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The Smartest Guys in the Room
- The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 22 hrs and 30 mins
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Publisher's summary
The definitive volume on Enron's amazing rise and scandalous fall, from an award-winning team of Fortune investigative reporters.
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Critic reviews
“The best book about the Enron debacle to date.” (BusinessWeek)
“The authors write with power and finesse. Their prose is effortless, like a sprinter floating down the track.” (USA Today)
“Well-reported and well-written.” (Warren Buffett)
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A behind-the-scenes, revelatory history of McKinsey & Company, America's most influential and controversial business consulting firm, told by one of the nation's leading financial journalists. In The Firm, Duff McDonald uncovers how these high-powered, high-priced business savants have ushered in waves of structural, financial, and technological shifts. With unrivaled access to company documents and current and former employees, McDonald reveals the inner workings of what just might be the most influential private organization in America.
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Warning: Non consultants should avoid
- By R. Jaeger on 11-04-13
By: Duff McDonald
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When Genius Failed
- The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management
- By: Roger Lowenstein
- Narrated by: Roger Lowenstein
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Abridged
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Roger Lowenstein, the bestselling author of Buffett, captures Long-Term's roller-coaster ride in gripping detail. Drawing on confidential internal memos and interviews with dozens of key players, Lowenstein crafts a story that reads like a first-rate thriller from beginning to end. He explains not just how the fund made and lost its money, but what it was about the personalities of Long-Term's partners, the arrogance of their mathematical certainties, and the late-nineties culture of Wall Street that made it all possible.
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When Genius Failed
- By Sean on 12-17-08
By: Roger Lowenstein
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American Icon
- Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company
- By: Bryce G. Hoffman
- Narrated by: Pete Larkin
- Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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At the end of 2008, Ford Motor Company was just months away from running out of cash. With the auto industry careening toward ruin, Congress offered all three Detroit automakers a bailout. General Motors and Chrysler grabbed the taxpayer lifeline, but Ford decided to save itself. Under the leadership of charismatic CEO Alan Mulally, Ford had already put together a bold plan to unify its divided global operations, transform its lackluster product lineup, and overcome a dysfunctional culture of infighting, backstabbing, and excuses.
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The best business book I ever read
- By Michael on 10-07-12
By: Bryce G. Hoffman
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Too Good to Be True
- The Rise and Fall of Bernie Madoff
- By: Erin Arvedlund
- Narrated by: Karen White
- Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Erin Arvedlund, the financial reporter who questioned the amazing returns of Bernie Madoff's hedge funds way back in 2001, traces the life of the infamous swindler and addresses the tough questions surrounding the collapse of his Ponzi scheme.
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Doesn't add much more that a lot of details.
- By Robert on 11-07-10
By: Erin Arvedlund
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A First-Class Catastrophe
- The Road to Black Monday, the Worst Day in Wall Street History
- By: Diana B. Henriques
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Monday, October 19, 1987, was by far the worst day in Wall Street history. The market fell 22.6% - almost twice as bad as the worst day of 1929 - equal to a one-day loss of nearly 5,000 points today. Black Monday was more than seven years in the making and threatened nearly every US financial institution. Drawing on superlative archival research and dozens of original interviews, Diana B. Henriques weaves a tale of missed opportunities, market delusions, and destructive actions.
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Financial History Rhymes
- By David Larson on 10-07-17
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Fooling Some of the People All of the Time
- A Long Short Story
- By: David Einhorn
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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At its most basic level, Allied Capital is the story of Wall Street at its worst. But the story is much bigger than one little-known company. Fooling Some of the People All of the Time is an important call for effective law enforcement, free speech, and fair play.
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where's the epilogue?
- By James Klein on 02-02-11
By: David Einhorn
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The Wizard of Lies
- Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust
- By: Diana B. Henriques
- Narrated by: Pam Ward
- Length: 16 hrs
- Unabridged
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Who is Bernie Madoff, and how did he pull off the biggest Ponzi scheme in history? These questions have fascinated people ever since the news broke about the respected New York financier who swindled his friends, relatives, and other investors out of $65 billion. Many have speculated about what must have happened, but no reporter has been able to get the full story - until now. Diana B. Henriques of the New York Times has written the definitive book on the man and his scheme.
