The smartest guys in the room was assigned viewing as part of our unit on business ethics and all i can say is wow. Dennis boutsikaris is a fairly good reader for nonfiction. July 5, 2006 fortunes bethany mclean wrote about enron in the book the smartest guys in the room. The smartest guys in the room reprises the same booktofilm formula to powerful effect, perhaps because gibney took. The smartest guys in the room audiobook by bethany. But a chain of events lead to an enormous shock on the wall street and went down in history as one of the biggest business scandals. The smartest guys in the room by bethany mclean, peter. A fascinating exploration of corporate culture and epic misdeeds, enron.
Peter elkind is an awardwinning investigative reporter and the coauthor of the national bestseller, about. The tenthanniversary 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. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the smartest guys in the room. The smartest guys in the room by bethany mclean is a detailed account of the rise and fall of enron and it gives the most insight into the actions of lay, skilling, and fastow. Enron the smartest guys in the room book summary free essays. The amazing rise and scandalous fall of enron ebook written by bethany mclean, peter elkind. Greed, ego, and the death of enron, a book by robert. The smartest guys in the room is a very well researched and exhaustive account haha, see what i did there. The smartest guys in the room takes viewers from the heyday of soaring profits through the prolonged fallout, including the. The smartest guys in the room pdf summary bethany mclean. As the fundamental core of enron failed to yield actual revenue, enron felt forced to expand its deception, putting off its day of. The smartest guys in the room is a 2005 documentary film based on the bestselling 2003 book of the. Bethany mclean and peter elkind are the authors of this book. Peter elkind just as watergate was the defining political story of its time, so enron is the biggest business story of our time.
With john beard, tim belden, barbara boxer, george w. Meticulously researched and character driven, smartest guys in the room takes the reader deep into enrons pastand behind the. Countless books and articles were written about it, but only. Writerdirector alex gibney examines the rise and fall of an infamous corporate juggernaut in enron. The enron scandal brought down one of the most admired companies of the 1990s. The smartest guys in the room is a multidimensional study of one of the biggest business scandals in american history. Summary of the film the smartest guys in the room free. Just as watergate was the defining political story of its time, so enron is the biggest business story of our time. The amazing rise and scandalous fall of enron is a book by bethany mclean and peter elkind, first published in 2003 by. The bad practices were begun to hide losses and prop up stock price. These blinks detail a gripping story of financial deceit, while shedding light on the personalities that built enrons corporate culture and set it up for disaster.
Above all, its a fascinating human drama that will prove to be the authoritative account of the enron scandal. The smartest guys in the room enron corporation was an energy, commodities, and service company out of houston, texas founded by kenneth lay in 1985 lay built natural gas power energy in east texas which helped enrons stock rise. And just as all the presidents men was the one watergate book that gave readers. I find his reading a bit slow, but perhaps its good for complicated material. Louis borget, andrew fastow, and jeffery skilling were the top management executives from 1985. Basically any principle of business ethics articulated in textbooks on business was violated in the greed fueled pursuit of profits. Enron grew from a pipeline company to an economic powerhouse by playing the middle man, selling long term gas contracts to buyers for a fixed price and. Based on the book by fortune magazine reporters bethany mclean and peter elkind, the film explores the lengths to which the company went in order to appear incredibly profitable, and reveals how kenneth lay, jeff skilling, and other execs managed to keep their. For this tenth anniversary edition, mclean and elkind have revisited the fall of enron and its aftermath, in a new chapter that asks why enron still matters. The smartest guys in the room summary enron digs a deeper hole. Drawing on a wide range of unique sources, the book follows enrons rise from obscurity to the. Ethical issues in enron the smartest guys in the room.
The smartest guys in the room frauds and financial scandals in the business world were before an enrons case and will be after it. The title of bethany mclean and peter elkinds 2003 book about the rise and fall of enron is conveyed with a knowing wink. The amazing rise and scandalous fall of enron kindle edition by mclean, bethany, elkind, peter, nocera, joe. Investors on the fringes of the financial world feverishly seek new alternatives for highreturn investments in the global markets, and have found a goldmine in. Countless books and articles were written about it, but only the smartest guys. The smartest guys in the room by mclean, bethany ebook. The emphasis is on human drama, from suicide to 20,000 people sacked. This book fully updated for the paperback tells the extraordinary story of enrons fall. Today, enron is the biggest business story of our time, and fortune senior writers bethany mclean and peter elkind. The smartest guys in the room, an awardwinning 2005 documentary film which examines the collapse of the enron corporation. The smartest guys in the room by bethany mclean, peter elkind. Mclean and elkind are credited as writers of the film alongside the director, alex gibney.
