The Informant

A True Story

By: Kurt Eichenwald

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

Length: 24 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

It was one of the FBI's biggest secrets: a senior executive with America's most politically powerful corporation, Archer Daniels Midland, had become a confidential government witness, secretly recording a vast criminal conspiracy spanning five continents. Mark Whitacre, the promising golden boy of ADM, had put his career and family at risk to wear a wire and deceive his friends and colleagues. Using Whitacre and a small team of agents to tap into the secrets at ADM, the FBI discovered the company's scheme to steal millions of dollars from its own customers.

But as the FBI and federal prosecutors closed in on ADM, using stakeouts, wiretaps, and secret recordings of illegal meetings around the world, they suddenly found that everything was not all that it appeared. At the same time Whitacre was cooperating with the Feds while playing the role of loyal company man, he had his own agenda he kept hidden from everyone around him: his wife, his lawyer, even the FBI agents who had come to trust him with the case they had put their careers on the line for. Whitacre became sucked into his own world of James Bond antics, imperiling the criminal case and creating a web of deceit that left the FBI and prosecutors uncertain where the lies stopped and the truth began.

A page-turning real-life thriller that features deadpan FBI agents, crooked executives, idealistic lawyers, and shady witnesses with an addiction to intrigue, The Informant tells an important and compelling story of power and betrayal in America.

©2000 Kurt Eichenwald (P)2006 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

"Arthur Morey presents this true-crime drama like the fictional crime thriller it easily could be. His no-nonsense approach provides credibility, while his enhancement of each character's vocal nuances brings the story to life. Morey's interpretation of Eichenwald's exhaustive research enhances the story's many plot twists, leaving listeners checking the package to make sure it is really nonfiction." (AudioFile)

Another Compelling Story from Kurt Eichenwald

I listened to this book after listening to his book about Enron and the story was just as strong. To be honest, I didn't know anything about ADM before this unlike Enron, but the summary sounded very interesting. It is incredible that this book is a true story with all the stuff that happened. This book is very detailed and paints a wonderful picture, as you can imagine from the length. Even though it is 24 hours long, it never becomes dull in my eyes. My only complaint with the story is that is comes to a conclusion way too quick. This happened in the Enron book. It was like the whole book built up all these characters so beautifully and then the end just came quickly. It was very anticlimactic. Other than that, it was a great story.

Sorry about the performance, though, as the narrator just didn't do it for me. I disliked his voice for the main character and that made it annoying at times to listen to. Also, the way he said words with "wh" in them drove me nuts, though it is just a personal pet peeve. I hate comparing to the Enron book again, but the narrator on that was excellent and I was disappointed that he wasn't the one on this book.

Overall, well worth the listen!

Worth your time to listen

With the subject of business fraud and employee embezzlement the possibility of a boring read was strong. Especially because of the length of the book.
It turned into the opposite. The true story, the way it was written and read kept my attention throughout more than 25 hours of listening to the audio book over a period of several days.
So well done!

long but interesting

this is a great overview of what can happen behind the scenes. can't help but wonder how this informs recent public health policy when considering the size of the dollars and the companies and who's campaigns they may contribute to.

The best white-collar true crime book I've read

Kurt Eichenwald is an excellent writer and this is his best book. It is suspenseful and very human, showing the personalities and emotions of those involved. The facts are compelling, making this as much of a page-turner as the best works of fiction.

Unbelievable twists and turns. Hard to believe it’s non fiction.

A very interesting story and deep dive into mind of the person that was hero, villain, witness, defendant, loyal friend and enemy. Fair warning, it is a long listen with a lot of detail.

Your time will be well spent listening to this book!

An unbelievable story well told! Your mind will reel as this story unfolds. Arthur Morey brings this story to life in the most riveting manner.

Page-turning investigative journalism

Almost as good as his Enron book, Eichenwald is a master at exposing corporate culture and corruption. His books are long and detailed, but fly by like suspense novels. It is reassuring to find this kind of integrity and intelligence taking on the corporate giants in America.

If industrial espionage is your thing, grab this

This is one of the very few books I have ever been unable to finish. I tried! Oh, I did truly try! It was somewhat like trying to eat a very large piece of cardboard, though. I have never eaten cardboard, either a large or a small piece, but I now feel that the equivalence is valid.
This is a long, long series of "John said," and then, " George replied," and many scenes are in offices or hotel rooms, hotels chosen apparently because there is a stronger likelihood of no listening devices, since they are assigned at random by the hotel management.
I do understand the importance of this story and the implications for that importance, but try as I did, I just could not overcome the somnolence factor. This is a great listen to put a person to sleep. There is no excitement, no zip, and the narrator's voice is very soothing.
The four star rating is given because of the significance of the events, not because of the dynamism of the presentation.

Truth is stranger than fiction

I found this book fascinating. It's a true story based on Mark Whitacre who was a whistle-blower on a huge corporation's price-fixing scheme in the 1990's. The only hitch was that Whitacre turned out to be a wee-bit bonkers. He had trouble staying grounded to reality as he lied, double-dealed and embezzled his way into millions of dollars and lots of legal troubles. Yet, Whitacre remains strangely sympathetic as a smart guy who got in over his head and went off the rails. Fun stuff! It's one of those books that are so fun that you don't want it to end.

Greed, truly good reading

I am usually skeptical of true stories knowing that authors and movie producers needing to add drama stray far from the actual dry facts of the story. However, in The Informant I could not stop reading. The characters and their greediness could not have been more interesting if they had been made up. Unaware of the story of ADM???s crimes in the 1990???s I researched the case on the Internet and almost ruined the plot for myself. Eichenwald???s account is pure nonfiction.
I was amazed at the simplemindedness of such powerful executives. They truly were not much different than the average person (not all of us, thank goodness) who think first of themselves and what they can get. Their high positions belie their basic unsophisticated methods for leading and directing large operations when greed takes over. The surprise was that such an important case as this was not more screwed up by powerful government officials, their political appointees, attorneys, and the FBI. In this story, the FBI were the good guys, as we expect them to be. The writing was not great literature but it was an excellent telling of the facts in the case. The characters had depth. I wondered what each thought of how they were portrayed.
Now, maybe I will see the movie. Great story!