Collection
Description
Business. True Crime. Nonfiction. HTML:From an award-winning New York Times investigative reporter comes a gripping account of one of the most captivating and bizarre tales in the history of the FBI and corporate America. It was one of the FBI's biggest secrets: Mark Whitacre, a senior executive at Archer Daniels Midland�??America's most politically powerful corporation�??became a confidential government witness. Putting his career and family at risk, Whitacre, along with a small team of agents, tapped into secrets at ADM that led the FBI to discover the company's scheme to steal millions of dollars from its own customers. But as the FBI and federal prosecutors closed in on ADM, they suddenly found that everything was not all that it appeared. While Whitacre was cooperating with the Feds and playing the role of loyal company man, he also had his own agenda. Whitacre became sucked into his own world of James Bond antics, imperiling the criminal case and creating a web of deceit that left the FBI and prosecutors uncertain where the lies stopped and the truth began. Meticulously researched and richly told, The Informant re-creates the drama of the story, beginning with the secret recordings, stakeouts, and interviews with suspects and witnesses to the power struggles within ADM and its board�??including the high-profile chairman Dwayne Andreas, F. Ross Johnson, and Brian Mulroney�??to the big-gun Washington lawyers hired by ADM, and on up through the ranks of the Justice Department to FBI Director Louis Freeh and Attorney General Janet Reno. A page-turning real-life thriller that features deadpan FBI agents, crooked executives, idealistic lawyers, and shady witnesses with an addiction to intrigue, The Informant tells an important and compelling story of power and betrayal… (more)
Awards
IRE Awards (Finalist — Book — 2000)
J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize (Finalist — 2001)
User reviews
LibraryThing member arubabookwoman
Kurt Eichenwald was an investigative reporter for the NY Times, and this book is a nonfiction account of the investigation and prosecution of the executives and board of Archer Davis Midland for the white collar crime of price-fixing. It is told in minute detail, and at 650 pages is a tome. Doesn't
The book opens with the very public arrests of the Archer Davis Midland executives, including the purported arrest of the FBI's informant, Mark Whitacre. Whitacre had secretly recorded his colleagues and Archer's competitors as they illegally divided the world markets among themselves and set artificially high prices for their products. At the time of the arrests in 1995, the case was described as the most important white collar crime ever, and the government was extremely confident that it had an airtight case.
Then, the agents begin discovering troubling facts about their informant, who would have to be the government's star witness at the trials. They knew throughout the investigation that Whitacre was kind of strange, and somehow believed that he would end up as president of Archer after everyone else went to jail. His actions during the investigation were frequently erratic and sometimes seem to threaten the secrecy of the investigation. But while the FBI agents realized that Whitacre was sometimes in a fantasy world, they didn't realize that he, too, was involved in illegal activities, including embezzlement, tax fraud, money laundering, bribery and kickbacks. Unbeknownst to the agents investigating Archer, there was a contemporaneous investigation by a different FBI office of Whitacre and some of his accomplices.
The book becomes a fascinating look into the turf wars among the National FBI office and various regional FBI offices; among the Department of Justice Anti-Trust Division, the Department of Justice Criminal Division and the US Attorney's offices. The IRS is also involved. Whitacre's relationships with his various defense attorneys and lack of candor with them are also explored. Whitacre continues further off the cliff and begins accusing the FBI agents he worked with of corruption and destruction of evidence, so they too come under investigation.
After finishing this book, I purchased another book about corporate crime by Eichenwald (Serpent on the Rock) which I previously had no interest in. I already owned, but have not read, 500 Days about the beginnings of the war on terror. After reading The Informant, I think I'd read anything by Eichenwald.
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sound like your thing? Think again. This is written and paced like a thriller. The facts are well-documented, but had this been a novel, its plot might strain credibility at times. It was absolutely riveting. It was made into a movie, but if you've seen the movie, the book is so much better.The book opens with the very public arrests of the Archer Davis Midland executives, including the purported arrest of the FBI's informant, Mark Whitacre. Whitacre had secretly recorded his colleagues and Archer's competitors as they illegally divided the world markets among themselves and set artificially high prices for their products. At the time of the arrests in 1995, the case was described as the most important white collar crime ever, and the government was extremely confident that it had an airtight case.
