House of Cards: Confessions of an Enron Executive

by Lynn Brewer, Matthew Scott Hansen

Former Enron Executive Lynn Brewer contacted government officials to relate her first-hand knowledge of her previous employer's corrupt business practices. She even offered to hand over powerful evidence and incriminating documents. But the officials declined. Brewer had a great deal of information, since she witnessed egregious acts of bank fraud, espionage, cover-ups, and the mind-boggling corporate shell games that have cost the public billions. Determined to get the truth out to the public, Brewer decided to write a book. "House of Confessions of an Enron Executive", is Lynn Brewer's gripping account of nearly three years spent with the company that has come to symbolize the worst in corporate greed. Lynn's riveting tale takes you deep into the heart of Enron for a shocking look at both the notorious illicit deals and the unscrupulous people who made them. Having spent time with Enron's water company, trading division, power trading desk, and their broadband unit, coupled with Lynn's background in accounting and law, a scandalous portrait emerges of a company run amok in the name of naked avarice. Fascinating, revelatory, and oftentimes hilarious, "House of Confessions of an Enron Executive" is the only book you'll need to understand the true reasons why Enron collapsed. In her book, Brewer details such shockers as how she uncovered massive bank fraud and then was told to conceal it; her public confrontation with CEO Jeff Skilling over a conspiracy to sell substandard gas; the nature of partnerships formed by CFO Andy Fastow, designed to confuse any attempts at deciphering them; her discovery of espionage, theft, and subsequent coverup by the husband of Enron powerhouse Rebecca Mark; the extraordinary antics of Enron's electricity traders and their scheme to "print money" how Enron's infamous "rank and yank" review process brutalized employees and set them at each other's throats; and how many women at Enron saw sleeping to the top as their only chance at promotion.

312 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Pam]

I only read part. First of all she was never an executive except in her mind. Her bosses, who admitted they were not considered executives, wondered how they could have an executive working under them. She didn't blow any whistles either. I did some research of a few of her claims and she has fabricated most of this. The funny thing is people are hiring her to speak and she is making a great deal of money. This is evidence that if you tell a story long enough you start to believe it.

[Monzenn]

Low four stars. Maybe high three if I focus on the veracity of the claims - such as her being an executive. Outside of this, the book fulfilled most of what I look for in a biography: a compelling narrative, characters worth watching, and a few interesting details especially with the back-end stories. Should it be the only Enron narrative you read? Hopefully not. Is it a good companion piece to the seminal works on the subject? I'd say yes.

[Brian]

I thought the author probably dramatized some of the events (in her experience with Enron) to make it readable. Aside from that, an inside view of the Enron debacle, and how ethics has evolved since.