Thy Will Be Done: The Conquest of the Amazon: Nelson Rockefeller and Evangelism in the Age of Oil

by Gerard Colby, Charlotte Dennett

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.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, Economics, American History, Religion, Conspiracy Theories

1008 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Gerard Colby 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 1974 publication was put under contract by Prentice-Hall in anticipation of a significant quantity of books sold to Book of the Month. The book painted a portrait of DuPont enterprises and the DuPont family that was characterized as "sober but unflattering" by some but as presenting a Marxist interpretation of the company by others. In response to pressure from DuPont, Book-of-the-Month cancelled its preorder. 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 same year. The suit is an important example of case law relating to the practice of privishing (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.

Reviews

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most detailed description anyone will ever need to have of the deadly confluence of the Rockefellers' insatiable desire for oil and resources, the CIA's fanatical drive for US political hegemony, and the Christian Fundamentalists' lust for souls, and what it did to an entire continent's land and peoples for most of a century. Academics should pay great attention to exactly how linguists, anthropologists, sociologists, botanists and geologists were recruited to participate in terrorism and genocide. Saddest of all is the lingering idea that even with all the remarkable political changes in the last decade in Latin America, and now in the Middle East, the bad old days have not gone away for good, and the same interests: financial, corporate, military and "soldiers of the Lord" may be coming together again in a last stand for the re-taking of a 'lost' hemisphere, with America's insatiable demand for both energy and drugs as the driving force. US global power, both soft and hard, may be in irreversible decline, but the question this book forces you to ask is: how much will it take with it before it goes down for good?

[Mark Lokensgard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is essential reading, or at least perusal, by everyone. Okay, I know that it will be of most interest to those who study Latin America, Southeast Asia, and general Economic and Political History. But this book exhaustively demonstrates, through consultation with primary sources in archives in multiple countries, how Standard Oil and the Rockefellers used their personal, economic and political connections, including with evangelists working to convert "pagans" in Latin America and Southeast Asia, to expand their empire. The empire of Standard Oil became the project of the American Government in insidious and horrifying ways.

At the same time, Colby (and co-author Charlotte Dennett) manage to create a portrait of the Rockefellers, particularly of Nelson, that in my opinion, is a fair one. Nelson in particular comes across as a figure who is driven and intelligent, but with an unfortunate talent for blocking out of his mind the consequences of what people are doing in his name, and what his country is doing to guarantee his own success. He is shown as having a great deal of personal affection for Latin America, particularly of Venezuela, but this affection is limited by his interactions with the elites and by a blind faith in capitalism. It blinds him so much that he cannot even see that his aversion and opposition to "Communism" is really an excuse to stamp out any kind of capitalism with a nationalist bent, such as attempts by Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, etc., to control the conditions under which energy and minerals would be extracted from their countries.

In the end, it is the fact that the Rockefellers were not sinister figures, but that so much was done for their benefit and at the expense of the vulnerable, that is so sobering.

[Joelle Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy freaking moly.

Please excuse me while I go and lament the history I just read in this book.

Also reading this side by side with Evangelicals made the horror even more real.

[Garrett Dunnington · Rating 4 out of 5]

From this book, it is clear that most petroleum products have a direct link to oil production, which has been left over from the Rockefeller empire. This is a highly detailed and paginated historical account about this tycoon family's campaign to exploit resources for private gain and profit from disadvantaged or deemed sub-humans. It is very shocking, but this is what makes it engaging.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

18 years of research

As the two subtitles indicate, Colby and Dennett investigate the long career of this Rockefeller scion. However, they not only include a necessarily detailed context for his domestic activities and his political rise to the vice-president role under Gerald Ford, but his very long association with the ordinary-sounding Summer Institute of Linguistics, but its parent organization, Wycliffe Bible Translators, Their relentless mission to bring the Gospel to every nation by rendering its native tongue into scripture sounds innocuoue. But these researchers unearth the entangled ties of SIL to leading American multinational corporations, far beyond Standard Oil or Chase Bank.

In these hundreds of pages, the scholars dig into archives, scour public records and dozens of newspapers and magazines of all sizes and circulations, and countless interviews. Their book appeared in the middle of the Nineties, so they lacked the assistance of the net. This makes their achievements all the more valuable, for it's evident the compilers had to slog through thousands of sources, many not easily available, and given the limitations placed upon them by the Rockefeller's estate to quote verbatim from its documents, admirable. For they managed to tell this extremely complicated narrative in c!ear prose, apt metaphors, and patient exposition.

