The Informant: A True Story (2001) - Plot & Excerpts
Once upon a time, I stumbled onto this book on the bargain shelf at Barnes & Noble. Since it cost practically nothing and looked mildly interesting, I bought it. It went in my TBR bookcase where it languished for years. Oh, occasionally I would pick it up, blow the dust away and read the blurbs and think that it looked mildly interesting, and then place it back on the shelf.Not long ago, while looking for something to read I picked it up again, blew the dust off and thought, this looks mildly interesting, and decided that I would read it. After all, according to the cover of my paperback copy, it had been made into a major motion picture starring Matt Damon. By the time that I finished the prologue, I was hooked.It isn’t often that a work of nonfiction can be described as a page-turner – but that is a good description of "The Informant." And there are a lot of pages to turn – 500 plus, in fact. Investigative reporter Kurt Eichenwald leaves no stone unturned and no fact unexamined or unreported in his thoroughly researched account of a price fixing conspiracy that occurred in the ‘90’s. Involved were Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), the hugely successful and politically powerful agribusiness corporation, as well as two Japanese and two South Korean corporations.The prices being fixed included, among others, citric acid and high fructose corn syrup, additives that are found in a countless number of food products. And then there was lysine, an amino acid added to livestock feed, in order to fatten hogs and chickens. The result is that the prices of these additives were artificially propped up and that drove up the expenses of the food producers, which were subsequently passed on to – of course – the consumer.ADM’s advertising slogan was and is “supermarket to the world.” But because its competitors wanted to keep prices high and its customers wanted to keep them low, the private and extremely cynical inside slogan among its top executives was “competitors are our friends and customers are our enemies.” I know what I have described thus far doesn’t sound like much of a page-turner. But it is. What makes it so is that the FBI was able to persuade one of ADM’s top executives to wear a wire in order to tape him and other ADM executives and those of the four Asian corporations, engaging in price fixing. This cooperating witness was at the time (and may still be) the highest-ranking corporate whistleblower in U.S. history. His name is Mark Whitacre.And what a witness he was! I’m not about to go into details about him or his actions because it is impossible to do so in a brief summary. Also, it would be like spoiling the plot in a whodunit – which is how this book reads.Eichenwald wrote in an afterword:“This is a book about the malleable nature of truth. As the story shows, reality can serve as the handmaiden of fiction….Throughout these pages, I’ve tried to play upon that line between fact and fantasy. 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 position as the investigators, all while dropping hints – admittedly subtle at times – about where reality began.”He accomplished his goal. But beware; this is a complex, convoluted story. There are more characters than in a Russian novel. The reader needs a scorecard to keep up with the players. Fortunately, Eichenwald provides one in the front of the book. Also, complicating the story are the bureaucratic battles fought between FBI investigators and federal prosecutors (to be expected; it happens all the time) as well as turf battles between the U.S. Attorneys offices in Illinois and the Justice Department in Washington, D.C., not to mention internal struggles within the Justice Department. All of this can make it difficult to stay with the story. My only complaint about the book is that Eichenwald could have streamlined his account somewhat without detracting from the readers understanding of the important facts of the case. But he had done his research – and how – and he was eager to report it – and did he ever. The book was originally published in 2000. The movie was released in 2009. While the book gives much attention to the FBI agents’ investigation, and a great deal of space to the efforts of the prosecutors (whose in-fighting came close to derailing the case), the movie, unable to film the book in its entirety, concentrates on the whistleblower and his amazing antics. Greed and malfeasance that results in international price fixing conspiracies are nothing to laugh about, and yet, when one reads the book, one can’t help but laugh at times – even out loud sometime. In fact, the movie was promoted as a comedy –a comedy about price fixing!The book has been compared to the fiction of Tom Clancy, Scott Turow, Michael Crichton, and, of course, John Grisham. But those writers’ imaginations pale in comparison to what Eichenwald recounts in his nonfiction book. One critic wrote, “…with its dizzying array of subplots, twists, and political maneuvers, this book is more like Grisham’s entire oeuvre compressed into 600 pages.”Columnist Liz Smith nailed the book precisely when she wrote, “[It] reads like John Grisham on acid….”The title of the first edition of the book is "The Informant: A True Story." The title of the paperback movie tie-in (published in 2000) that I own is "The Informant! A True Story." I am always wary of book, and especially movie, titles that announce that the story is a “true story.” More times than not, it isn’t. But this one is.Exclamation marks in titles are red flags, too. They usually promise more than what they deliver. This one was added because the movie, which heavily concentrates on Mark Whitacre and his role in the proceedings, has to be seen to be believed. But it is true, too. And I have to admit that in this case the exclamation mark is warranted!!As a friend said about the book, “Truth (even when it’s built around lies) is and always will be stranger than fiction
