Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron - Hardcover

McLean, Bethany; Elkind, Peter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1591840082 ISBN 13: 9781591840084

Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover, 2003

Synopsis

An account of the rise and fall of Enron, written by award-winning Fortune investigative reporters, draws on a wide range of sources while revealing the contributions of lesser-known participants in the scandal. 400,000 first printing. First serial, Fortune.

About this title

Review:

Like its subject, The Smartest Guys in the Room 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 Fortune 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. --Steven Stolder

About the Author:

Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind are both senior writers at Fortune magazine. McLean is a former analyst for Goldman Sachs. Elkind is the former associate editor of Texas Monthly.

About this edition

• Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1591840082
• ISBN 13: 9781591840084
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 464