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The Informant: A True Story

by Kurt Eichenwald

3.78 · rating details · 907 ratings · 206 reviews

From an award-winning New York Times investigative reporter comes an outrageous story of greed, corruption, and conspiracy—which left the FBI and Justice Department counting on the cooperation of one man . . .

It was one of the FBI's biggest secrets: a senior executive with America's most politically powerful corporation, Archer Daniels Midland, had become a confidential go...moreFrom an award-winning New York Times investigative reporter comes an outrageous story of greed, corruption, and conspiracy—which left the FBI and Justice Department counting on the cooperation of one man . . .

It was one of the FBI's biggest secrets: a senior executive with America's most politically powerful corporation, Archer Daniels Midland, had become a confidential government witness, secretly recording a vast criminal conspiracy spanning five continents. Mark Whitacre, the promising golden boy of ADM, had put his career and family at risk to wear a wire and deceive his friends and colleagues. Using Whitacre and a small team of agents to tap into the secrets at ADM, the FBI discovered the company's scheme to steal millions of dollars from its own customers.

But as the FBI and federal prosecutors closed in on ADM, using stakeouts, wiretaps, and secret recordings of illegal meetings around the world, they suddenly found that everything was not all that it appeared. At the same time Whitacre was cooperating with the Feds while playing the role of loyal company man, he had his own
agenda he kept hidden from everyone around him—his wife, his lawyer, even the FBI agents who had come to trust him with the case they had put their careers on the line for. Whitacre became sucked into his own world of James Bond antics, imperiling the criminal case and creating a web of deceit that left the FBI and prosecutors uncertain where the lies stopped and the truth began.

In this gripping account unfolds one of the most captivating and bizarre tales in the history of the FBI and corporate America. Meticulously researched and richly told by New York Times senior writer Kurt Eichenwald, The Informant re-creates the drama of the story, beginning with the secret recordings, stakeouts, and interviews with suspects and witnesses to the power struggles within ADM and its board—including the high-profile chairman Dwayne Andreas, F. Ross Johnson, and Brian Mulroney—to the big-gun Washington lawyers hired by ADM and on up through the ranks of the Justice Department to FBI Director Louis Freeh and Attorney General Janet Reno.

A page-turning real-life thriller that features deadpan FBI agents, crooked executives, idealistic lawyers, and shady witnesses with an addiction to intrigue, The Informant tells an important and compelling story of power and betrayal in America(less)

Paperback, 629 pages

Published October 15th 2001 by Broadway (first published August 28th 2000)

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Sep 05, 2008

Lisa rated it

Shelves: non-fiction, favorites

I attended a continuing legal education event a week ago, at which the author of this book and one of the FBI agents from the book spoke about the case. I left the event determined to read the book straight away - and in any event, before the movie comes out next year.

I had known of this book for some time, and was generally aware it concerned the ADM antitrust price-fixing trial. But I had thought, wrongly as it turned out, that the book was about the trial. In fact, the trial is rel...more

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Jun 14, 2008

Tannie Olsen rated it

Recommended to Tannie by: Co-Worker

This book was a tradeout between me and a friend of mine from work. He got to read "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman and I got to read "The Informant". I think he got the better end of the deal.

The Informant is a true story about Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and their alleged price fixing in a variety of agricultural markets. Mark Whitacre, a top executive of ADM, is the 'informant'. Whitacre assisted the FBI in compiling hundreds of audio and video tapes...more

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Feb 19, 2011

Paul Pessolano rated it

This book is for those who like true crime and those that enjoy John Grisham. This book is a John Grisham type novel, except that it really did happen. In fact there are similarities to his book, "The Partner". If anyone has read John Harr's novel "Civil Action", which is a true lawyer story, will find this book very much to their liking.

This book is about the executive employees of Archer Daniels Midland Company, or ADM. Although I did not recogfnize this com...more

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Nov 21, 2010

Jim Mcgregor rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: crime

As far as business books go, this is well worth a read. The story is ostensibly about global price fixing in an obscure food related industry, but it really is more about the whistle blower and the agents who track and manage him. The "Informant", Mark Whitacre, is a case study in himself, and I found it hard to empathise with him despite quite a sympathetic portrayal by the author. He blithely lies, schemes, betrays and embezzles his way through the book in order to try and hide his n...more

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Oct 03, 2009

Joe rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. First it was a radio program. Then it was a book. After that, a movie. And now, it's a goodreads review!

