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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 epitomized 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 - fully updated for the paperback - tells the extraordinary story of Enron's fall.

© Bethany McLean, Peter Elkind 2003 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

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Critic Reviews

...the most comprehensive picture yet of how the company went off the rails. The sheer accumulation of detail makes it possible for the first time to understand how Enron got away with its blend of hubris and incompetence for so long. . . This is more than a business story. It is also about what can happen to any institution when weak and complacent leadership allows itself to be swept along by strong vested interests and the mood of the times.
All stars
Most relevant
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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