There were dozens of books about Watergate, but only All the President's Men gave readers the full story, with all the drama and nuance and exclusive reporting. And thirty years later, if you're going to read only one book on Watergate, that's still the one. 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.
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. But that was before Fortune published an article by McLean that asked a seemingly innocent question: How exactly does Enron make money? From that point on, Enron's house of cards began to crumble. Now, McLean and Elkind have investigated much deeper, to offer the definitive book about the Enron scandal and the fascinating people behind it.
Meticulously researched and character driven, Smartest Guys in the Room takes the reader deep into Enron's past—and behind the closed doors of private meetings. 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. It reveals as never before major characters such as Ken Lay, Jeff Skilling, and Andy Fastow, as well as lesser known players like Cliff Baxter and Rebecca Mark. Smartest Guys in the Room is a story of greed, arrogance, and deceit—a microcosm of all that is wrong with American business today. Above all, it's a fascinating human drama that will prove to be the authoritative account of the Enron scandal.
FS Southwest | Spurs look like smartest bet to win title FS Southwest ... time to be unhealthy and it may not have been the best matchup for us, especially at a time when we weren't healthy." A year ago, it might have seemed like denial. Now the Spurs, on the court and off, seem like the smartest guys in the room. and more » |
The Star-Ledger - NJ.com | Booker strays from Obama campaign message on 'Meet the Press,' criticizes ad ... The Star-Ledger - NJ.com But much like the Enron boys, Romney's battery of MBAs fancied themselves the smartest guys in the room. It didn't matter if a company manufactured bicycles or contact lenses; they were certain they could run it better than anyone else. and more » |
JPMorgan and the problem of hubris Washington Post (blog) This is the flaw at the heart of unregulated capitalism, and why, without regulation, “the smartest guys in the room” will crash the system over and over again. Those with a lot of money and power often overestimate their own competence and ability. and more » |
Rockies: At Rock Bottom (We Hope) 5280 The Denver Magazine (blog) ... baseball's 2007 winter meetings, a few months after the team's long-shot World Series appearance, the other owners and executives roundly congratulated the Monforts. It detailed how, at that moment, everyone saw them as the smartest guys in the room. and more » |
To sue or not to sue? CSNwashington.com The record shows that the highly-paid legal beagles retained by the league are not always the smartest guys in the room. The fact that they opined that the cap penalties would stand up in court doesn't mean that it will. But even if Jones and Snyder ... and more » |
The Lessons of JPMorgan's Trading Loss New York Times MARC AUSLANDER Millwood, NY, May 11, 2012 To the Editor: In spite of the elite education and corporate credentials, the “smartest guys in the room” have demonstrated once again that they're not. They're pretty much like everybody else. and more » |
Billboard | Glenn Frey Has Plan for Touring Around 'History of the Eagles' Doc Billboard ... tells Billboard.com that he and his mates are ramping up work on "The History of the Eagles," a two-DVD documentary that will be directed by Academy Award winner Alex Gibney ("Taxi to the Dark Side," "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room"). and more » |
Globe and Mail | Learning from JPMorgan loss Modesto Bee ... massive trading loss breathes new life into banking reform and the Volcker rule at a time it's most needed. But there's still a huge fight ahead against an arrogant Wall Street whose leaders continue to think they are the smartest guys in the room. EDITORIAL: Lessons to be Learned from JPMorgan's Loss LoanSafe all 494 news articles » |
Why the Obama Campaign Is Blowing the Election American Thinker And since LP-Ds almost invariably view themselves as the smartest guys in the room, any changes from the original plan have to be resisted at all costs, since an admission that their plan isn't working is a simultaneous admission of their own ... and more » |
Human Rights Act could be needed by any of us one day Yorkshire Post Selling part of a South American gas field to Enron (read The Smartest Guys in the Room). Who in the legal world do you most admire? Shami Chakrabarti (who has been the Director of Liberty, formerly The National Council for Civil Liberties, ... |