This book tells the real-life story of Mark Whitacre, and the others involved with him in an international price-fixing scheme. He worked for ADM (Archer Daniels Midland, "Supermarket to the World") as the president of the bioproducts division. In particular, he helped set up, and remained in charge, of lysine production. Lysine is fed to chickens and other animals, a...moreFirst it was a radio program. Then it was a book. After that, a movie. And now, it's a goodreads review!

This book tells the real-life story of Mark Whitacre, and the others involved with him in an international price-fixing scheme. He worked for ADM (Archer Daniels Midland, "Supermarket to the World") as the president of the bioproducts division. In particular, he helped set up, and remained in charge, of lysine production. Lysine is fed to chickens and other animals, and many tons of it are sold each year. In the early 90's, Whitacre told his bosses that he had received a phone call from a mole at a Japanese producer of lysine. The mole said that they had installed a saboteur at ADM's lysine division, who was causing problems with their yield. For a few million dollars, Whitacre said, the mole would expose his bosses, identify the saboteur, and provide a solution for the problem.

ADM decided to call in the FBI, who interviewed the people involved. When the FBI planned to tap Whitacre's phone in order to help catch the mole, he showed some resistance -- and then quickly confessed to participating, with the knowledge of the top execs at ADM, in a global lysine price-fixing conspiracy.

ADM and the other top producers -- just a handful of companies -- were regularly meeting at deciding on a total volume of lysine production, how much each company would sell in each part of the world, and how much they would sell it for. Whitacre said that the price-fixing had turned the lysine division from a money loser into a division that was making millions every quarter. Whitacre wanted to confess this to the FBI, he said, so that he wouldn't be prosecuted for his role -- now that the FBI was poking around and tapping phones, he was sure that they would have discovered the entire scheme anyway.

The rest of the first half of the book tells the story of Whitacre's taping other execs at ADM and the other producers, and cooperating with the FBI to help record a huge number of price-fixing meetings. The real story is as compelling as any Grisham novel, and amazingly, it actually happened.

As the book goes on, it continues to tell the story of recording the conspirators. That alone would have made for a great story, but we actually get a lot more: as the tale unfolds, we discover massive fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, and even Nigerian scammers. It's simply ridiculous.

The first half of the book, which ends just as the prosecution is set to begin, is excellent. It's quite substantial, and seems to tell a complete story by itself. It easily could have been made into its own book, and I would have given it five stars, easily.

The second half of the book isn't as good. It covers the trial and its setup: jurisdictional battles, counter-action taken by ADM, plea bargains, and so on. It's not bad, but it's not especially great: the first part of the book is easy to understand and follow. The second part bounces around between different people fighting a few different legal battles. Their roles are connected, but the story bounces between them. It's nice to see how the court battle ended up, but it just didn't draw me in as much as I wish it would have.

Even with the second half's weaker execution, this book is easily worth reading.(less)

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Jul 13, 2009

Suzanne rated it

A can't-put-it-down book about... antitrust? YES.

The ADM price-fixing case in the late 1990s was unprecedented in terms of scope and evidence. The cooperating witness, Mark Whitacre, spent about three taping meeting and phone calls showing ADM agreeing to fix prices with 4 other companies in the global market for lysine. The ADM fine and evidence led to other prosecutions of price-fixing and law enforcement approaches price-fixing investigations and prosecutions in a completely ne...more

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Aug 10, 2011

Jean rated it

Shelves: big-picture, true-story

If you suspect big corporations sometimes place profits before ethical and transparent business practices, this book will absolutely confirm that suspicion. I also got an education on things like food additives - or more precisely, biologically engineered things fed to would-be food, like chickens, to make them heavier - and related US and international corporations' price fixing and dirty dealings. This book isn't very stylishly written, but it does march steadily forward with plenty of true ...more

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Aug 13, 2010

Tom rated it

As Eichenwald states in his Afterword, "this is a book about the malleable nature of truth." It is also a thoroughly researched and interestingly recounted history of an international price fixing effort, and its tortured investigation and prosecution. Bothe the self destructive behavior of the cooperating witness within ADM and the political tensions between the FBI and the DOJ buffeted the case throughout and increase the suspense as well as building a sense of empathy for some of th...more