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The best of 3 madoff books
- By Angela willis on 03-18-13
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Finish Big
- How Great Entrepreneurs Exit Their Companies on Top
- By: Bo Burlingham
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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When pioneering business journalist and Inc. magazine editor at large Bo Burlingham wrote Small Giants, it became an instant classic for its original take on a common business problem - how to handle the pressure to grow. Now Burlingham is back to tackle an even more common problem - how to exit your company well. Sooner or later, all entrepreneurs leave their businesses and all businesses get sold, given away, or liquidated.
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Begin with the end in mind
- By D. Hartzell on 02-05-15
By: Bo Burlingham
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Borrowed Time
- Two Centuries of Booms, Busts, and Bailouts at Citi
- By: James Freeman, Vern McKinley
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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To save the economy and keep Citi afloat in 2008, the government provided huge infusions of cash through multiple bailouts that frustrated and angered the American public. But, as Wall Street Journal writer James Freeman and financial expert Vern McKinley reveal, the 2008 crisis was just one of many disasters Citi has experienced since its founding more than 200 years ago. In Borrowed Time they reveal Citi’s disturbing history of instability and government support. It’s a story that neither Citi nor Washington wants told.
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Biased
- By CF on 08-09-19
By: James Freeman, and others
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Fool's Gold
- By: Gillian Tett
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Gillian Tett brings to life in gripping detail how the Morgan team's bold ideas for a whole new kind of financial alchemy helped to ignite a revolution in banking, and how that revolution escalated wildly out of control. The deeply reported and lively narrative takes readers behind the scenes, to the inner sanctums of elite finance and to the secretive reaches of what came to be known as the "shadow banking" world.
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Outstanding narrative about the financial crisis
- By D. Littman on 07-17-09
By: Gillian Tett
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Reckless Endangerment
- How Outsized Ambition, Greed, and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon
- By: Gretchen Morgenson, Joshua Rosner
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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In Reckless Endangerment, Gretchen Morgenson, the star business columnist of The New York Times, exposes how the watchdogs who were supposed to protect the country from financial harm were actually complicit in the actions that finally blew up the American economy.
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Required reading
- By David on 10-24-11
By: Gretchen Morgenson, and others
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Den of Thieves
- By: James B. Stewart
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 19 hrs and 35 mins
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Pulitzer Prize winner James B. Stewart shows for the first time how four of the biggest names on Wall Street - Michael Milken, Ivan Boesky, Martin Siegel, and Dennis Levine - created the greatest insider-trading ring in financial history and almost walked away with billions - until a team of downtrodden detectives triumphed over some of America's most expensive lawyers to bring this powerful quartet to justice.
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Awesome book
- By Lars Tackmann on 10-23-17
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Too Big to Fail
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A real-life thriller about the most tumultuous period in America's financial history by an acclaimed New York Times reporter. Andrew Ross Sorkin delivers the first true, behind-the-scenes, moment-by-moment account of how the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression developed into a global tsunami.
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Best Book About Meltdown
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Conspiracy of Fools
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- By: Kurt Eichenwald
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
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Say the name 'Enron' and most people believe they've heard all about the story that imperiled a presidency, destroyed a marketplace, and changed Washington and Wall Street forever. But in the hands of Kurt Eichenwald, the players we think we know and the business practices we think have been exposed are transformed into entirely new, and entirely gripping, material.
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Great Story
- By Adam M Pokorski on 06-06-06
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All the Devils Are Here
- The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis
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- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
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As soon as the financial crisis erupted, the finger-pointing began. Should the blame fall on Wall Street, Main Street, or Pennsylvania Avenue? On greedy traders, misguided regulators, sleazy subprime companies, cowardly legislators, or clueless home buyers? According to Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera, two of America's most acclaimed business journalists, the real answer is all of the above-and more. Many devils helped bring hell to the economy.
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Excellent!
- By Euri on 11-19-10
By: Bethany McLean, and others
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When Genius Failed
- The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management
- By: Roger Lowenstein
- Narrated by: Roger Lowenstein
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
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Performance
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Roger Lowenstein, the bestselling author of Buffett, captures Long-Term's roller-coaster ride in gripping detail. Drawing on confidential internal memos and interviews with dozens of key players, Lowenstein crafts a story that reads like a first-rate thriller from beginning to end. He explains not just how the fund made and lost its money, but what it was about the personalities of Long-Term's partners, the arrogance of their mathematical certainties, and the late-nineties culture of Wall Street that made it all possible.
