16 books about the biggest business scams of our time — including Enron, Bernie Madoff, and Theranos
Greed and the desire for power often lead to unconscionable acts of fraud and deceit — this theme isn't new, but the popular book "Bad Blood," detailing the rise and fall of healthcare startup Theranos, certainly reminds us of its truth.
If you're interested in similar well-written and well-researched books about business scams and scandals, these 16 fascinating books tell you everything you need to know.
From the financial industry to cars to sports, they paint a picture of how business scams are built, how they subsequently crash, and how all the involved players are affected.
Like scores of other readers across the country, I was recently enraptured by the Silicon Valley nightmare tale of Theranos, the healthcare startup that promised to revolutionize blood testing and seduced notable investors, large pharmacy partners, and hopeful customers alike. It never delivered on this promise, but blew through hundreds of millions of dollars and harmed countless livelihoods along the way.
Unfortunately, instances of corporate deceit and fraud like this aren't new. When power and money are at stake, people often trade in their consciences for more immediately gratifying rewards — and face the consequences when their elaborate schemes spiral out of control.
Theranos now joins names like Bernie Madoff and Enron, forever cemented in history and the syllabi of business ethics courses, as lessons of questionable business practices that you don't want to believe actually took place. You often only hear about the devastating end result of these scandals, but these books bring you back to the beginning and weave fair, thoughtful tales about how they all transpired.
For a fascinating and often horrifying look into how not to run a business, read these 16 books about some of the biggest corporate scandals and scams of our time.
Captions provided by Amazon and edited for length.
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