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Jul 23, 2011

Jordan McPeek rated it

· review of another edition

Fascinating true story of the main witness in the biggest price-fixing case in the U.S. The first half is the most compelling as Mark Whitacre, the title character, starts to cooperate with the FBI and collect evidence through secret recordings. The second half, once the undercover portion is done, focuses more on how a major case gets stretched and pulled in all directions while winding its way through the bureaucracy. The cast of characters is large, and becomes especially hard to pin down in ...moreFascinating true story of the main witness in the biggest price-fixing case in the U.S. The first half is the most compelling as Mark Whitacre, the title character, starts to cooperate with the FBI and collect evidence through secret recordings. The second half, once the undercover portion is done, focuses more on how a major case gets stretched and pulled in all directions while winding its way through the bureaucracy. The cast of characters is large, and becomes especially hard to pin down in the second half, but in the end not much is lost. You don't really need to recall the names and limited characterizations in order to get the point that the bureaucracy is incredibly tangled. I gave up trying. I would've been happy if this part was trimmed.

Whitacre alternately generates cheers, sympathy, frustration, condemnation depending on which bizarre step he takes next, and that's what drives this story along. The underlying price-fixing case is almost secondary to the attempt to simply figure out the truth from all the many versions put forward by Whitacre. Not being familiar with the story from when it unfolded in the 1990's, it read like a thriller. Eichenwald made extensive use of quotations taken from case files. But where did he get all of the many details of what people were thinking or feeling, or gestures they made, or facial expressions they used? Made for good reading, but where do you research this kind of detail? Hard to believe interviewees would remember events with such precision.

The reader does a good job, never getting in the way. He uses an earnest inflection for Whitacre's dialogue which fits well with the character.

It touches a bit on the cost and extent of price-fixing, but that isn't the main point. While it's not mentioned in the book, I couldn't help thinking when it turned out that price-fixing was incredibly widespread, these are the same big business executives who'll happily preach free market principles, less regulation, trust us, we'll do what's best for the country. This book is a fine illustration of what they really mean. (less)

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Mar 01, 2010

Alicia rated it

· review of another edition

Are you like to read the books first or see the movie first? I'll admit, I'm a "BOOK FIRST" sort of gal. And so when I saw that this would be made into a movie, I wanted to read it first.

This is the true story (non-fiction whore that I am) about a cooperating witness working with the FBI. However, the "golden informant" that the FBI thinks they have turns out to be so much more than they bargained for.

It's such a tangled story but the author does a gre...more

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Aug 21, 2009

James rated it

I don't know where to begin describing this book.

It's a big book, and I've been reading it for a couple weeks, and I haven't been able to place my finger on why this book is amazing, or even how to describe it.

The basic description, that makes me yawn, is: a large agriculture company is involved with price-fixing, and an executive turns informant to tell the FBI all about it.

But the informant turns out to be....this is one of the places I get stuck - trying ...more

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Aug 14, 2011

Suzan rated it

· review of another edition

FORGET the coy “A true story…based on a tattle tale” cover line, this book is 100 per cent documentary. The Informant reveals, step-by-step, one of the greatest corporate anti-trust cases in American history, exposed by one of the most fascinating and despicable individuals you will ever read about.

When Dr Mark Whitacre contacted the FBI about international price-fixing at Archer Daniels Midland—one of the world’s most influential and politically connected companies—nobody knew (or cared) about...more

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Nov 11, 2009

Sara Jane Blackman rated it

· review of another edition

I caught a snippet about this true story on NPR one day (complete with the FBI tapes that were recorded through the investigation) and thought it was fascinating. Then I started seeing the previews for the movie, which make the story seem a comedy (which I suppose it is, in a very "real world" way).

The first 200 pages were really tough to get through. So much information to digest, especially if you are not well versed in the business world and it's dealings. But about midway...more

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Nov 10, 2011

Barb rated it

Who knows what makes a read great for some and not so great for others? This non-fiction tale covers several years, involves people from several countries and multiple U.S. government agencies, with twists and turns that I sometimes found hard to follow, and at the center of this stew is a character who could only be real because as a fictional character, no one would believe it!

The level of power the central character achieved, his inscrutable behaviors, and the enormous size and pow...more

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Sep 18, 2009

Melinda Abney Kaiser rated it

Amazingly researched and documented tale of Mark Whitacre and ADM, the story being told in the current movie "The Informant!" starring Matt Damon.

