Pipe Dreams
Greed, Ego and the Death of Enron
Published on 9. October 2002
Book
Hardback
416 pages
978-1-58648-138-4 (ISBN)
Description
After the shocking collapse of Enron in fall, 2001 came an equally shocking series of disclosures about how America's seventh-largest company had destroyed itself. There were unethical deals, offshore accounts, and accounting irregularities. There were Wall Street analysts who seemed to have been asleep on the job. There were the lies top executives told so that they could line their own pockets while workers and shareholders lost billions. But after all these disclosures, the question remains: Why? Why did a thriving, innovative company with rock-solid cash flow and reliable earnings suddenly flame out in a maelstrom of corruption, fraud and skulduggery? The answer, Texas business journalist Robert Bryce reveals in this incisive and entertaining book, is that bad business practices begin with human beings. Pipe Dreams traces Enron's astounding transformation from a small regional gas pipeline company into an energy Goliathand then tracks step-by-step, business decision by business decision, extra-marital affair by extra-marital affair, how, when and why the culture of Enron began to go rotten, and who was responsible.
The story of Enron's fall isn't just a story about accounting procedures; it's a story about people. Bryce tells that story with all the personality, passion, humor, and inside dope you'd hope for, and the result is an un-putdownable read in the tradition of Barbarians at the Gate and The Predators' Ball.
The story of Enron's fall isn't just a story about accounting procedures; it's a story about people. Bryce tells that story with all the personality, passion, humor, and inside dope you'd hope for, and the result is an un-putdownable read in the tradition of Barbarians at the Gate and The Predators' Ball.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 32 mm
Weight
747 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-58648-138-4 (9781586481384)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions
Book
01/2004
PublicAffairs,U.S.
€23.20
Shipment within 15-20 days
Persons
Robert Bryce spent twelve years as a reporter for the Austin Chronicle and was recentl y a senior writer at Interactive Week, with extens ive experience covering the energy and telecommuni cations industries. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, Texas Monthly, U.S. News & World Report, Salon, a nd other publications. He lives in Austin, Texas.
Content
After the shocking collapse of Enron in autumn 2001 came an equally shocking series of disclosures about how America's seventh-largest company had destroyed itself. There were unethical deals, offshore accounts and accounting irregularities. There were Wall Street analysts who seemed to have been asleep on the job. There were the lies top executives told so that they could line their own pockets while workers and shareholders lost billions. But after all these disclosures, the question remains: why? Why did a thriving, innovative company with rock-solid cash flow and reliable earnings suddenly flame out in a maelstrom of corruption, fraud and skulduggery? The answer, Texas business journalist Robert Bryce reveals in this incisive book, is that bad business practices begin with human beings. The book traces Enron's astounding transformation from a small regional gas pipeline company into an energy Goliath, and then tracks step-by-step, business decision by business decision, extra-marital affair by extra-marital affair, how, when and why the culture of Enron began to go rotten, and who was responsible. The story of Enron's fall isn't just a story about accounting procedures; it's a story about people. Bryce tells that story with all the personality, passion, humor, and inside dope you'd hope for, and the result is an un-putdownable read in the tradition of Barbarians at the Gate and The Predators' Ball.