Then, the agents begin discovering troubling facts about their informant, who would have to be the government's star witness at the trials. They knew throughout the investigation that Whitacre was kind of strange, and somehow believed that he would end up as president of Archer after everyone else went to jail. His actions during the investigation were frequently erratic and sometimes seem to threaten the secrecy of the investigation. But while the FBI agents realized that Whitacre was sometimes in a fantasy world, they didn't realize that he, too, was involved in illegal activities, including embezzlement, tax fraud, money laundering, bribery and kickbacks. Unbeknownst to the agents investigating Archer, there was a contemporaneous investigation by a different FBI office of Whitacre and some of his accomplices.
The book becomes a fascinating look into the turf wars among the National FBI office and various regional FBI offices; among the Department of Justice Anti-Trust Division, the Department of Justice Criminal Division and the US Attorney's offices. The IRS is also involved. Whitacre's relationships with his various defense attorneys and lack of candor with them are also explored. Whitacre continues further off the cliff and begins accusing the FBI agents he worked with of corruption and destruction of evidence, so they too come under investigation.
After finishing this book, I purchased another book about corporate crime by Eichenwald (Serpent on the Rock) which I previously had no interest in. I already owned, but have not read, 500 Days about the beginnings of the war on terror. After reading The Informant, I think I'd read anything by Eichenwald.
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LibraryThing member JoshuaT.
It is a great, smart comedy. It will be confusing but you'll love it!
LibraryThing member LiteraryLinda
I found this true story very disturbing. It is very sad to think that corporations like these can be so unlawful. However, the book was written like a novel and is very readable.
LibraryThing member dougcornelius
I’ve had Kurt Eichenwald’s The Informant on my reading list for a long time. It dropped down on the list after seeing the previews for the Steven Soderbergh movie. Why read the book when you can watch the movie?
What raised my interest was hearing a great radio segment from This American Life
I have to admit that while reading the book, I had the image of Matt Damon in my mind as the character of Mark Whitacre. The other image that stands out is the scene in the movie previews with Mr. Damon playing Mr. Whitacre as he is fiddling with the hidden tape recorder in his briefcase. As you can see from the actual video of the meeting, Whitacre really did open open up the hidden compartment and check out the tape recorder.
The true story in the book is a crazy tale. Whitacre came forward as a cooperating witness to the FBI, telling them that his company, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), was engaged in price-fixing for the global market for lysine. The allegations quickly spread to other products and to kickbacks. Whitacre was a great witness, eagerly taping conversations of illicit activity and clearly willing to take down his colleagues and management of the company.
The story wanders a bit, periodically gets stagnant, then explodes as new secrets are revealed. The author, Kurt Eichenwald, tells the story from the perspective of the FBI. If the story were not true, it could have been streamlined and the characters could have been explored in more depth. But it’s a true story with real people. So you have to let the story evolve as the FBI uncovers more and more of the activity of ADM, and unfortunately more and more of the activity of Whitacre.
Whitacre had problems. These problems become apparent and worsen as the story progresses. The perfect witness ends up not being so perfect. Inconsistencies begin to appear and then grow worse.
Kurt Eichenwald covered the story for The New York Times and interviewed most of the participants in writing the book. He tells the story by methodically recording the six-year investigation and deconstructing the disturbed Whitacre.
Add the book to your reading list and move it towards the top.
What raised my interest was hearing a great radio segment from This American Life
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that tells some of the background of the price fixing conspiracy and FBI cooperating witness Mark Whitacre: The Fix is in.I have to admit that while reading the book, I had the image of Matt Damon in my mind as the character of Mark Whitacre. The other image that stands out is the scene in the movie previews with Mr. Damon playing Mr. Whitacre as he is fiddling with the hidden tape recorder in his briefcase. As you can see from the actual video of the meeting, Whitacre really did open open up the hidden compartment and check out the tape recorder.
The true story in the book is a crazy tale. Whitacre came forward as a cooperating witness to the FBI, telling them that his company, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), was engaged in price-fixing for the global market for lysine. The allegations quickly spread to other products and to kickbacks. Whitacre was a great witness, eagerly taping conversations of illicit activity and clearly willing to take down his colleagues and management of the company.
The story wanders a bit, periodically gets stagnant, then explodes as new secrets are revealed. The author, Kurt Eichenwald, tells the story from the perspective of the FBI. If the story were not true, it could have been streamlined and the characters could have been explored in more depth. But it’s a true story with real people. So you have to let the story evolve as the FBI uncovers more and more of the activity of ADM, and unfortunately more and more of the activity of Whitacre.
Whitacre had problems. These problems become apparent and worsen as the story progresses. The perfect witness ends up not being so perfect. Inconsistencies begin to appear and then grow worse.