Eichenwald takes what could be pretty boring and makes it read like a novel. I honestly couldn't put it down. Best inside-account of true-life business adventure since Barbarians at the Gate (which I also adored). I read this book before I was aware that a movie was being made and thought "this could make a really interestin...more

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Mar 09, 2009

J.C. rated it

Shelves: non-fiction

I enjoyed this book enough to give it 3 stars. but I would not put it on my best non-fiction shelf.

I enjoyed the true crime aspects of the case, Kurt Eichenwald did a good job of keeping the suspense up (although the first 150 pages are a bit tedious, and the constant references to Mr. John Grisham could have been left out) as well as his attempts at simplifying the crimes involved for the average reader (don't know much about history, don't know much biology). The beginning prolog...moreI enjoyed this book enough to give it 3 stars. but I would not put it on my best non-fiction shelf.

I enjoyed the true crime aspects of the case, Kurt Eichenwald did a good job of keeping the suspense up (although the first 150 pages are a bit tedious, and the constant references to Mr. John Grisham could have been left out) as well as his attempts at simplifying the crimes involved for the average reader (don't know much about history, don't know much biology). The beginning prologue is pretty effective and made me want to find out more about the main character (name Mark Whitacre) and his involvement in the "biggest price fixing scheme in history".

I did not like the fact that there were about 400,000 supporting characters in this book (400,000 is my number, I rounded up), every page brings a new character. However, I think that in the end they were all necessary to tell the story correctly and I think Mr. Eichenwald did a good job of re-introducing the not-so-main characters as they pop up and disappear though out the course of the story. there are just so many people and by half way through I was more concerned with what Whitacre did as opposed to what every one else was attempting to accomplish.

I might have appreciated the supporting characters more if I had read the book slower and perhaps tried to care about them a little. Or I might have found them all pointless and quit the book half way through. Either way, I won't be re-reading it anytime soon.

SPOILER WARNING!?!?!?!?!?!?!

As for Mark Whitacre, I began reading this adventure thinking that there would be some sort of Kaiser Sosze moment near the end. A moment where every one realized that this crazy guy, Mark Whitacre, who did everything in his power to sabotage his own initiated investigation was actually running an elaborate con where he was playing good guys against bad guys and getting rich in the process. didn't happen. by the end it's just a story about a rich guy who is sad and bizarre and kinda ridiculous.

now that I think about it, I feel a bit jipped!

If you're reading this or thinking about it and are not into the story, move on to something else.(less)

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Nov 30, 2009

Fiona715 rated it

You don’t have to like or understand business to enjoy this book, it reads like a comedic thriller, but it’s true.

Archer Daniels Midlands is one of those companies you always see ads for (often around PBS shows), but probably have little to no idea what they do. Well, I for one now have a much better idea, but I can’t say that I admire them at all—and the US Justice Department and parts of the FBI don’t come off much better! ADM, which advertises itself as "The Supermarket to t...more

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Mar 16, 2011

Brian rated it

· review of another edition

Very entertaining read...probably even better if you've NOT seen the film

I had seen the film before reading this, and it was still quite engaging. Probably would've been even better if I hadn't. I still tore through it though. The only criticism I could offer is that it became difficult to keep all of the different government factions straight....there are several different groups within the FBI, DoJ etc. and it's difficult to remember who is fighting with whom. Though I guess that is just anoth...more

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Dec 12, 2009

Sarah Hanly rated it

I was intrigued to read this book after listening to the "This American Life" story on NPR and seeing the movie. I was hoping to gain more insight into Whiteacre's personality and motivation. The book was very readable despite the density of the subject matter and, for me, provided more fodder for my loathing of the industrial agricultural complex - a complement to the movies Food Inc. and Fresh.
I didn't necessarily gain the insight into the main character I was looking for th...more

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Jul 28, 2010

David rated it

Shelves: non-fiction, true-crime, conspiracy, corruption

This is an excellent book. Well written, and actually thrilling. As I find with many books about corporations, names get confusing, and I found myself having to go back to the character index numerous times as the book went on. Eichenwald cannot be blamed though, since he must include all the names he does.

