Conspiracy of Fools: A True Story

I have read almost all of the Enron books, and I must admit, while I found this one thrilling, at first I wondered whether the author was too soft on Skilling and Lay. Where were those two orchestrating the accounting fraud, or stealing from California? Other books seemed to imply there was a lot more there, but Conspiracy of Fools seemed so....subtle. The the trial against Skilling and Lay started, and the evidence against them seemed so...subtle. I went back and read several of the Enron books again. All the ones with lots of heavy breathing implied lots of allegations they didn't really back up and which haven't appeared at the trial. But then, as I read Conspiracy of Fools, EVERYTHING was there. The pumping up of earnings one quarter by releasing cash from reserves. The trading book shenanigans. The Lay statements. The misrepresentation about EBS earnings. EVERYTHING. I was stunned. Conspiracy of Fools IS the government's case. But amazingly, it seems to be the defense's case as well. Eichenwals has done an amazing job of presenting this story. And now I believe, not only is it the most thrilling of the Enron books, it is also the one that is presenting the full, real story.

The title of Eichenwald's brilliant book immediately raises three separate but related questions: What were the nature and extent of the Enron conspiracy? Also, which of those involved were "fools"? And what were their follies? He answers all three, doing so with surgical precision in combination with the narrative skills of a master storyteller. Clearly, he had a wealth of material to work with, much of it not previously shared with the general public. This book will be especially valuable to those who have a keen interest in what is probably the greatest corporate scandal in recent years. I also commend to their attention McLean and Elkind's The Smartest Guys in the Room as well as Rebecca Smith and John R. Emshwiller's 24 Days: How Two Wall Street Journal Reporters Uncovered the Lies that Destroyed Faith in Corporate America. Whereas Smith and Emshwiller explored the same company as investigative reporters, McLean and Elkind seem (to me) to have approached their subject as corporate anthropologists. Both books reach many of the same (albeit somewhat tentative) conclusions as to what happened...and why. Two significant differences are that Smith and Emshwiller limit their attention primarily to a period in 2002 extending from October 16th (when Enron announced huge losses caused by two partnerships) to December 3rd (when Enron filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy); McLean and Elkind cover a two-year period of the company's "amazing rise and scandalous fall." Also, McLean and Elkind devote far more attention to each of the "smartest guys"; Smith and Emshwiller seem far less interested in them, except in terms of the impact of their mismanagement and corruption. Eichenwald adds substantially to what they and others have already revealed. I also appreciate the fact that he does not hesitate to share his own perspectives on who did and did not do what, what their motives were, and the lessons to be learned from their values, attitudes, and behavior. My guess (only a guess) is that it will be decades before all of the sordid and, for so many victims, tragic details have been revealed. Meanwhile, we owe a substantial debt of gratitude to Eichenwald as well as to Smith and Emshwiller and to McLean and Elkind.

As someone who lived through many of the events at Enron, and who also was subjected to one of Eichenwald's probing and seemingly endless interviews, all I can say is BRAVO. So much of what I have read about this company has been such a caricature, based on impressions and suppositions. This is the real story, and believe me, it is not a pretty one. Some of the revelations in this book horrified me. But, I now know from other former Enronites, all of whom seemed to have spoken to Eichenwald, that even the most shocking tale in here is true. And more that a few people are astonished that Eichenwald seems to have obtained records of their statements to the Feds. This is a stunning book. The reviews are true: it does read like the best of corporate thrillers. More important to me, it is the real story about what happened. For the first time, at least every event I know about is recognizable, but more important, so is the company, in all of its twisted, psychotic and mismanaged ways.

I purchased this book last Monday, after reading an excerpt in the Sunday New York Times. While I am a big fan of these kind of business books, I had expected, given its length, to spend a couple of weeks reading this. It was not to be. I wrapped up reading this book around 3 in the morning on Thursday and, despite having gone through some 700 pages, was still hungry for more. For me to read that much in a little more than two days means this a page-turner, bit time. The story is about the Enron scandal, which I fear may keep people from reading it. I have raved about it to friends, occassionally hearing responses that they find Enron confusing and think they know all they need to about this story. Nothing in this book is confusing, and it truly does read like a novel, a top-notch corporate thriller. I had followed the story carefully in the paper, but it's only now that I feel like I really understand what happened. Read this book. You'll love it.

I was lucky enough to get one of the early copies of this book, passed to me by a friend who insisted I would enjoy it. I was skeptical, to say the least. The Enron collapse was never a story that I found all that interesting and I seriously doubted I would want to read a book this long about it. Then, I read the first page. And the next. And the next. Boy, was I wrong. It is so hard to explain what this book is. It is a thriller, like a Grisham novel. It is exciting and intriguing and outrageous and funny and tragic. The only thing I disliked about it was that I lost several nights sleep as I tried to race to the end. I cannot praise this book enough. It is an amazing accomplishment.