Like its subject, the smartest guys in the room is ambitious, grand in scope, and ruthless in its dealings. The failure of enron in the early 2000s is one of the largest bankruptcies in us history with lehman brothers in 2008 as the largest. Smartest guys in the room is a story of greed, arrogance, and deceita microcosm of all that is wrong with american business today. Drawing on a wide range of unique sources, the book follows enrons rise from obscurity to the top of the business world to its disastrous demise. The smartest guys in the room, which he wrote and directed. Alex gibney examines the rise and fall of an infamous corporate juggernaut. And just as all the presidents men was the one watergate book that gave readers the full story, with all the drama and nuance, the smartest guys in the room is the one book you have to read to understand this amazing business saga. The smartest guys in the room comes a wall street heist story about a stillunfolding financial crime so big, it has the power to affect all of our wallets. The unshredded truth about enron, a television movie aired by cbs in january 2003 based on the book anatomy of greed by brian cruver. The smartest guys in the room is the inside story of one of americas greatest business scandals, in which top executives of the countrys seventh largest company walked away with more than. And thirty years later, if youre going to read only one book on watergate. A documentary about the enron corporation, its faulty and corrupt. Based on the bestselling book of the same name by fortune reporters bethany mclean and peter elkind, enron.
Alex gibney, who wrote and produced eugene jareckis the trials of henry kissinger, examines the rise and fall of an infamous corporate juggernaut in enron. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The smartest guys in the room by bethany mclean pdf. K en lay, jeffrey skilling, andrew fastow, and the rest of enrons upper management weasels are easy targets for condemnation, but rather than simply provide a damning critique of the company, alex gibneys enron. The executives and insiders at enron knew about the offshore accounts that were hiding losses for the company. In 2005, it was adapted into a documentary film, enron.
The smartest guys in the room 2003 tells the remarkable tale of energy trader enron once a poster child for market innovation on wall street and its dramatic fall from stratospheric heights. The smartest guys in the room is a 2005 american documentary film based on the bestselling 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. Enron dives from the seventh largest us company to bankruptcy in less than a year in this tale told chronologically. Written by two senior writers for fortune magazine, the smartest guys in the room is a comprehensive history and analysis of the rise of enron and its dramatic and catastrophic collapse. Mclean and elkind worked on the book when they both were fortune senior writers. Released theatrically by magnolia pictures and nominated for an academy award, the film chronicles one of the greatest corporate disasters in history, in which top.
The book does a very good job of explaining the history of the company, ken lays involvement in it, and his mentality and motivations. Unlike enron, the texasbased energy giant that has come. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the smartest guys in the room. Meticulously researched and character driven, smartest guys in the room takes the reader deep into enrons pastand behind the closed doors of private. Now, mclean and elkind have investigated much deeper, to offer the definitive book about the enron scandal and the fascinating people behind it. The amazing rise and scandalous fall of enron is a book by bethany mclean and peter elkind, first published in 2003 by portfolio trade. The smartest guys in the room, allows the crooksvia congressional hearing footage, videos of inhouse company speeches, phone conversations, and television. The smartest guys in the room recounts the rise and fall of enron, the spectacularly fraudulent energy trading company whose 2001 collapse cost investors hundreds of millions of dollars. All the details are encapsulated in this book if you are eager to expand your horizons just a bit further.
Meticulously researched and character driven, smartest guys in the room takes the reader deep into enrons pastand behind the closed doors of private meetings. The smartest guys in the room is a 2005 oscarnominated documentary by alex gibney which charts the rise, peak, and fall of the energy corporation enron. The film, based on the book by fortune magazine reporters bethany mclean and peter elkind, opens with a reenactment of the suicide of enron executive cliff baxter, then travels. 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. Based on the book by fortune magazine reporters bethany mclean and peter elkind, the film explores the lengths to which the company went in order to appear incredibly profitable, and reveals how lay, skilling, and other execs managed to keep their riches, while thousands of lowerlevel employees saw their loyalty.