Kurt Eichenwald

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 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 show more 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. show less

Easily one of the most technically accurate pictures of the FBI I've ever read. Since the FBI is viewed through the lens of a particularly complex white collar, price fixing case, the agency's political and bureaucratic foibles are imminently apparent - from warring factions of agents and prosecutors to the tedious meanderings of investigative practice. The book also serves as a wonderful behavioral analysis treatise, as the informant of the title engages in a range of unbelievable hi-jinx show more that stretch the boundaries of believabiity. The author kindly provides actual diagnostic opinions from a professional who treated the informant toward the end of the book - so your questions will be answered, nominally, at least. If you've watched so many films to see an FBI agent as someone who is quick to the draw and racing around the streets chasing serial killers, this book serves as the appropriate antidote - this is the bread and butter of the FBI, complete with all the warts that hamper it.

4 1/2 bones!!!!! show less

It's hard not to hear the Michael Douglas character, Gordon Gecko, in "Wall Street" echoing 'greed is good' when reading this story. Having seen the film I decided to read the book which goes far beyond it in all respects. Mark Whitacre, PhD and head of lysine department at ADM is more like Bernie Madoff than anything else though its not suspected due to his 'good guy' nature. The twists and turns as the story unfolds show just how greedy Fortune 500 companies are and to what end they'll go show more to manipulate markets and people. But crime does NOT pay and Whitacre learns this well. Highly recommended. show less

I found this book to be impossible to put down. The author is very talented at writing, and his memoir is honest and compelling.

Then I read lots of the reviews. They represent a BINGO card of language that able-bodied people use about disability narratives: inspirational, brave, courageous!

And I thought about how folks without the privileges of the author are navigating their experiences with epilepsy, and how we as a society are failing them. And while the author brought that question up show more once or twice, it was not really dwelled upon. I'm not faulting the author for that: he certainly has enough on his shoulders without having to hoist up the rest of the world. But it's hard to ignore. show less