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When Genius Failed
- By Sean on 12-17-08
By: Roger Lowenstein
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Barbarians at the Gate
- The Fall of RJR Nabisco
- By: Bryan Burrough, John Helyar
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 22 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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A number-one New York Times best seller and arguably the best business narrative ever written, Barbarians at the Gate is the classic account of the fall of RJR Nabisco. An enduring masterpiece of investigative journalism by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar, it includes a new afterword by the authors that brings this remarkable story of greed and double-dealings up to date 20 years after the famed deal.
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Good book but too dense
- By Andrew M. on 08-01-21
By: Bryan Burrough, and others
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Den of Thieves
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- Length: 19 hrs and 35 mins
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Pulitzer Prize winner James B. Stewart shows for the first time how four of the biggest names on Wall Street - Michael Milken, Ivan Boesky, Martin Siegel, and Dennis Levine - created the greatest insider-trading ring in financial history and almost walked away with billions - until a team of downtrodden detectives triumphed over some of America's most expensive lawyers to bring this powerful quartet to justice.
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Awesome book
- By Lars Tackmann on 10-23-17
By: James B. Stewart
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Too Big to Fail
- The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System--and Themselves
- By: Andrew Ross Sorkin
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 21 hrs and 4 mins
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Performance
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A real-life thriller about the most tumultuous period in America's financial history by an acclaimed New York Times reporter. Andrew Ross Sorkin delivers the first true, behind-the-scenes, moment-by-moment account of how the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression developed into a global tsunami.
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Best Book About Meltdown
- By Chuck on 12-08-09
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Conspiracy of Fools
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- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 30 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Say the name 'Enron' and most people believe they've heard all about the story that imperiled a presidency, destroyed a marketplace, and changed Washington and Wall Street forever. But in the hands of Kurt Eichenwald, the players we think we know and the business practices we think have been exposed are transformed into entirely new, and entirely gripping, material.
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Great Story
- By Adam M Pokorski on 06-06-06
By: Kurt Eichenwald
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All the Devils Are Here
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- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 15 hrs and 29 mins
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As soon as the financial crisis erupted, the finger-pointing began. Should the blame fall on Wall Street, Main Street, or Pennsylvania Avenue? On greedy traders, misguided regulators, sleazy subprime companies, cowardly legislators, or clueless home buyers? According to Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera, two of America's most acclaimed business journalists, the real answer is all of the above-and more. Many devils helped bring hell to the economy.
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Excellent!
- By Euri on 11-19-10
By: Bethany McLean, and others
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When Genius Failed
- The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management
- By: Roger Lowenstein
- Narrated by: Roger Lowenstein
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
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Performance
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Roger Lowenstein, the bestselling author of Buffett, captures Long-Term's roller-coaster ride in gripping detail. Drawing on confidential internal memos and interviews with dozens of key players, Lowenstein crafts a story that reads like a first-rate thriller from beginning to end. He explains not just how the fund made and lost its money, but what it was about the personalities of Long-Term's partners, the arrogance of their mathematical certainties, and the late-nineties culture of Wall Street that made it all possible.
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When Genius Failed
- By Sean on 12-17-08
By: Roger Lowenstein
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Barbarians at the Gate
- The Fall of RJR Nabisco
- By: Bryan Burrough, John Helyar
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 22 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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A number-one New York Times best seller and arguably the best business narrative ever written, Barbarians at the Gate is the classic account of the fall of RJR Nabisco. An enduring masterpiece of investigative journalism by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar, it includes a new afterword by the authors that brings this remarkable story of greed and double-dealings up to date 20 years after the famed deal.
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Good book but too dense
- By Andrew M. on 08-01-21
By: Bryan Burrough, and others
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Black Edge
- Inside Information, Dirty Money, and the Quest to Bring Down the Most Wanted Man on Wall Street
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Steven A. Cohen changed Wall Street. He and his fellow pioneers of the hedge fund industry didn’t lay railroads, build factories, or invent new technologies. Rather, they made their billions through financial speculation, by placing bets in the market that turned out to be right more often than not.
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Amazing book about trading that feels like an adventure novel
- By Tim S on 05-24-18
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Power Failure
- The Inside Story of the Collapse of Enron
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- Narrated by: Karen White
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From inside the walls of Enron, a lone whistleblower attempted to avert the course of events leading to the largest bankruptcy in American history. On August 16, 2001, Sherron Watkins wrote an anonymous letter to Enron's Chairman, Ken Lay, laying out problems with Enron's use of partnerships to hide debt. She warned of a possible scandal that could topple the company if investors and the news media learned of the operations. Then, she revealed her identity and confronted Lay directly.
