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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
I find it difficult to believe this book should be classified as non-fiction due to the interactions noted that probably weren't recorded to be able to be written about later down to the detail in clothing. Also, the jumping between the many characters and their conversations was very chaotic. However, the case itself and the informant Whitacre were quite intriguing and kept me reading until the end. The book had enough real-life corporate bad guys, psychological issues, and conspiracy to keep me throughly entertained.
funny
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
I never though I'd say this, but this has been a really fun read. Eichenwald has turned a potentially dry subject into a thoroughly engrossing look at corporate and personal greed. It helps that Mark Whitacre, the ADM executive who wore the wire for the FBI, is just a bit nutty.
It probably helps that I lived in Decatur from kindergarten through sixth grade and that we still take day trips there on a semi-regular basis. When he describes driving to the Hampton Inn in Forsyth, I can visualize it clearly. This one is a keeper.
It probably helps that I lived in Decatur from kindergarten through sixth grade and that we still take day trips there on a semi-regular basis. When he describes driving to the Hampton Inn in Forsyth, I can visualize it clearly. This one is a keeper.
I selected this book because it chronicles a well-known investigation involving the white-collar crimes of price fixing and corporate fraud, a subject area to which I was exposed during many years working in a law firm. This particular topic may not sound appealing to every reader. However, the author (former New York Times journalist Kurt Eichenwald) presents the very complicated (and true) story of an agricultural conglomerate executive, who becomes a government informant, in a very engaging manner. The book reads like the page-turner of a good detective novel or John Grisham story, with plenty of plot twists and surprises that kept me hooked through the very last page.
I didn’t realize until after I finished the book that it was also made into a movie starring Matt Damon, and is categorized as a “comedy”. I wouldn’t describe The Informant as a comedic book, however the main character’s behavior is definitely bizarre and unpredictable -- keeping the reader guessing whether he is lying or telling the truth, is a victim or an active participant in the crimes that were at the time pervasive in his industry.
I didn’t realize until after I finished the book that it was also made into a movie starring Matt Damon, and is categorized as a “comedy”. I wouldn’t describe The Informant as a comedic book, however the main character’s behavior is definitely bizarre and unpredictable -- keeping the reader guessing whether he is lying or telling the truth, is a victim or an active participant in the crimes that were at the time pervasive in his industry.
A crazy, convoluted story of a serious nutcase!! At the same time an intense indictment of multinational corporations and their quest for profits at any cost! In the midst of this, a look into the workings of the FBI and Department of justice and the utterly confused and chaotic world of personal ambition mixed with political intrigue that they daily contend with and at times foster. Good book about bad guys!! 4 Stars.
I can understand why a movie was made of 'The Informant' by Kurt Eichenwald! This FBI/Department of Justice case is very bizarre! Eichenwald, a New York Times reporter at the time, followed the true story for years. Initially, it was all about a typical white-collar price-fixing crime involving top-level respectable and powerful company executives. However, the whistleblower Mark Whitacre was no "deep-throat" informant! He was chaos personified, to put it mildly. Because of his antics, the FBI agents who worked with him never knew if he was simply suffering from fear and loss of nerve, or if there was something else going on with him.
There was something else going on with him...
Here is a link to the movie trailer. It seems like the movie is mostly accurate, especially in spirit to the character of Mark Whitacre:
https://youtu.be/AGx7iw6y86s
Mark Whitacre, thirty-four years old, an elite employee of the powerful agriculture company Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and president of its Bioproducts Division, was an amazingly self-destructive executive. Eventually, no one knew when he was lying or telling the truth, including his poor betrayed wife, Ginger. He seemed incapable of revealing facts without either adding unnecessary embellishments or strange impossible falsehoods.
Whitacre was THE "cooperating witness" for the FBI. He wore taping devices and microphones into ADM meetings, and recorded meetings and conversations. With his undercover assistance, the FBI was able to set up cameras in some of the hotel rooms as well - indefectible evidence. But was Whitacre a good guy or bad? He was strangely reluctant for many days, but then suddenly he was wild with enthusiasm and suggestions. His stories about the prize-fixing scheme constantly changed, as did his explanations for mysteriously going off the grid. At one point, he said he was being blackmailed by a Japanese company into sabotaging ADM's bacteria vats, another time he said he'd been beaten and kidnapped. It all sounded suspiciously like a book by John Grisham, [b:The Firm|452235|The Firm|John Grisham|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1561768701l/452235._SY75_.jpg|63465091].