This book was a tradeout between me and a friend of mine from work. He got to read "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman and I got to read "The Informant". I think he got the better end of the deal.The Informant is a true story about Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and their alleged price fixing in a variety of agricultural markets. Mark Whitacre, a top executive of ADM, is the 'informant'. Whitacre assisted the FBI in compiling hundreds of audio and video tapes, documenting ADM's price fixing with companies all over the globe.The problem came to light when they discovered that Whitacre was not the most stable or truthful individual around. Kurt Eichenwald, a reporter for the New York Times, spent considerable time peeling through the layers of this story. From Dwayne Andreas' sexist attitudes towards women to the Justice Department's ham-handed prosecution, all of the individuals in this book were shown with all their foibles and problems.But Eichenwald saved his best writing for Mark Whitacre. The first half of the book gives you a good view of the FBI's initial view of Whitacre. A view of competency and an earnest desire to help them with the investigation. Then he begins to show the unraveling of Whitacre from competency to the psychotic, troubled individual that ended up being a liability for the prosecution."The Informant" is an enjoyable read. There are slow points. Points where you want to shout at Mark Whitacre "Are you a moron?" I would recommend this for those who want a behind the scenes view of a government investigation gone awry.
What do You think about The Informant: A True Story (2001)?
First it was a radio program. Then it was a book. After that, a movie. And now, it's a goodreads review!This book tells the real-life story of Mark Whitacre, and the others involved with him in an international price-fixing scheme. He worked for ADM (Archer Daniels Midland, "Supermarket to the World") as the president of the bioproducts division. In particular, he helped set up, and remained in charge, of lysine production. Lysine is fed to chickens and other animals, and many tons of it are sol
—Joe
OK, so I know it's a little weird to say i just finished reading a can't-put-it-down book about an anti-trust case featuring Archer Daniel Midland, a grain-producing company in DeKalb, Illinois. Talk about a page turner, huh? To continue with the negative, it's 600 pages long, non-fiction, and besides price fixing, deals with embezzlement and political infighting. Wow, right?Seriously, I am so impressed with author Kurt Eichenwald that I'm set to read anything he writes. I first read his Enron book "Conspiracy of Fools" and liked it so much I picked up this one. The Informant is a story of a man who admits to the FBI that he knows about price fixing going on in his company. The author gives the story a broad scope, and we hear from the employee, the FBI in 4-6 different field offices, the US Attorney in several offices, a couple of presidential administrations, the CIA...oh, and a couple of foreign companies too.The author lets the story unfold as the FBI learned about it. The writing is clear, descriptive, and gripping.The story reads like a Grisham novel, if Grisham was a much better writer. I found myself making Bob read sections as I read because it was so unbelievable. This one is joining Conspiracy of Fools as a must-read for Bob and the boys. I recommend it to anyone who wants to read some non-fiction and is possibly looking for something in a field they don't know much about. Trust me, you won't be sorry.
—Katy
Eichenwald, a NY Times journalist, must have papered his walls with detail, outlines, names, and dates in order to write this fantastic book. One of my relatives was an division executive there at the time the FBI investigation came down in the mid '90s. He never said a word about it. Of course, I had to read about what happened. There is nothing better than a real life story. It's unbelievable that a handful of people can create so much chaos for a mammoth international company's reputation. There are loads of twists and turns up to the very end. The chart in the front of the people involved in the story helped tremendously when reading. The only downside was the mountains of concisely told detail necessary to tell the complete story. Towards the end I was getting weary of it all even though I like detail. All in all, it's a great, well-told story with all the mystery of a fiction novel.
—Ruth Charchian