Kurt Eichenwald covered the story for The New York Times and interviewed most of the participants in writing the book. He tells the story by methodically recording the six-year investigation and deconstructing the disturbed Whitacre.
Add the book to your reading list and move it towards the top.
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LibraryThing member sublime98
This is an excellent book. Well written, and actually thrilling. As I find with many books about corporations, names get confusing, and I found myself having to go back to the character index numerous times as the book went on.
The unraveling of the entire Archer Daniels Midland case is fascinating.
The unraveling of the entire Archer Daniels Midland case is fascinating.
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The ultimate ironic ending makes it all the better (or rather, worse, for some of the characters). This book is a perfect display of how hard some people work to find the truth, and how hard others will work to keep it from them, or distort it as much as possible. Show Less
LibraryThing member Miro
[Contains Spoilers]
In his afterword, Eichenwald says, "While everything described in this book occurred, the story was intentionally structured to lend temporary credence to some of the many lies told in this investigation. Essentially, I was attempting to put readers in the same uncertain
The result is very effective as the FBI's star cooperating witness (Mark Whitacre) starts off providing great evidence of international corporate price fixing on tape and film and then proceeds to lose his credibility (and greatly complicate the anti-trust case) by his personal theft from the company of millions of dollars, even while he is cooperating with the FBI.
Remarkably, the FBI keep things on track with great professionalism while facing off high level corporate lawyers, political interference and an idiotic witness, although it is finally the admission of guilt by the Asian price fixers that ensures success.
An observation after reading the book is that international price fixing could be a lot more widespread than it would at first appear, and that some some politicians are not about to change. Bill Clinton was quick to congratulate "My good friend" Dwayne Andreas, the chairman of ADM, despite his obstruction of the FBI at every turn and his only avoiding jail through a plea bargain.
In his afterword, Eichenwald says, "While everything described in this book occurred, the story was intentionally structured to lend temporary credence to some of the many lies told in this investigation. Essentially, I was attempting to put readers in the same uncertain
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position as the investigators, all the while dropping hints - admittedly subtle at times - about where reality began."The result is very effective as the FBI's star cooperating witness (Mark Whitacre) starts off providing great evidence of international corporate price fixing on tape and film and then proceeds to lose his credibility (and greatly complicate the anti-trust case) by his personal theft from the company of millions of dollars, even while he is cooperating with the FBI.
Remarkably, the FBI keep things on track with great professionalism while facing off high level corporate lawyers, political interference and an idiotic witness, although it is finally the admission of guilt by the Asian price fixers that ensures success.
An observation after reading the book is that international price fixing could be a lot more widespread than it would at first appear, and that some some politicians are not about to change. Bill Clinton was quick to congratulate "My good friend" Dwayne Andreas, the chairman of ADM, despite his obstruction of the FBI at every turn and his only avoiding jail through a plea bargain.
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LibraryThing member SigmundFraud
Worth reading but much too much detailed. I was interested in the story of the ADM execs but not the story of the FBI and DOJ people fighting among themselves to control this case. I was sympathetic to Whitacre and thought it was a rotten deal for the FBI to use him extensively to build their case
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and then indict him and send him to jail. As a money manager I have followed ADM which piqued my interest but the details are endless. Show Less
LibraryThing member Rincey
I would probably give this one 3.5 stars if I could.
I liked this a lot. The story was very engaging, especially since you know it is a true story. And I spent the entire novel wondering whether or not Whitacre was a good guy or not cause I seriously was just waiting for him to flip out or
I recommend it and I kind of want to see the movie version now.
I liked this a lot. The story was very engaging, especially since you know it is a true story. And I spent the entire novel wondering whether or not Whitacre was a good guy or not cause I seriously was just waiting for him to flip out or
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something. hahaI recommend it and I kind of want to see the movie version now.