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Absolutely Spellbinding.
- By Claire on 03-09-09
By: MiMi Swartz, and others
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The Big Fail
- What the Pandemic Revealed About Who America Protects and Who It Leaves Behind
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- Narrated by: Joe Nocera, Bethany McLean
- Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2020, the novel coronavirus pandemic made it painfully clear that the U.S. could not adequately protect its citizens. Millions of Americans suffered—and over a million died—in less than two years, while government officials blundered; prize-winning economists overlooked devastating trade-offs; and elites escaped to isolated retreats, unaffected by and even profiting from the pandemic. Why and how did America, in a catastrophically enormous failure, become the world leader in COVID deaths? Veteran journalists Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera offer fresh and provocative answers.
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Finally the truth is coming to light and the gaslighting is coming to an end
- By Zoey Jacobs on 12-10-23
By: Joe Nocera, and others
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Bad Blood
- Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
- By: John Carreyrou
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2014, Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was widely seen as the next Steve Jobs: a brilliant Stanford dropout whose startup “unicorn” promised to revolutionize the medical industry with its breakthrough device, which performed the whole range of laboratory tests from a single drop of blood. Backed by investors such as Larry Ellison and Tim Draper, Theranos sold shares in a fundraising round that valued the company at more than $9 billion, putting Holmes’s worth at an estimated $4.5 billion.
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Extreme retaliation against former employees
- By LEE on 05-29-18
By: John Carreyrou
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Billion Dollar Whale
- By: Bradley Hope, Tom Wright
- Narrated by: Will Collyer
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
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Now a number-one international best seller, Billion Dollar Whale is "an epic tale of white-collar crime on a global scale" (Publishers Weekly), revealing how a young social climber from Malaysia pulled off one of the biggest heists in history. In 2009, a chubby, mild-mannered graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business named Jho Low set in motion a fraud of unprecedented gall and magnitude—one that would come to symbolize the next great threat to the global financial system.
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Couldn’t stop listening!
- By N Lane on 10-05-18
By: Bradley Hope, and others
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The Informant
- A True Story
- By: Kurt Eichenwald
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 24 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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From an award-winning New York Times investigative reporter comes an outrageous story of greed, corruption, and conspiracy, which left the FBI and Justice Department counting on the cooperation of one man.
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Great Story
- By Phil on 09-07-11
By: Kurt Eichenwald
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The Wizard of Lies
- Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust
- By: Diana B. Henriques
- Narrated by: Pam Ward
- Length: 16 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Who is Bernie Madoff, and how did he pull off the biggest Ponzi scheme in history? These questions have fascinated people ever since the news broke about the respected New York financier who swindled his friends, relatives, and other investors out of $65 billion. Many have speculated about what must have happened, but no reporter has been able to get the full story - until now. Diana B. Henriques of the New York Times has written the definitive book on the man and his scheme.
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The best of 3 madoff books
- By Angela willis on 03-18-13
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The Bond King
- How One Man Made a Market, Built an Empire, and Lost It All
- By: Mary Childs
- Narrated by: Mary Childs
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
Before Bill Gross was known among investors as the Bond King, he was a gambler. In 1966, a fresh college grad, he went to Vegas armed with his net worth ($200) and a knack for counting cards. Ten thousand dollars and countless casino bans later, he was hooked, so he enrolled in business school. The Bond King is the story of how that whiz kid made American finance his casino.
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Being a good writer does not make you a good narrator
- By John Mallory on 05-14-22
By: Mary Childs
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Liar's Poker
- Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street
- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: Michael Lewis
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
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In 1986, before Michael Lewis became the best-selling author of The Big Short, Moneyball, and Flash Boys, he landed a job at Salomon Brothers, one of Wall Street’s premier investment firms. During the next three years, Lewis rose from callow trainee to New York- and London-based bond salesman, raking in millions for the firm and cashing in on a modern-day gold rush. Liar’s Poker is the culmination of those heady, frenzied years - a behind-the-scenes look at a unique and turbulent time in American business.
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Finally!
