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The Smartest Guys in the Room

The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron

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The Smartest Guys in the Room

By: Bethany McLean, Peter Elkind
Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

What went wrong with American business at the end of the 20th century?

Until the spring of 2001, Enron epitomised the triumph of the New Economy. Feared by rivals, worshipped by investors, Enron seemingly could do no wrong. Its profits rose every year; its stock price surged ever upward; its leaders were hailed as visionaries.

Then a young Fortune writer, Bethany McLean, wrote an article posing a simple question - how, exactly, does Enron make its money?

Within a year Enron was facing humiliation and bankruptcy, the largest in US history, which caused Americans to lose faith in a system that rewarded top insiders with millions of dollars, while small investors lost everything. It was revealed that Enron was a company whose business was an illusion, an illusion that Wall Street was willing to accept even though they knew what the real truth was. This book tells the extraordinary story of Enron's fall.

©2020 Bethany McLean, Peter Elkind (P)2020 Penguin Audio Business Wall Street Banking Stock
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It does not get better than this book for an account of a collapse of a giant. A must read.

Absolutely brilliant

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I challenge you to find a more meticulously researched, eloquently told & deeply fascinating cautionary tale of real life business hubris then this one which I was absolutely riveted by as it is simply brilliant and comes highly recommended to anyone who is even remotely interested in this morbid historical topic of the recent past that deserves to stand as a rule book of what not to do for anyone who has anything to do with any type of business. Incredible. 👍🏼👍🏼 #fivestars

Fascinating.

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loved it, one of those books you don't want to stop listening to. would recommend it to you

this when paired with the documentary is great!

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I loved the book when it first came out. delightes to have this now as an Audiobook.

The most amazing tale of a corporate meldown

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A fascinating story and great re-telling of the rise and fall of Enron. The Audiobook is very well narrated, although a little slow. Could comfortably listen and follow at 1.3x. Would certainly recommend.

Absolute must-read/listen

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It wasn't until around the 7th hour that you first hear of Enron declaring bankruptcy. You have to kind of piece together that this company was headed for implosion.
Though I am familiar at a vague level with Enron playing with power in CA and that it collapsed at some point, I'm not from the USA and was a teenager when it all happened.

Would have appreciated a brief introduction before the book to give context to the whole story. Just a couple of paragraphs about where it started, how big it got and when it fell. Then, the story as presented.

Aside from this, the book is brilliant. Recommended. Found it engaging throughout and really appreciated the narrator's pace and expression. An enjoyable listen. Thank you.

Well compiled & narrated. Missing context at start

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Beautifully narrated by Dennis Boutsikaris, the authors do a great and unavoidable job of communicating the minutae of exactly how the Enron brass obfuscated, lied and cheated their way to a position of extraordinary strength followed by swift and staggering collapse. No law is beyond abuse, the difference between the spirit of law and its execution can be vast, and if those who are charged with enforcing it fail in the role, the resulting anarchy can spiral out of control in no time. Required reading for anyone curious about "the wisdom of the markets".

Excellent summation of a complex scandal

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A great read and performance. I did feel at points the story did get bogged down by the nitty gritty but it had to be covered. An easy recommendation for anyone interested in why Enron failed.

Amazing recount of the Enron scandal

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