The Profiteers

Bechtel and the Men Who Built the World

By: Sally Denton

Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne

Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

From the best-selling coauthor of The Money and the Power, the inside story of the Bechtel family and the empire they've controlled since the construction of the Hoover Dam.

The tale of the Bechtel family dynasty is a classic American business story. It begins with Warren A. "Dad" Bechtel, who led a consortium that constructed the Hoover Dam. From that auspicious start, the family and its eponymous company would go on to build the world, from the construction of airports in Hong Kong and Doha to pipelines and tunnels in Alaska and Europe to mining and energy operations around the globe. Today Bechtel is one of the largest privately held corporations in the world, enriched and empowered by a long history of government contracts and the privatization of public works, made possible by an unprecedented revolving door between its San Francisco headquarters and Washington. Bechtel executives John McCone, Caspar Weinberger, and George P. Shultz segued from leadership at the company to positions as director of the CIA, secretary of defense, and secretary of state, respectively.

Like all stories of empire building, the rise of Bechtel presents a complex and riveting narrative. In The Profiteers, Sally Denton exposes Bechtel's secret world and one of the biggest business and political stories of our time.

©2016 Sally Denton (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

surprising...loved the narrator !!

I enjoyed finding out how the Bechtals sets involved...it certainly was not shared with the public at the time it was happening.....

Bias and innuendo

The author was able to shine light on a very reclusive company, with a number of flattering and unflattering stories, and some broad historical accounting.

But, there is a clear political and philosophical bias, which emerges from the first pages. While some of these biases are deserved, on the basis of the company’s actions and the history as described, there are some that stretch belief and appear to be cheap shots directed at various people involved in the company.

Persistent themes of anti-Semitism, conspiratorial motives and actions, and graft abound. On the basis of the information contained in the book, I’m not sure that the case for leveling these accusations was deserved.

It’s easy to make large companies look “evil”

The problem with this book is that the individual issues would need significant investigation. The beginning history sounds interesting but then the later parts are phoned in. What sounds bad sometimes is because when projects close down a lot of things have to stop or be transitioned to other work. With government related work this is particularly obvious because a huge number of things (and people) are impacted. The problem with this book is that by the time it ends you forget that “why” is never addressed. Why the heck would a 30yr old be put in charge if a company (for instance) and not immediately have a management lead insurrection or break up? Why did they “do” “bad things” at LLNL and NNSA? We know they sound bad but what was the deal? 53000 people do what they need to do to get paid - not for loyalty so why isn’t this and Enron or at least Western Electric?

Surprisingly good

It brings together politics, international affairs and just how much big business is involved. Answers questions as to why government seems to act really stupid sometimes and why and what is behind some past news headlines that never made sense.

A Real History of Modern Power & Politics

This is one of those rare tomes that provides a lense into an entire epoch, through a focus on one historical figure: in this case, the entire Bechtel dynasty. While the other books attempt to chronicle the rise of a family, The Profiteers tells us about the rise of American power in the 20th century, and to the present day. Fascinating at many levels, a Must Read.

an interesting story but highly biased

this is a hit piece on Bechter. there is a lot of interesting and historical information but it is presented in a highly biases way. this would be a very good story if presented in a more objective manner. nonetheless I enjoyed it.

interesting how a business took over government.

fascinating story of a company that was able to re create itself many different ways. how a company kept its pulse on government. how a company monopolized different Industries with the help of the government.

Your Liberal Bias is showing

The book is very well researched and facts intensive. However, the author is extremely bias toward the left. I was glad to have listened, but I wish she had not forced political viewpoints instead of allowing the reader to come to their own conclusions.

Just the facts

Many reviews state the author presents bias; however, my interpretation of the author's tone is one of neutrality–she is presenting only facts.
RE: the reviews concerning political entanglement–
Yes, this is difficult to follow, but again, the author is presenting only facts, there is no leaning in any political direction.
The author has done a wonderful job of researching a very private company and presenting a clear image of how it became entwined with the government. Worth the time investment.

Paid full price for 3/4 of a good book

The first 3/4ths of the book are a good story about how Bechtel came to be what it is today. The last 1/4th is a bunch of political gobbledygook that doesn’t make much sense and does a horrible job of explaining how it pertains to Bechtel post late 1990’s.