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LibraryThing member MatthewN
A very good read. It is especially troublesome to read about price fixing from industries that most of us are oblivious to. I must say that prior to this book, I had never even heard of lysine. I was only vaguely aware of citric acid. If these smaller industries had no problems fixing prices,
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imagine what the other industries that we are aware of are possibly doing? This book reveals the frustrations that the FBI and other law enforcement agencies have when trying to prove price fixing schemes. Marc Whitacre was the perfect witness for the government and yet he was a deeply disturbed man. There were parts of the book in which I kept reading long after I should have been asleep. Other parts were not so exciting. All in all this was a book that told an important story. It's a shame that it had to be told in the first place. The corporate swindlers in this book deserved far more than they got. Show Less
LibraryThing member grheault
Rarely does a book grab you so firmly in the first few pages. Twisting, turning, amazing reversals that keep you fascinated even if you succumb early on to googling and wiki-ing the real life characters who people this book. Leaves you with a very dim view of the upper echelons of business, and
Read it to glimpse the psychology of power and greed, and leave it there. As a morality tale you will come away wondering why you are so stupidly honest. A must read for young MBA's and other prospective masters of the universe
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with great sympathy and appreciation for the civil servants who try to maintain a semblance of a fair and free market. Read it to glimpse the psychology of power and greed, and leave it there. As a morality tale you will come away wondering why you are so stupidly honest. A must read for young MBA's and other prospective masters of the universe
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LibraryThing member Clif
This non-fiction story is more interesting than any fictional crime detective story. I feel compelled to be a bit more enthusiastic than usual about this book to overcome the reaction of potential readers who are not interested in a story about price fixing at Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). That may
By the end of the book, you will learn that as of the year 2000 over a billion dollars in fines had been paid worldwide by various food and pharmaceutical companies as a result of the fall-out from this case. Thousands of normally law-abiding people had to be involved over many years for such wide spread price fixing to exist. It took one flawed cooperating witness to expose the crimes to law enforcement. When I use the word “flawed,” this one was a doozy! As multiple layers of lies are peeled back in this story the reader can’t help but wonder just how many more layers can there be?
The story is told from the point of view of the FBI as they investigate the case. A small but interesting part of the story is the internal friction between the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors. In this case the FBI appears to be the good guys and the DOJ are a bunch of bumbling idiots. At one point the DOJ appears to be guilty of trying to obstruct justice in response to political pressure. It’s too bad the author wasn’t able to learn the behind-the-scenes reasons for their actions. It was probably a good example of the effect of the generous political contributions made by ADM.
A runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize, The Informant is a mesmerizing piece of investigative reporting. The foreword to the book says that everything in the book is true including the lies. After finishing the book, I understand the reason for that statement.
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sound boring. Trust me, it’s not! By the end of the book, you will learn that as of the year 2000 over a billion dollars in fines had been paid worldwide by various food and pharmaceutical companies as a result of the fall-out from this case. Thousands of normally law-abiding people had to be involved over many years for such wide spread price fixing to exist. It took one flawed cooperating witness to expose the crimes to law enforcement. When I use the word “flawed,” this one was a doozy! As multiple layers of lies are peeled back in this story the reader can’t help but wonder just how many more layers can there be?
The story is told from the point of view of the FBI as they investigate the case. A small but interesting part of the story is the internal friction between the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors. In this case the FBI appears to be the good guys and the DOJ are a bunch of bumbling idiots. At one point the DOJ appears to be guilty of trying to obstruct justice in response to political pressure. It’s too bad the author wasn’t able to learn the behind-the-scenes reasons for their actions. It was probably a good example of the effect of the generous political contributions made by ADM.
A runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize, The Informant is a mesmerizing piece of investigative reporting. The foreword to the book says that everything in the book is true including the lies. After finishing the book, I understand the reason for that statement.
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LibraryThing member ilovemycat1
Incredible story and a true page turner about price fixing and other corporate misdeeds at Archer, Daniels, Midland, a fortune 500 company. Eichenwald does a masterful job to get the reader through the twists and turns of an emotionally complicated and unstable central figure, Mark Whitacre, who
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becomes the FBI informant and then the target of Justice Dept/FBI probes. Reading Eichenwald's Conspiracy of Fools(the Enron scandal) right before The Informant, and during another decade of corporate greed and misdeeds (mortgage, financial scandals) leaves the reader incredulous and somewhat powerless next to the seemingly systemic and far reaching ability of corporations to skew the landscape and playing field for the rest of us. Show Less
LibraryThing member BooksOn23rd
WOW! This incredibly true tale of Mark Whitacre, a corporate executive, turning in his co-workers who were involved in price-fixing, is so amazing I wanted to read the almost 600 pages in one sitting. Alas, sleep, work, and baseball (my other great passion) kept me from achieving that, but now it
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is done! Kurt Eichenwald has awesome writing skills that will keep you wondering until the end; is Mark Whitacre for real? You won't find out from me - you've got to read this great book yourself! Show Less
LibraryThing member tsmom1219
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
It probably helps
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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. Show Less
Subjects
Publication
Broadway (2000), Edition: 1, 624 pages
Original publication date
2000
Pages
624
ISBN
0767903269 / 9780767903264
Similar in this library
Language
Original language
English