Who WAS this guy? The FBI discovered he lied about his birth family, telling some people he was adopted. He lied about some of his education, claiming degrees he didn't have. His non-ADM business associates and friends had been told conflicting explanations for business deals and Swiss/Bahamas bank accounts he talked them into fronting for him. His wife believed him he was doing a good thing, exposing ADM corruption, but she thought the FBI agents and Department of Justice lawyers were throwing Whitacre under the bus because of the complaints he voiced at home, most of which turned out to be lies.
Was Mark Whitacre sane? Wtf?
From Wikipedia:
"The Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) is an American global food processing and commodities trading corporation, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The company operates more than 270 plants and 420 crop procurement facilities worldwide, where cereal grains and oilseeds are processed into products used in food, beverage, nutraceutical, industrial, and animal feed markets worldwide."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archer_Daniels_Midland
Today, 2019, ADM appears to be doing well under new management, no longer making illegal conspiracies with other agriculture-commodity companies around the world (Japan, China, South Korea, etc.).
However, the main price-fixing plot for which ADM was eventually brought to justice involved at first a product called Lysine.
"Lysine production for animal feed is a major global industry, reaching in 2009 almost 700,000 tonnes for a market value of over €1.22 billion. Lysine is an important additive to animal feed because it is a limiting amino acid when optimizing the growth of certain animals such as pigs and chickens for the production of meat. Lysine supplementation allows for the use of lower-cost plant protein (maize, for instance, rather than soy) while maintaining high growth rates, and limiting the pollution from nitrogen excretion...Lysine is industrially produced by microbial fermentation, from a base mainly of sugar. Genetic engineering research is actively pursuing bacterial strains to improve the efficiency of production and allow lysine to be made from other substrates."
from Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysine
The lysine price-fixing conspiracy was an organized effort during the mid-1990s to raise the price of the animal feed additive lysine. It involved five companies that had commercialized high-tech fermentation technologies, including American company Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Japanese companies Ajinomoto and Kyowa Hakko Kogyo, and Korean companies Sewon America Inc. and Cheil Jedang Ltd. A criminal investigation resulted in fines and three-year prison sentences for three executives of ADM who colluded with the other companies to fix prices. The foreign companies settled with the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division in September through December 1996. Each firm and four executives from the Asian firms pleaded guilty as part of a plea bargain to aid in further investigation against ADM. The cartel had been able to raise lysine prices 70% within their first nine months of cooperation. The investigation yielded $105 million in criminal fines, a record antitrust penalty at the time, including a $70 million fine against ADM. ADM was fined an additional $30 million for its participation in a separate conspiracy in the citric acid market and paid a total fine of $100 million. Three former high-ranking ADM executives were convicted in September 1998 after a ten-week jury trial. Buyers of lysine in the United States and Canada sued and recovered $80 to $100 million in damages from the five cartel members, and ADM paid $38 million to settle mismanagement suits by its shareholders.
The lysine cartel was the first successful prosecution of an international cartel by the U.S. Department of Justice in more than 40 years. Since then, the DoJ has discovered and prosecuted scores of international cartels.
From Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysine_price-fixing_conspiracy
Kurt Eichenwald, the author and investigating reporter of this story, included an extensive Notes and Sources section. There also are multiple media hits on Google if the gentle reader cares to search for further reading.
This was a popular news story! Trust me, it IS so incredibly amazing. Mark Whitacre is one of those people who could have easily been a reality TV star - definitely the equal of any Trump-involved production - if he had been a media influencer in these Ott years.
There was something else going on with him...
Here is a link to the movie trailer. It seems like the movie is mostly accurate, especially in spirit to the character of Mark Whitacre:
https://youtu.be/AGx7iw6y86s
Mark Whitacre, thirty-four years old, an elite employee of the powerful agriculture company Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and president of its Bioproducts Division, was an amazingly self-destructive executive. Eventually, no one knew when he was lying or telling the truth, including his poor betrayed wife, Ginger. He seemed incapable of revealing facts without either adding unnecessary embellishments or strange impossible falsehoods.
Spoiler
Whether the mental illness he was finally diagnosed as having, bipolar disorder, was the correct one or not, he certainly made a mess of ADM's schemes in the mid-1990's to fix prices on necessary feed additives needed by farmers! Along the way, he unraveled in such a spectacularly and peculiar manner, he ended up going to prison longer than any one of the other convicted conspirators.Whitacre was THE "cooperating witness" for the FBI. He wore taping devices and microphones into ADM meetings, and recorded meetings and conversations. With his undercover assistance, the FBI was able to set up cameras in some of the hotel rooms as well - indefectible evidence. But was Whitacre a good guy or bad? He was strangely reluctant for many days, but then suddenly he was wild with enthusiasm and suggestions. His stories about the prize-fixing scheme constantly changed, as did his explanations for mysteriously going off the grid. At one point, he said he was being blackmailed by a Japanese company into sabotaging ADM's bacteria vats, another time he said he'd been beaten and kidnapped. It all sounded suspiciously like a book by John Grisham, [b:The Firm|452235|The Firm|John Grisham|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1561768701l/452235._SY75_.jpg|63465091].