- By Anonymous User on 02-08-22
By: Michael Lewis
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A Colossal Failure of Common Sense
- The Inside Story of the Collapse of Lehman Brothers
- By: Patrick Robinson, Lawrence G. McDonald
- Narrated by: Erik Davies
- Length: 16 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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One of the biggest questions of the financial crisis has not been answered until now: What happened at Lehman Brothers and why was it allowed to fail, with aftershocks that rocked the global economy? In this news-making, often astonishing book, a former Lehman Brothers Vice President gives us the straight answers - right from the belly of the beast. In A Colossal Failure of Common Sense, Larry McDonald, a Wall Street insider, reveals, the culture and unspoken rules of the game like no book has ever done.
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First take: Tale of the narcissist
- By Susan Hayden on 07-28-09
By: Patrick Robinson, and others
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Saudi America
- The Truth About Fracking and How It's Changing the World
- By: Bethany McLean
- Narrated by: Sarah Mollo-Christensen
- Length: 3 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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The technology of fracking in shale rock - particularly in the Permian Basin in Texas - has transformed America into the world's top producer of both oil and natural gas. The US is expected to be "energy independent" and a "net exporter" in less than a decade, a move that will upend global politics, destabilize Saudi Arabia, crush Russia's chokehold over Europe, and finally bolster American power again. Or will it? Investigative journalist and bestselling author Bethany McLean digs deep into the cycles of boom and bust that has plagued the American oil industry for the past decade....
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Read Peter Zeihan First "The Absent Superpower"
- By David on 10-14-18
By: Bethany McLean
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Billion Dollar Loser
- The Epic Rise and Spectacular Fall of Adam Neumann and WeWork
- By: Reeves Wiedeman
- Narrated by: Will Collyer
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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This inside story of WeWork and its CEO tells the remarkable saga of one of the most audacious, and improbable, rises and falls in American business history. Veteran journalist Reeves Weideman dives deep into WeWork and its CEO's astronomical rise, from the marijuana and tequila-filled board rooms to cult-like company summer camps and consciousness-raising with Anthony Kiedis. Billion Dollar Loser is a character-driven business narrative that captures, through the fascinating psyche of a billionaire founder and his wife and co-founder, the slippery state of global capitalism. \
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Engrossing and we’ll researches but narration is annoying
- By ceire Gleeson on 10-27-20
By: Reeves Wiedeman
What listeners say about The Smartest Guys in the Room
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Annabells
- 09-30-17
Required reading for corp Legal & Finance
I'm general counsel for a drug company, and I'm not too familiar with the energy space. Turns out, Enron wasn't really an energy company. It was a financial conglomerate, a deregulation-securitization-self-dealing disaster.
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. Dennis Boutsikaris is a fairly good reader for nonfiction. I find his reading a bit slow, but perhaps it's good for complicated material.
This story of corruption is broadly applicable across sectors and the laws broken are relevant for corporations and public markets generally. There are some universal lessons here. If you work in the corporate world, particularly in BD/ M&A or G&A functions like Finance and Legal, you'll find this tale particularly illuminating (and cautionary).
Here are some of the gems:
- Your superiors won't always be superior.
- No person, idea or company is infallible.
- Maintain your inner compass so you can be guided by your own principles rather than blindly follow the orders of your boss (or CEO, parent or spouse).
- Don't do things that you think you "shouldn't email." You shouldn't be sending legal memos and important matters via interoffice or ways that don't create a record. If you hear colleagues saying "don't put that in email," ask yourself who this lack of documentation would protect? Nobody. You're actually creating risk and potential financial and government liability. The best way to protect yourself and the company is to refrain from whatever discussions or actions you think you "shouldn't email." Period.
- Communicate responsibly. If your recorded statements and emails contain profanity, racial or gender slurs or nicknames that are the same as those overheard on a grade school playground or in a blockbuster movie, you need training. The reality is that you're creating risk and if people are laughing it's probably to alleviate discomfort than express humor. There are many helpful courses on business communications.
- If you ever find yourself questioning a decision, ask yourself if you'd act differently if your pay or bonus was... half? double? zero? If so, revisit and research the matter until you can clearly show you're motivated by substantive factors that weigh in the company's best interest, rather than your personal financial interest.
- It's time to change course if you find yourself involved in events that are harming people and you wouldn't want printed in The NY Times or shared with your grandma/ dad/ wife/ kids/ etc (e.g., shutting off people's electricity in order to price gouge or selling company assets to your own partnership so you can steal millions).
