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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.
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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Shaky Ground
- The Strange Saga of the US Mortgage Giants
- By: Bethany McLean
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 3 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2008 the US Treasury put Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into a life-support state known as "conservatorship" to prevent their failure - and worldwide economic chaos. The two companies, which were always controversial, have become a battleground. Today, Fannie and Freddie are profitable again but still in conservatorship. Their profits are being redirected toward reducing the federal deficit, which leaves them with no buffer should they suffer losses again.
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Details on the Culture and History of the GSEs
- By Jose on 10-15-15
By: Bethany McLean
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Power Failure
- The Inside Story of the Collapse of Enron
- By: MiMi Swartz, Sherron Watkins
- Narrated by: Karen White
- Length: 16 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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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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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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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 Whale
- By: Bradley Hope, Tom Wright
- Narrated by: Will Collyer
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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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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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
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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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King of Capital
- The Remarkable Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of Steve Schwarzman and Blackstone
- By: John E. Morris, David Carey
- Narrated by: George K. Wilson
- Length: 14 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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The financial establishment---banks and investment bankers, such as Citigroup, Bear Stearns, Lehman, UBS, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley---were the cowboys, recklessly assuming risks, leveraging up to astronomical levels, and driving the economy to the brink of disaster.
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Great Story Ruined by Monotone Reading
- By Marc on 04-23-13
By: John E. Morris, and others
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The Big Short
- Inside the Doomsday Machine
- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: Jesse Boggs
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Who understood the risk inherent in the assumption of ever-rising real-estate prices, a risk compounded daily by the creation of those arcane, artificial securities loosely based on piles of doubtful mortgages? Michael Lewis turns the inquiry on its head to create a fresh, character-driven narrative brimming with indignation and dark humor, a fitting sequel to his number-one best-selling Liar’s Poker.
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Informative and Engaging
- By Jay on 03-23-10
By: Michael Lewis
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Power Failure
- The Rise and Fall of an American Icon
- By: William D. Cohan
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 28 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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No company embodied American ingenuity, innovation, and industrial power more spectacularly and more consistently than the General Electric Company. GE once developed and manufactured many of the inventions we take for granted today, nearly everything from the lightbulb to the jet engine. GE also built a cult of financial and leadership success envied across the globe and became the world’s most valuable and most admired company. But even at the height of its prestige and influence, cracks were forming in its formidable foundation.
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Much better than other GE books
- By Brannon Crawford on 12-26-22
By: William D. Cohan
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Black Edge
- Inside Information, Dirty Money, and the Quest to Bring Down the Most Wanted Man on Wall Street
- By: Sheelah Kolhatkar
- Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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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
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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- 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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- 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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- 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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- 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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- 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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