POWER FAILURE The Inside Story on the Collapse of Enron

The Enron story reads like a Greek tragedy, an epic in which the protagonist's hubris is his downfall, an ending all too well known. The career of Sherron Watkins, co-author, Enron vice president, and later whistle-blower, underlies this story of corporate back-stabbing and greed within a company enveloped in a miasma of actuarial chaos. Henry Leyva's brisk treatment leaves no time for boredom; his voice maximizes the drama engendered as billions of dollars evaporated and the corporate ethics bubble popped. Listening to this audiobook, one can see that company executives were hiding debt and padding profit. What comes to mind is economist Alan Greenspan's advice for every investor: "Avoid irrational exuberance." J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 03]