Conspiracy of Fools: Rex Shelby

In Conspiracy of Fools, Mr. Eichenwald describes a scene in which Rex Shelby walked into his office and put his head in his hands (or shakes his head or something like that). You know it is fiction when you see that because the only time Rex would do that is if he was joking with somebody. Problems animate Shelby rather than causing him to sit at his desk and mope. Mr. Eichenwald’s depiction is actually a very serious charge: it is painting Mr. Shelby to be something other than what he is. In fact, those who know him say that Eichenwald’s portrayal is the exact opposite of who Rex is at the most fundamental level. Making matters worse, Mr. Eichenwald was actually sympathetic to Mr. Shelby in his book. He seemed to think Rex was just a cockeyed optimist who sort of fell into Enron. That viewpoint, however, is insulting because Rex Shelby has proven with his work that he is always self-directed; he makes deliberate well-considered choices, then takes full responsibility for the consequences.

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