{"title":"Books by Bethany McLean","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780141011455","title":"The Smartest Guys in the Room","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhat went wrong with American business at the end of the 20th century?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eUntil the spring of 2001, Enron epitomized the triumph of the New Economy. Feared by rivals, worshipped by investors, Enron seemingly could do no wrong. Its profits rose every year; its stock price surged ever upward; its leaders were hailed as visionaries.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThen a young Fortune writer, Bethany McLean, wrote an article posing a simple question -  how, exactly, does Enron make its money?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWithin a year Enron was facing humiliation and bankruptcy, the largest in US history, which caused Americans to lose faith in a system that rewarded top insiders with millions of dollars, while small investors lost everything. It was revealed that Enron was a company whose business was an illusion, an illusion that Wall Street was willing to accept even though they knew what the real truth was.  This book - fully updated for the paperback - tells the extraordinary story of Enron's fall.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56311566205301,"sku":"9780141011455","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780141011455_9ba7a575-893c-4219-b639-afa211d8818c.jpg?v=1786011269"},{"product_id":"9780241647363","title":"The Big Fail","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the author of the modern business classic \u003ci\u003eThe Smartest Guys in the Room\u003c\/i\u003e comes a damning indictment of late-stage capitalism-and the leaders that were brutally unprepared for a global pandemic.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 2020, the coronavirus pandemic made it painfully clear that governments across the world could not adequately protect their citizens. Millions of people suffered and died in just two years, while administrations around the globe blundered; prize-winning economists overlooked devastating trade-offs from the collapse of trade; and elites escaped to isolated retreats, unaffected by - and worse, even profiting from - the worst healthcare crisis to hit humanity in decades.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this page-turning economic, political and financial history, veteran journalists Bethany McClean and Joseph Nocera analyse the American response to the pandemic as a case study, to offer fresh and provocative answers. With laser-sharp reporting and deep sourcing, they investigate what really happened when governments ran out of PPE due to snarled supply chains; and the shock to the financial system when the world's biggest economies stumbled. They zero in on the effectiveness of wildly polarised approaches across states, and they trace why thousands died in hollowed-out hospital systems and nursing homes run by private equity firms, all in the name of \"maximising shareholder value\".\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Big Fail\u003c\/i\u003e is an expansive, gripping narrative account on what the pandemic did to one economy, and how it forced us to question the fundamental principles of our society\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56311653761397,"sku":"9780241647363","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780241647363_c26c6ea5-4f4e-4237-9169-9726bea5f1bf.jpg?v=1786012765"},{"product_id":"all-the-devils-are-here","title":"All The Devils Are Here","description":"\u003cp\u003eAs soon as the financial crisis erupted, the finger-pointing began. Should the blame fall on greedy traders, lazy regulators, or clueless home buyers?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAccording to Bethany McLean, author of the bestselling Enron book \u003ci\u003eThe Smartest Guys in the Room\u003c\/i\u003e, and Joe Nocera, the star \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e columnist, the real answer is all of the above. Many devils helped bring hell to the economy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYet despite all the analysis of the crash, no one has put all the pieces together and named those responsible. Until now.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57481714106741,"sku":"9780670920365","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780670920365.jpg?v=1786090028"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-bethany-mclean.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}