Who WAS this guy? The FBI discovered he lied about his birth family, telling some people he was adopted. He lied about some of his education, claiming degrees he didn't have. His non-ADM business associates and friends had been told conflicting explanations for business deals and Swiss/Bahamas bank accounts he talked them into fronting for him. His wife believed him he was doing a good thing, exposing ADM corruption, but she thought the FBI agents and Department of Justice lawyers were throwing Whitacre under the bus because of the complaints he voiced at home, most of which turned out to be lies.
Was Mark Whitacre sane? Wtf?
Spoiler
Then they heard rumors about a letter from a Nigerian Prince Whitacre had received back before all of this started...From Wikipedia:
"The Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) is an American global food processing and commodities trading corporation, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The company operates more than 270 plants and 420 crop procurement facilities worldwide, where cereal grains and oilseeds are processed into products used in food, beverage, nutraceutical, industrial, and animal feed markets worldwide."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archer_Daniels_Midland
Today, 2019, ADM appears to be doing well under new management, no longer making illegal conspiracies with other agriculture-commodity companies around the world (Japan, China, South Korea, etc.).
However, the main price-fixing plot for which ADM was eventually brought to justice involved at first a product called Lysine.
"Lysine production for animal feed is a major global industry, reaching in 2009 almost 700,000 tonnes for a market value of over €1.22 billion. Lysine is an important additive to animal feed because it is a limiting amino acid when optimizing the growth of certain animals such as pigs and chickens for the production of meat. Lysine supplementation allows for the use of lower-cost plant protein (maize, for instance, rather than soy) while maintaining high growth rates, and limiting the pollution from nitrogen excretion...Lysine is industrially produced by microbial fermentation, from a base mainly of sugar. Genetic engineering research is actively pursuing bacterial strains to improve the efficiency of production and allow lysine to be made from other substrates."
from Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysine
The lysine price-fixing conspiracy was an organized effort during the mid-1990s to raise the price of the animal feed additive lysine. It involved five companies that had commercialized high-tech fermentation technologies, including American company Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Japanese companies Ajinomoto and Kyowa Hakko Kogyo, and Korean companies Sewon America Inc. and Cheil Jedang Ltd. A criminal investigation resulted in fines and three-year prison sentences for three executives of ADM who colluded with the other companies to fix prices. The foreign companies settled with the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division in September through December 1996. Each firm and four executives from the Asian firms pleaded guilty as part of a plea bargain to aid in further investigation against ADM. The cartel had been able to raise lysine prices 70% within their first nine months of cooperation. The investigation yielded $105 million in criminal fines, a record antitrust penalty at the time, including a $70 million fine against ADM. ADM was fined an additional $30 million for its participation in a separate conspiracy in the citric acid market and paid a total fine of $100 million. Three former high-ranking ADM executives were convicted in September 1998 after a ten-week jury trial. Buyers of lysine in the United States and Canada sued and recovered $80 to $100 million in damages from the five cartel members, and ADM paid $38 million to settle mismanagement suits by its shareholders.
The lysine cartel was the first successful prosecution of an international cartel by the U.S. Department of Justice in more than 40 years. Since then, the DoJ has discovered and prosecuted scores of international cartels.
From Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysine_price-fixing_conspiracy
Kurt Eichenwald, the author and investigating reporter of this story, included an extensive Notes and Sources section. There also are multiple media hits on Google if the gentle reader cares to search for further reading.
This was a popular news story! Trust me, it IS so incredibly amazing. Mark Whitacre is one of those people who could have easily been a reality TV star - definitely the equal of any Trump-involved production - if he had been a media influencer in these Ott years.
Hmmmm...what to say about this one? I think this would be a good book for someone who is interested in business and the world of corporate intrigue, someone who has 'played the corporate game' OR for someone interested in the human psyche and understanding what motivates people. It is a non-fiction story, and if I hadn't listened to it on CD, it would have taken me a long time to plow through it. However, there were MANY jaw-dropping moments that were hard to believe actually happened. As a consumer, it was fascinating to see how easily our trust in the system can be abused and manipulated. The author did a good job of telling the story in a way that pulled you in and kept you wanting to know more, although it could have been edited down a bit. I wish I had been able to finish it in time to make our book club discussion, it would be a great book to talk about!
I listen to this. Hard to believe that somebody who has risen through the ranks and is banging out a half $1 million a year in salary could be so stupid.