The unraveling of the entire Archer Daniels Midland case is fascinating. The ultimate ironic ending makes it all the better (or rather, worse, for some of the characters). This boo...more

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Oct 19, 2009

Kevin rated it

· review of another edition

Wow, what a tale. It is simply amazing to find that this is a true story. Having seen the movie previews, I was intrigued and geared for a comedic romp. Hoever, I was pleasantly surprised to find it was no comedy. Although there are definately some chuckles related to Whitacre's befuddling actions, this was a grippingly thorough historical account of his dealings with FBI, the ADM and the other lysine manufacturers.

Eichenwald does such a wonderful job with this fantastically outr...more

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Aug 27, 2009

Patrick rated it

One of the finest non fiction piece I ever read, this fine book is a crash course on anti trust laws and the reasons behind them. It is a brilliant piece of novelization of real events that transpired in 1991-1996, when a lone but goofy man decided to turn in his executives in the adminstation level for violating anti trust laws and price fixing. I really learned plenty about how ecomency works even if I have a hard time spelling that word. Brilliant, simply brillant investigative reporting and ...more

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Dec 17, 2009

C.S. rated it

This is one of the most engrossing books I've been fortunate enough to read all year. I saw the Steven Soderbergh's adaptation in theatres shortly after it came out, and like I usually do after seeing a movie, I spent a little time reading reviews after I got home. Several of them made some mention of the book, usually pointing out how brilliant it was, enough that I decided to track it down and have a look myself. I'm glad I did.

I think I saw a pull quote that said something alon...more

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Feb 15, 2010

Lobstergirl rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: business-finance

Few people do these massive reconstructions of corporate malfeasance better than Kurt Eichenwald. The ADM price-fixing case (which Eichenwald covered for the New York Times) almost recedes to the background as he details the bizarre shenanigans of cooperating witness and lying sociopath Mark Whitacre, president of the Bioproducts Division. (Archer Daniels Midland - "Supermarket to the World..." is a giant agribusiness company that made America obese with high fructose corn syrup and ...more

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May 08, 2008

Clif Hostetler rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: current-events

This non-fiction story is more interesting than any fictional crime detective story. I feel compelled to be a bit more enthusiastic than usual about this book to overcome the reaction of potential readers who are not interested in a story about price fixing at Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). That may sound boring. Trust me, it’s not!

By the end of the book, you will learn that as of the year 2000 over a billion dollars in fines had been pai...more

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Sep 06, 2009

Shira Karp rated it

I read this book in 2003 and rated it quite a while ago, but I just got back from seeing the movie version of "The Time Traveler's Wife" in which they showed a preview for the movie they're making of this book starring Matt Damon and Scott Bacula. Pleased with that cast, but they're turning it into a comedy? I figured I'd come write an actual review.

I've never been a fan of the spy/thriller genre in books. I love the spy/thriller MOVIES, but other than John Grisham and D...more

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May 15, 2010

Curt rated it

I could not put this one down - it's a non-fiction that reads like a fiction. It's a little longer than many books I would consider a 'quick read' (~550 pages), but I plowed through it in a pretty short time. Just when you think you have it figured out, the story changes. Story is about an executive at ADM who wore a wire for two years and helped uncover price-fixing agreements. It would be a good book even if that were the only part to it, but the story gets a lot crazier than that.

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Dec 20, 2009

Justin rated it

· review of another edition

What a story. It is completely unbelievable that this story is real, and it is completely unbelievable what a psychopath Mark Whitacre is (the main character in the book). Really fun read - this is like a novel in many respects, except the story is real.

Just like the last Eichenwald book I read (Conspiracy of Fools), there are some things that annoy me about the writing style, but they are far less distracting in The Informant. The irritating, very transparent foreshadowing is th...more

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Sep 14, 2009

Ellin rated it

I read this book a long time ago but had forgotten about it until I saw it in the news because apparently it's been turned into a movie. This was really well written. The subject doesn't sounds like something that would be exciting to read about but I couldn't put it down. On the down side, it will make you angry since it documents what appears to be a common theme these days with corporate executives i.e. greed, greed and more greed.

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Jun 28, 2009

Eric rated it

Shelves: recent-reads, true-crime, favorites

every time i read a book like this, which doesn't happen often enough, i have a hard time getting into fiction again. if you wrote a novel like this, people would not be able to suspend disbelief, and critics would complain about too many plot implausibilities and an overuse of plot twists. it simply wouldn't work.

if you think you might have trouble getting into a book about lysine price-fixing, you won't. that's just where it starts. it's a fascinating, page-turning look into ...more

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