false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171679587m/113576.jpg 113576 3 Like its subject, <I>The Smartest Guys in the Room</I> is ambitious, grand in scope, and ruthless in its dealings. Unlike Enron, the Texas-based energy giant that has come to represent the post-millennium collapse of 1990s go-go corporate culture, it's also ultimately successful. Penned by <I>Fortune</I> scribes Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, the 400-page-plus chronicle of the scandal digs deep inside the numbers while, wisely, maintaining focus on the "smart guys" deep-frying the books. The likes of paternal but disengaged CEO Ken Lay (dubbed "Kenny Boy" by George W. Bush, one of many prominent public figures with whom he rubbed shoulders), cutthroat man-behind-the-curtain Jeff Skilling, and ethically blind numbers whiz Andy Fastow vividly come to life as they make a mockery of conventional accounting practices and grow increasingly arrogant and bind to their collective hubris. They're not a likable lot, and the writers find it difficult to suppress their astonishment and revulsion with the crew who rapidly went from golden boys and girls of the financial world to pariahs when the bill finally came due. The authors' unrepressed sarcasms are more than often unnecessarily given the scope of the outrage. Enron's leading lights were or a time celebrated for their ability to concoct nearly unfathomable business schemes to hide mounting shortfalls and keeping track on their machinations can be a chore, but, by sticking hard to the story behind the fall, McLean and Elkind have reported and written the definitive account of the Enron debacle. <I>--Steven Stolder</I> 1604 2003 The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron total:534|5:113|4:263|3:138|2:18|1:2| 534 2069 807 101 5 1 false false Thu Jul 10 04:44:38 -0700 2008 Mon Jan 05 06:03:36 -0800 2009 For anyone who has an interest in protecting your wealth and hard earned money, this is a must reead. I learned how importa...more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon May 19 06:06:52 -0700 2008 Thu May 29 19:23:24 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Wed Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sun Jul 15 08:36:54 -0700 2007 Sun Jul 15 08:45:52 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sat Mar 24 10:05:25 -0700 2007 Thu May 31 16:15:15 -0700 2007
Enron's collapse is a case study of what can go wrong in an economic...more...]]> 4 1 false false Fri Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sat Dec 13 03:35:54 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 13 03:39:31 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false true Mon Mar 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Feb 16 18:50:46 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 10 19:08:25 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Mar 26 17:26:55 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 26 17:30:39 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 04 09:34:38 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 01 15:40:49 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue May 06 10:09:12 -0700 2008 Tue May 06 10:29:50 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Nov 09 15:29:04 -0800 2007 Mon Nov 12 10:26:44 -0800 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Nov 13 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Sep 24 15:29:56 -0700 2008 Fri Nov 14 07:38:01 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu May 24 18:13:04 -0700 2007 Thu May 24 18:19:51 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 15 13:32:54 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 21 06:25:40 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 true false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Aug 31 09:53:19 -0700 2007 Wed Oct 03 08:50:44 -0700 2007 Bethany McLean does a good job of balancing the technical details of the story with the human elements of the drama. In other words, she does an equally good job expla...more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 26 21:07:54 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 26 21:09:30 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Mar 10 23:39:56 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 10 23:42:20 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 16 08:07:33 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 05 06:39:56 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Jun 03 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 03 09:00:40 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 03 09:01:51 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Wed Jan 28 18:25:27 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 28 18:27:20 -0800 2009 EDIT: Jan 2009 I can only hope that books written about the fraud going on these times could only be half as good as this one]]> 4 0 false false Mon Dec 22 01:03:32 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 22 18:33:45 -0800 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=113576