Enron (PDF)

"I'd say you were a carnival barker, except that wouldn't be fairtocarnival barkers. A carnie will at least tell you up front thathe's running a shell game. You, Mr. Lay, were running whatpurported to be the seventh largest corporation inAmerica."-Senator Peter Fitzgerald (R-IL) to Enron CEO Kenneth Lay,Senate Commerce Science & Transportation's Subcommittee,Hearing on Enron, 2/12/02
The speed of Enron's rise and fall is truly astonishing and perhapsthe single most important story of corporate failure in thetwenty-first century. In Enron investigative journalist Loren Foxpromises readers nothing short of the most compelling andinsightful investigation into Enron's meteoric ascent-regarded byWall Street and the media as the epitome of innovation-and itsspectacular fall from grace. In a lively and authoritative manner,Fox discusses how the biggest corporate bankruptcy in Americanbusiness history happened, why for so long no one (except for anenlightened few) saw it coming, and what its impact will be onfinancial markets, the U.S. economy, U.S. energy policy, and thepublic for years to come. With access to many company insiders,Fox's intriguing account of this corporate debacle also provides anoverview of the corporate culture and business model that led toEnron's high-flying success and disastrous failure. The story ofEnron is one that will reverberate in global financial and energymarkets as well as in criminal and civil courts for years to come.Rife with all the elements of a classic thriller-scandal, dishonestaccounting, personal greed, questionable campaign contributions,suicide-Enron captures the essence of a company that went too fartoo fast.