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Nominated for BEST DOCUMENTARY at this year's Academy Awards. (Tune in on Sunday, March 5 2006 to see if it wins!)
Just as Watergate was the defining political story of its time, so Enron is the biggest business story of our time. And just as All the President's Men was the one Watergate book that gave readers the full story, with all the drama and nuance, The Smartest Guys in the Room is the one book you have to read to understand this amazing business saga.
The sobering film based on Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind's bestelling book is People magazine's favorite for Best Documentary at this year's Academy Awards.
As A.O. Scott said in the NYT: "If you are looking for a good dose of outrage at a theater near you, you won't find a better bargain than Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, a new documentary directed by Alex Gibney.
The 5 Things You Should Know
About The Book & The Movie
1. The writer/director of "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" was the second winner of the Writers Guild of America's award for best documentary writing. The WGA's documentary award was awarded for the first time last year to Morgan Spurlock for "Super Size Me." "Enron" is now the frontrunner for Best Documentary at this year's Oscars.2. The director obtained in-house video from company meetings, in which Mr. Skilling and Mr. Lay, in their very different styles, strut and brag through the company's boom years.
3. Check out www.Enronmovie.com.
4. Ebert and Roper called the movie "A brilliantly executed, brutally entertaining dissection of what one observer called the greatest corporate fraud in American history. This documentary lays out the facts in a stunningly clear, if occasionally overly dramatic, fashion."
5. The book was a Wall Street Journal and Business Week bestseller.
The Authors
Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind
Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind are Fortune magazine senior writers.McLean, a former investment banking analyst for Goldman Sachs, lives in New York City. Her March 2001 article in Fortune, "Is Enron Overpriced?," was the first in a national publication to openly question the company's dealings.
Elkind, an award-winning investigative reporter, is the author of The Death Shift. He has written for The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, and Texas Monthly. He lives in Arlington, Texas.
The Book
Get your own copy of the bestseller.
The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron
"Like its subject, The Smartest Guys in the Room is ambitious, grand in scope, and ruthless in its dealings."
Published by Portfolio, a division of Penguin Group.
Amazon Price: $10.88 (as of 10/10/2008)
The DVD
The frontrunner for this year's Best Documentary Academy Award
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Based on the best-selling book of the same name by Fortune reporters Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, a multidimensional study of one of the biggest business scandals in American history. The chronicle takes a look at one of the greatest corporate disasters in history, in which top executives from the 7th largest company in this country walked away with over one billion dollars, leaving investors and employees with nothing. The film features insider accounts and rare corporate audio and video tapes that reveal colossal personal excesses of the Enron hierarchy and the utter moral vacuum that posed as corporate philosophy. The human drama that unfolds within Enron's walls resembles a Greek tragedy and produces a domino effect that could shape the face of our economy and ethical code for years to come.
Release Date: 01/17/2006
Avg. Customer Rating: 
Amazon Price: $11.99 (as of 10/10/2008)
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The Unbelievable Reviews
"This book is right up there with Den of Thieves and Barbarians at the Gate. . . . Those who want to learn what happened here, you don't have to read anything but this." -James Cramer, CNBC"The best book about the Enron debacle to date . . . Based on hundreds of interviews and fresh details, McLean and Elkind masterfully weave together the many strands of the Enron story. They shine in their characterizations of Enron's often incompetent executives." -Wendy Zellner, BusinessWeek
"News junkies and mystery lovers who enjoy financial scandals will devour this multilayered book. . . . The Smartest Guys in the Room will rival other models of the genre, including James Stewart's Den of Thieves. . . . The authors write with power and finesse. Their prose is effortless, like a sprinter floating down the track. . . . The character sketches of former chairman Kenneth Lay, former CEO Jeff Skilling and ex-chief financial officer Andrew Fastow are masterful, rich with color from friends, family and associates." -Edward Iwata, USA Today
"Powerful and shocking . . . succeed[s] in opening a disturbing window into both the company and the era . . . filled with fascinating characters and anecdotes." -Jonathan A. Knee, The New York Times Book Review
"Utterly professional, readable and-even though you know what's coming-highly entertaining." -Daniel Gross, The Washington Post
"Meticulously reported and compelling . . . a cautionary tale about highfliers who weren't as clever as they thought." -David Koeppel, Entertainment Weekly
