You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed it! Not a can't-put-down-page-turner, but a solid read for sure.
Because apparently corporate FBI real life stuff is really really fascinating...
This isn't the type of book I usually read. I'm not that interested in true crime or in corporate America. So it says something in itself that I still gave this book four stars -- and my main criticisms of it may have to do more with the fact that the genre isn't really my cup-of-tea than real shortcomings of the book.
The hardest things to take about this book are its length and its huge cast of characters. There are times when it just felt long, and it's hard to keep all the ADM employees, lawyers, FBI agents, and other characters straight. (There is a "characters list" at the end of the book that divides them according to their affiliations, but since I listened to the audiobook, I couldn't reference the list and just got to hear it read out at the end of the book, which was less helpful. I was like, "Oh, *that's* who that guy was! Wish I'd realized that when I was reading the book!").
Still, what keeps this book compelling despite its shortcomings is its intensive character study of Mark Whitacre and the FBI agents closest to him. These are fascinating people, and Mark's actions are so bold/crazy/out of left field that it made my jaw drop. It's easy to just refer to him as crazy, but I feel bad actually doing so, since clearly he did have some mental illness issues going on.
I thought that what might make this book all worth it in the end was ADM's top execs getting properly punished for the corporate fraud and greed that was their daily existence. It was sickening how they felt totally untouchable in terms of what they were allowed to do and what they thought they could get away with. And while they didn't exactly "get away with" it, it was a let down to know that they only served a couple years for cheating customers around the world, whereas Mark Whitacre served almost ten years for the money he stole from one company.
Kurt Eichenwald is a good writer and a fantastic journalist, and he even inserts himself at the end of the book, explaining how he came to cross paths with Mark Whitacre and begin this project, which was a nice way to bring things full circle.
I rewatched the movie (which is what piqued my interest in the book initially) after "reading it," and the movie actually does a pretty good job of staying true to the spirit of the story while cutting about 24 hours of material down to two.
The hardest things to take about this book are its length and its huge cast of characters. There are times when it just felt long, and it's hard to keep all the ADM employees, lawyers, FBI agents, and other characters straight. (There is a "characters list" at the end of the book that divides them according to their affiliations, but since I listened to the audiobook, I couldn't reference the list and just got to hear it read out at the end of the book, which was less helpful. I was like, "Oh, *that's* who that guy was! Wish I'd realized that when I was reading the book!").
Still, what keeps this book compelling despite its shortcomings is its intensive character study of Mark Whitacre and the FBI agents closest to him. These are fascinating people, and Mark's actions are so bold/crazy/out of left field that it made my jaw drop. It's easy to just refer to him as crazy, but I feel bad actually doing so, since clearly he did have some mental illness issues going on.
I thought that what might make this book all worth it in the end was ADM's top execs getting properly punished for the corporate fraud and greed that was their daily existence. It was sickening how they felt totally untouchable in terms of what they were allowed to do and what they thought they could get away with. And while they didn't exactly "get away with" it, it was a let down to know that they only served a couple years for cheating customers around the world, whereas Mark Whitacre served almost ten years for the money he stole from one company.
Kurt Eichenwald is a good writer and a fantastic journalist, and he even inserts himself at the end of the book, explaining how he came to cross paths with Mark Whitacre and begin this project, which was a nice way to bring things full circle.
I rewatched the movie (which is what piqued my interest in the book initially) after "reading it," and the movie actually does a pretty good job of staying true to the spirit of the story while cutting about 24 hours of material down to two.
informative
medium-paced
This book documents the mid-1990s lysine price-fixing conspiracy case and the involvement of Archer Daniels Midland executive Mark Whitacre. This is told from the side of the investigators.
Fascinating story involving corporate greed, runaway lies, mental illness - and all in good ole central Illinois! Even though the events in the book take place between 1991-1998, the story is still incredibly relevant given the 2016 Election, release of the Panama Papers, etc.
Insanely ridiculous, but incredibly entertaining. You had to follow it through to the end, there's so much to it.
The story is fascinating. Mark Whitacre ends up exposing tons of price fixing even beyond archer Daniels. At the same time he is a complicated guy to say the least. My main criticism of this book is it needed some serious editing. Just because you gathered thousands of facts doesn’t mean you have to,put them all in the book. And the names OMG FBI, DOJ Anti-Trust it was all a bit to much.
