

On the back of the book: "David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, Harvard University"

Hmmm..."Haaah-vid" Land of Timothy Leary and his fallen legacy...

Author Steven Schlesinger is "Director of the World Policy Institute"
(New York City...that figures...) Kinzer -- Boston Globe, New York Times, ditto...Coatsworth and Nuccio, Haaa-vid...Amherst...Typical C-SPAN panel of elitist liberal academics, all speaking matter-of-factly, as though they were speaking the truth, rather than half-truths and, at times, outright misinformation.

Does the public buy it? Some do, some don't. Listen to the callers...
no, don't bother ! They screen them, and it's all sooooo predictable...

Books like this one, "Bitter Fruit," are interesting, but are funded by
spoiled, wealthy liberals with burnt-out brain cells, and marketed by
those who probably believe all that stuff...don't know any better...

The problem I have with this brand of propaganda is that it says that America is an EVIL country, founded by EVIL men, who "stole" the land from the poor, helpless indigenous folks...The people who come up with all these interpretations generally have some form of collectivist agenda, be it Marxist, or socialist...(Howard Zinn, for example).

What would they have done instead?
Well, consider Stalin, and Chairman Mao...They would've done
the same AND WORSE. Therefore, these revisionist "historians"
are HYPOCRITES ! What are their "solutions?" Reparations?
Punish the great-grandchildren? Massive immigration as a punitive
measure, punishing the white race, working-class included, for some
imaginary crimes others supposedly committed, balkanizing the
country...Teaching schoolchildren to be ashamed of their country...

America has staged many coup's throughout the years but this one will always hold a special place in history. Feeling good from our overthrow of the Mosaddegh and our installation of the Shah; we attempted to put our own government in Guatemala and entered a botched attempt that would lead to disaster. America's involvement in Latin America has always been tenuous with the natives but this account really shows why they fear and hate us at times. It is very well written and covers the information clearly. Highly recommend.

I ordered this book because I had to give a conference in Guatemala and was confused about the beginning of the country's long armed conflict. I figured this was a good place to start, and it was. It helped me understand better not only the American role in Guatemala, but also a lot of the current attitudes and opinions in Latin America about work, big international companies and America.

Unlike some reviewers, I don't find it biased at all, in fact I read it without much knowledge of the conflict and understood clearly both sides of it. This isn't a story about good innocent guys suffering from the hands of bad gringos, it's a story about wrong incentives both among Guatemalans and owners of the United Fruit Company.

I currently work in a Mexican company started by one of the 150,000 Guatemalan immigrants of the 80s. I had never given much thought on this before, but now I can even relate better to the history of my own job and the nature of some cultural traits I find both in Mexicans and Guatemalans.

This book is the story of the overthrow of the Arbenz government in Guatemala as told from the left wing perspective. The stories of intrigue are interesting but this book is written with a strong Anti-American bias. As is so often the case with history the real back story gets clouded with the passage of time. True Arbenz was elected but can there be real democracy in a country without educated informed voters?. This was during Stalin's time. Did the Arbenz government do anything that may have been viewed as unfriendly or hostile by the Truman Administration?. This story really has little to do with United Fruit. Although the lives of farm workers is difficult all over the world, UFCO wages were more than double what a worker could earn on a domestic plantation, the company also provided other benefits such as housing and schools and clinics for workers. Had Arbenz lived today he would hardly get the notice of Washington. The coup was a product of it's time, the start of the cold war fear of the Stalinist Soviet Union and the fear about Communist subversion. The amount of aid the U.S. government has given to Guatemala over the years would pay for 3 or 4 United Fruit Companies. The 1954 Coup was a geopolitical matter not an economic one. Bananas can be either grown or bought in many parts of the world.

To be honest, I would never have made it through this book if it had not been required for my class but I am glad that I did. The history of the coup and how it has played out and affected Guatemala to this day is a horrific example of American history, but one that should be common knowledge to the American public in order to keep a closer eye on our international affairs.

The authors did a great job of narrating the history in way that reads more like a story than a history book, though at times it can be a bit hard to read through (though that could be my own weakness in reading) with many different people involved. However, the intro giving a brief overview of the history of the coup helps give the reader an overview and the afterword is much appreciated.

The five stars I'm giving this book is in part due to the authors' ability to make the book an interesting read on history, but mostly because this is a book and a history that people should know.

After reading this one, you will not forget Guatemala.