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  • Conspiracy of Fools

  • A True Story
  • Written by: Kurt Eichenwald
  • Narrated by: Robertson Dean
  • Length: 30 hrs and 26 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (27 ratings)

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Conspiracy of Fools

Written by: Kurt Eichenwald
Narrated by: Robertson Dean
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Publisher's Summary

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.

©2005 Kurt Eichenwald (P)2005 Books on Tape

What the critics say

  • 2005 Audie Award Nominee, Nonfiction (Unabridged)

"As an unadorned attempt to get into the heads of some major manipulators, this book can hardly be bettered." (Publishers Weekly)

“The thriller of the year - and it’s all true!” (Dallas Morning News)

“Ranks with A Civil Action as one of the best nonfiction books of the last decade.” (New York Times Book Review)

"Conspiracy of Fools is a splendid achievement. Mr. Eichenwald has an encyclopedic grasp of a watershed business collapse, and has turned it into a gripping read, a true tale for our times." (The New York Times)

What listeners say about Conspiracy of Fools

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Good, but loooong

Good read though, for me, I found the first half on the long side... I could have gotten the gist of the fraud in a few less hours, but appreciate that the strength of the account is that it is comprehensive. How Enron fell was the most fascinating part for me. I could have heard more of this part.
If you have any interest in corporate espionage, this is a must read.
Tip: at the end of the Epilogue there is a long reciting of people’s names and positions... but don’t bail yet, as it’s followed by an author interview that was really very good.

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Wow

Narrator was great. Kurt brilliant in his way of presenting it to us. I felt like I was watching a movie. I often think about this book. Crazy.

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