“You’re not going to find one memo where Skilling said, ‘Fuck with the numbers,’ ” he told a friend. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 5, 2015. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. And it is a truly overwhelming piece of research. Please try again. Enron dives from the seventh largest US company to bankruptcy in less than a year in this tale told chronologically. But can we believe it could never happen again? Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room is a 2005 American documentary film based on the best-selling 2003 book of the same name by Fortune reporters Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, a study of one of the largest business scandals in American history. It’s a compelling (and sometimes soapy) indictment of the worst side of business, and it queasily foreshadows the financial crisis of 2008. I love the play and film that are based on this book but the actual book itself is not my favourite. “We were doing something special. You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition. Countless books and articles were written about it, but only The Smartest Guys in the Room holds up a decade later as the definitive narrative. There's a problem loading this menu right now. Drawing on a wide range of unique sources, the book follows Enron's rise from obscurity to the top of the business world to its disastrous demise. Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2020, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. “Shit happens,” he liked to say. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 7, 2014. Sometimes, he was all of these things at once. Enron’s failure resonated powerfully because the entire company stood revealed as a sort of wonderland, where little was as it seemed. I read the book: The Smartest Guys in the Room by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room is a 2005 American documentary film based on the best-selling 2003 book of the same name by Fortune reporters Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, a study of one of the largest business scandals in American history. This wasn’t the time for such grim shoptalk; what’s more, their lawyers had pointedly instructed them to avoid such conversations. This book is generally acknowledged to be the definitive account on Enron and the creative accounting era. It feels like getting a secret peek into some of the worst excesses of both people and the corporate world. The Smartest Guys in the Room The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron (Book) : McLean, Bethany : The tenth-anniversary edition of the definitive account of the Enron scandal, updated with a new chapter The Enron scandal brought down one of the most admired companies of the 1990s. Here we have spelled out, extreme capitalism, in its most self-serving, evil and destructive form. I've had this book on my shelf for about 10 years, but for some reason I'd never gotten around to reading it. Top Contributor: Historical Fiction Books, Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2015. Like, some moral values, for a start. Enron was a little before my time, so obviously I had heard of the scandal but didn't really know of any details. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room is a 2005 American documentary film based on the best-selling 2003 book of the same name by Fortune reporters Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, a study of one of the largest business scandals in American history. Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2020, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. This has been the greatest, the smartest, the destructive, and the complex scandal of any corporation that ever existed in America. Nobel laureate Nelson Mandela came to Houston to receive the Enron Prize. But he’d sold the boat several months earlier. Then, as it focused on short-term stock prices, it became corrupted by deceptive accounting, making more egregious bets. Please try again. As Skilling saw it, Enron had fallen victim to a cabal of short sellers and scoop-hungry reporters that triggered a classic run on the bank. Enron's chairman and chief executive officer were Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, two supremely arrogant and belligerent men who believed they were the "smartest guys in the room… I've had this book on my shelf for about 10 years, but for some reason I'd never gotten around to reading it. “Depending on how it plays out, it may reach a point where it’s not worth sticking around,” he said. Less than 48 hours later, at about 2:20 A.M. on January 25, 2002, Baxter stopped his Mercedes on Palm Royale Boulevard, a mile and a half from his home. ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM. The Texas memorial service took place after Baxter was buried in a private ceremony in his hometown on Long Island. Remarkably, it was just two years ago that Enron was thought to epitomize a great New Economy company, with its skyrocketing profits and share price. The movie entitled “ENRON: Smartest Guys in The Room is based on a book with the same title written by Bethany Mclean and Peter Elkind. getAbstract maintains complete editorial responsibility for all parts of this Abstract. Like, some moral values, for a start. Perhaps it was because I'd read Kurt Eichenwald's "Conspiracy of Fools" and may have felt that nothing could surpass that. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. Ken Lay Sees an Opportunity Her March 2001 article in Fortune, "Is Enron Overpriced?," was the first in a national publication to openly question the company's dealings. For 90 minutes, those who knew Baxter—family members, fellow “boat people” from his beloved yacht club, and Enron friends—heard warm stories about his gentler side. Before quitting his job eight months earlier, he had served as vice chairman of a great American corporation, capping a decade-long career as the company’s top deal maker. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. Widely feared during his reign at Enron, known for his unflinchingly Darwinist view of the world, Skilling spent the service in tears. Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows, original audio series, and Kindle books. McLean and Elkind are credited as writers of the film alongside the director, Alex Gibney. The legislators were convinced that Skilling had abruptly resigned as CEO of the company—just four months before Enron went belly up—because he knew the game was over. ... After seeing a play about Enron, I wanted to learn more. When police found his body, there were two guitar picks in his wallet. Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind are Fortune senior writers. Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2018. The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron: Amazon.co.uk: Elkind, Peter, McLean, Bethany: Books Select Your Cookie Preferences We use cookies and similar tools to enhance your shopping experience, to provide our services, understand how customers use our services so we can make improvements, and display ads. Peter Elkind, Bethany McLean. In the space of two weeks, I'd only read 150 pages. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. McLean and Elkind are credited as writers of the film alongside the director, Alex Gibney. Today, Enron is the biggest business story of our time, and Fortune senior writers Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind are the new Woodward and Bernstein. Baxter’s death had stoked the media bonfire and tossed a fresh element of tragedy into a bubbling stewpot of intrigue. July 5, 2006 • Fortune's Bethany McLean wrote about Enron in the book The Smartest Guys in the Room. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. Always given to mood swings, he had become deeply depressed in recent days, consumed by the spectacular scandal that had engulfed his old company. Now it was Houston’s turn. The precise location of the service—the ballroom of the St. Regis, the city’s swankiest hotel—remained a secret until noon that day, at the insistence of Carol Baxter. No matter what your politics, "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" will make you mad. Please try again. 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