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Conspiracy of Fools: A True Story Audiobook
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(4.01) - 1,586 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
From an award-winning New York Times reporter comes the full, mind-boggling true story of the lies, crimes, and ineptitude behind the Enron scandal that imperiled a presidency, destroyed a marketplace, and changed Washington and Wall Street forever. It was the corporate collapse that appeared to come out of nowhere. In late 2001, the Enron Corporation—a darling of the financial world, a company whose executives were friends of presidents and the powerful—imploded virtually overnight, leaving vast wreckage in its wake and sparking a criminal investigation that would last for years. Kurt Eichenwald transforms the unbelievable story of the Enron scandal into a rip-roaring narrative of epic proportions, taking readers behind every closed door—from the Oval Office to the executive suites, from the highest reaches of the Justice Department to the homes and bedrooms of the top officers. It is a tale of global reach—from Houston to Washington, from Bombay to London, from Munich to Sao Paolo—laying out the unbelievable scenes that twisted together to create this shocking true story. Eichenwald reveals never-disclosed details of a story that features a cast including George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Paul O’Neill, Harvey Pitt, Colin Powell, Gray Davis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Alan Greenspan, Ken Lay, Andy Fastow, Jeff Skilling, Bill Clinton, Rupert Murdoch and Sumner Redstone. With its you-are-there glimpse into the secretive worlds of corporate power, Conspiracy of Fools is an all-true financial and political thriller of cinematic proportions.
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"An excellent, compelling, compassionate an honest account of one of the most infamous business disasters in the last 50 years. It's a long book, but it reads much faster than it looks. I would be interested in knowing whether other observers and describers would call out the villains and heroes in the same way. Some may not like his characterizing and interpretations of the characters, but all would understand the importance of standing up to power better from this book, particularly when that power is your boss."
— Stephen (5 out of 5 stars)
Conspiracy of Fools Listener Reviews
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" I thought this was a great book--IF--you have a grasp of structured finance and fund formation. If you don't know what that means, then get the DVD of Smartest Guys in the Room. "
— Gil, 2/13/2014 -
" Picked this up at the Atlanta airport for a flight to LA (I forgot the book I was reading). It read like a novel....it was so good...and totally true. "
— Lauren, 2/5/2014 -
" Excellent account of the Enron story! Reads like a novel. "
— Kim, 1/31/2014 -
" Great book if you like detail. "
— Kevin, 1/22/2014 -
" A story of a horrible event in our country's history - well told. "
— Rita, 1/19/2014 -
" IMO better then smartest guys in the room. Both from writing and believability regarding the culpability of the main players "
— Blake, 1/18/2014 -
" Nonfiction Enron Scandal story. I was amazed how easy it was for people to justify their greed. It was hard to read this a believe it was REAL. "
— Barb, 12/17/2013 -
" This is the story of Enron researched and told by an investigative reporter. I enjoyed the thoroughness of the book as well as the seemingly unbiased telling, correctly lots of misconceptions I had. It is realllly long though. "
— Tami, 12/11/2013 -
" I was upset that this book was over. The ego and hubris demonstrated by these people was amazing. Should be required reading in every business school and law school. "
— Tim, 12/9/2013 -
" I haven't read any other Enron books but this one does a great job of letting you know the ins and outs of the players. Like Serpent on the Rock and his others, compelling "
— Robert, 12/5/2013 -
" I had forgotten I read this book a few years back, and so enjoyed I sent it on to friends. Looking forward to the new movie with Matt D. The story was so incredible it made me cringe and be glad I am just a slave to corporate piracy vs. in your face day to day involvement like so many. "
— Deby, 12/1/2013 -
" A great book, fact is more bizarre than fiction at Enron. This book may have too much business jargon and accounting for some readers. But as a CPA I loved it. "
— Todd, 8/16/2013 -
" It works. It's a way of taking a historical event and putting some personal faces on it and stories into it. And it's a great reminder of what happened, and a good look inside an event that we all remember from the outside. "
— Katie, 8/8/2013 -
" Read like a novel but unfortunately true. I have read several books about the Enron scandal and this was the best. He is able to create very complete and complex character sketches. I would recommend this to my friends even if they are not securities fraud nerds. "
— Wendy, 8/6/2013 -
" Great story if you want to learn all the ins and outs regarding the Enron scandal. VERY detailed from an accounting perspective. "
— Jessica, 7/10/2013 -
" Get full scoop about Enron's fall. This book seems a bit sympathetic to Skilling and Lay, while implyng Fastow as the culprit. "
— Stella, 6/25/2013 -
" Made an incredibly complicated topic/situation (the Enron scandael) extremely readable. If I didn't have so many other books to read, I'd read it again in a heartbeat. Might just do it anyway. "
— Deena, 6/5/2012 -
" Riveting account of corporate greed and the collapse of Enron. Contains many lessons for ethics in business. I'm sure this is a terrific case study in MBA programs. "
— Nancy, 5/29/2012 -
" Details of all of the greediness. "
— Monde, 8/15/2011 -
" Fantastic, gripping read. The story is just unbelievable, and Eichenwald keeps you engaged throughout. "
— Evan, 3/10/2011 -
" A great book, fact is more bizarre than fiction at Enron. This book may have too much business jargon and accounting for some readers. But as a CPA I loved it. "
— Todd, 2/25/2011 -
" Besides taking me 3 months to read, this book was amazing. Held my interest the whole time. "
— Debbie, 2/18/2011 -
" Very interesting and detailed storytelling. It goews behind the scenes of the scandal, and show just how Enron schemed and scammed their way into jail. Very detailed. "
— Tisa, 2/6/2011 -
" Wow, reads like fiction. "
— Heather, 11/12/2010 -
" Very good, the author made what by all rights should have been a very dull and hard to understand story of obscure accounting misdeeds into an interesting study of human nature. "
— Allen, 9/30/2010 -
" The best book on Enron I've read but not the easiest to understand. Watch the movie, "Smartest Guys in the Room" first. "
— Brett, 8/1/2010 -
" A story of a horrible event in our country's history - well told. "
— Rita, 7/16/2010
About Kurt Eichenwald
Kurt Eichenwald is a senior writer with Newsweek, a contributing editor with Vanity Fair, and the author of three New York Times bestselling books. He wrote for the New York Times for more than twenty years. A two-time winner of the George Polk Award for excellence in journalism, he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2000 and 2002. His New York Times bestseller The Informant was made into a major motion picture starring Matt Damon.
About Robertson Dean
Robertson Dean has played leading roles on and off Broadway and at dozens of regional theaters throughout the country. He has a BA from Tufts University and an MFA from Yale. His audiobook narration has garnered ten AudioFile Earphones Awards. He now lives in Los Angeles, where he works in film and television in addition to narrating.