- "Ask why, @$$h01e." Lol
- If your corporate "culture" is so macho that it involves company funds being spent on strip clubs and all-male trips where your colleagues risk their lives and break bones, it's time to find a new job.
- Always know what value you (and your work or company) provide to the world. If you ever lose sight of it, find a new company or career. Work and "making a living" isn't the only thing that matters, but it's vital to most people's security, health and spiritual wellbeing.
What's fascinating about the Enron story is the number and variety of fraudulent schemes this single company engaged in. It truly was a culture of corruption. It's tragic how many people lost their jobs and savings as a result of the illegal actions of a few greedy, seedy men at the center of this disaster.
Disasters like Enron cannot occur unless many people who know better remain silent instead of speaking out for what's right. If you're an in-house counsel, accountant or compliance officer and you think your company may be engaged in fraud, you are obligated to prioritize the law over fears about your job and personal finances. In those roles, it's impossible to be simultaneously doing your job and engaging in CYA. The 2 are mutually exclusive. Know the law and inform yourself (meaning, don't "cry wolf") and, when appropriate, use your voice and the wondrous electronic record-making capability that's available to you: email. You'll be shocked how much power you have, even as a junior attorney, auditor, quality assurance or other oversight professional, to keep your colleagues on the straight-and-narrow. All it takes is, "I'm concerned about XYZ..." 99x out of 100, others are concerned, too.
Even if you don't work in an oversight role, you can often escalate concerns through your company's legal or HR departments or compliance hotline. If you've tried to shine light on a potentially harmful and illegal situation and gotten nowhere internally, call a regulator. You're a taxpayer, funding these public servants ostensibly to act as watchdogs and checks-and-balances on industry and markets, right? Make them do their jobs.
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9 people found this helpful
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- Daniel Bugg
- 04-23-19
Phenomenal book, phenomenally well read
The book is exceptional and the narrator is excellent. Can’t ask for more than that.
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- tomsmomtile
- 12-27-20
Amazing
I’m a California resident and recall this adventure in utilities deregulation. Life here goes on but it’s never been the same. This story illuminates just how it happened. The reader is ideal for this incredible narrative as his voice possesses a tongue in cheek quality that fits this material exactly. Highly recommended
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- Philip Zapata
- 08-11-23
a DISGUSTING story of greed....gonna re-listen.
I remember the Enron scandal living here 3 hours south of Houston, and I've seen some documentaries about this scandal on various streaming sites. This book dose a marvelous job of outlining every person of interest involved, and goes in depth on what events led to its bankruptcy. I got to admit, not knowing economic lingo, some info did go over my head at first. Toward the end I had a better understanding of what was going on. I'm gonna go back through some chapters and re-listen. Especially now I know now how certain characters, affected Enrons bottom line.
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- PT
- 10-22-18
She Blinded Me With Finance!
Just as I expected. After graduating with honors in Journalism, I took an Accounting 101 course and failed miserably. So I wasn’t expecting to keep up with the anticipated shenanigans in this book.
It was fun, first to last, anyway!
I read audiobooks during activities that do not require my full attention, such as walking on the treadmill. So after things got really interesting in this book, it was more like listening to music for me. Not taxing, but entertaining writing, and excellent narration.
And of course much of the story is about the principals and personalities of Enron, not just the financial chicanery.
Highly recommended. Especially if you’ve already passed Accounting 101. ;-)
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- kelsie
- 07-04-22
Terrific
This is probably the keystone work on Enron’s rise and fall. Adding to that, though, is the excellence of the narration. Dennis Boutsikaris reads with verve, drama, and a sharp-edged, sardonic humor that matches step-for-step the ambience of the story being told. A terrific performance.
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- Dee
- 08-06-18
Fascinating and frustrating
The book expertly chronicles the "rise" and fall of Enron and the people who brought about both. Although long, it is interesting and moves at a brisk pace. I greatly enjoyed it.
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- James Gregory
- 04-04-22
In depth and insightful.
Bethany McLean writes the Enron story extremely well and the narrator is top notch too.
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- Amazon Customer
- 04-16-22
overall, good history lesson on Enron
reconfirmed and added to my understanding of the collapse of the company plus how the executives enriched themselves.
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- Sandy McMahon
- 05-02-18
A great lesson in the consequences of hubris
Well researched, written and read. Good lessons for any in the business world. Especially if you know anyone who worked at Enron!
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