I'd have liked more background on the Dynasty first patriarch regarding how he forced the railroads to haul "his" oil cheaper for rebates, while finagling for his rivals to be charged exorbitantly...and how Southern California became at the dawn of Fundamentalism a bastion, but the abundant documentation doubtless elucidates many matters that must be suggested rather than expanded. For this massive work, with a 2018 update in its forward following brother David's century-plus life and deeds, remains invaluable for anyone looking deeper at the SIL's impacts not only in the Amazon, but across the...a telling term..."developing world" where capitalism, Christianity, the CIA, cronies, and collusion among the elites who run our society appear to shut out any competition.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading History helps one understand the present. Tis book describes in detail 50 yrs of the history of Nelson Rockefeller’s influence in American foreign policy, mainly in South America, and the Rockefeller’s influence on domestic policy . Very detailed Maps, charts, graphs, footnotes.
The book also discusses the role of missionaries and how they were used , co/opted by CIA.
I began reading this book on the 131st day of the current Israeli/HAMAS war & finished reading on the 236th day. I never imagined, nor did I ever wonder or think about the Genocide in Central & South America during the 1970s-1980s. I never even knew about it until I read this book Meso-American Anthropologists referred to it as The Genocide Decade. I was in college during those years taking mesoamerican history & anthropology & never knew.
Reading about it was horrifying , besides being inundated with horrific images daily on Twitter from Gaza.
I mean the timing was coincidental, serendipitous, synchronic, that the shit in Rafah was happening the same time I was reading about the Guatemalan Holocaust / Genocide.
College Protests during the 70s-80s delt with War & Apartheid; had there been social media back then Genocide would’ve been added
I apologize for jumping the shark, and spoiling the ending, but now that I know what I know, the US administration acquiescing to genocide is apparently has been standard operating procedure all along . “People are in the way of Progress “
During the 70s-80s, digressing a bit, , during the genocide decade in South/Central America, Israel was dealing with a wit the Yom Kippur War, a hostile UN, & then an Intifada . They were also really close friends with South Africa
So now when I see the all press conferences now about US sending bombs to Israel, to bomb HAMAS , I know the US was also supplying weapons, training, assistance to military juntas /dictators in Central/South America to eradicate “communist insurgencies”
During the Cold War 70s/80s ,it was Christian fundamentalist evangelicals, CIA
In 2024, it’s Christian Zionists, AIPAC

[Bob Bingham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is now over 20 years old, but well worth the read. Although a large volume (about 850 pages, not counting footnotes), it flows easily and is interesting. There is a lot of information unearthed about Nelson Rockefeller, the CIA and its major players, and various corporate interests in South America throughout the 20th century. The other arena explored in detail is the relationship of William Cameron Townsend (founder of Wycliffe Bible Translators, JAARS, and SIL) with Rockefeller interests and other corporate sponsors. It is hard not to come away with a somewhat jaded or cynical view of mission boards. New Tribes Mission and Christian & Missionary Alliance (CMA) are mentioned a few times with respect to abuse of indigenous tribes in South America. This book was written before a lot of the more recent revelations of mission board abuses have been brought to light, such as those of ABWE in Bangladesh. The common thread seems to be the adoption of the corporate model in missions.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one took me quite a while, but was worth it. Well-organized (and exceptionally well-sourced). Though it covers a lot in detail, the authors make it coherent and fascinating. Worth it for anyone interested in the history of United States “development” of Latin America.

[Joe Surkiewicz · Rating 5 out of 5]

You'll never look at Carmen Miranda the same way again. I read it in conjunction with some of Gabriel Kolko's histories, and got a real lesson in how the world's governments and industries (actually, trading blocs) work. Sounds dry, isn't.

[keatssycamore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This should be required reading for people who laugh at "conspiracy theories that Bill Gates somehow controls ..." You can see the playbook and learn how effective it is as you turn the pages of this book.

[Tommy · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of a focus on Wycliffe Bible Translators than just any Rockefeller... this goes all over the place without a discernible narrative beyond missionaries and academics being used by private actors trying to influence government policy from the early 20th century to the trilateral commission days. Primarily South America but touches on Asia and the Middle East. Lots of sources.

[Drusha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book on Nelson Rockefeller and the Rockefeller family, politics, native Americans, indigenous people, religion and the intrusion of these influences in opening up and degrading the Amazon rain forest and other locales.

[Anthony Ambruso · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book

I found it interesting to see how business, politics, education, and religion can be combined to build wealth. Most of us know this is reality, but to see it explained step by bloody step is quite eye-opener. Although this book is quite interesting is proceeds extremely slowly. Slowly. It is a long book. It makes you really wonder about our country.