Our Mover and Shaker of the Year's fatal flaw was hewing to the traditions of the corporate culture that had nurtured him.

• Author: Gearino, G.D.
• Position: COVER STORY

It is an enduring trap for all those who labor in important, high-profile jobs to have their words recorded and thoughts chronicled. The fate of Richard Nixon, as you may recall, was sealed by the sound of his voice on the infamous White House tapes. But in most instances, political and business leaders are not hung by their own words as much as their reputations retroactively are wounded by them. Through their utterances they can later be seen in dramatically different light. Such is the case with G. Kennedy Thompson, the small-town son of a North Carolina mill manager who ascended to the top ranks of America's financial industry--and thus the world's top ranks, considering that all currencies lead to Wall Street--only to fall to earth with the spectacular collapse of his bank.

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One year ago, Wachovia Corp. stood as the nation's fourth-largest bank holding company, poised to grow even larger after an ambitious expansion into California with its purchase of Golden West Financial Corp., a mom-and-pop thrift grown big and prosperous. As 2008 closed, Wachovia existed essentially as a ward of the state, propped up by regulators in the interregnum between life as a sovereign entity and absorption into Wells Fargo & Co.--the bank that would become, when the takeover of its crippled rival was completed, the national powerhouse that Thompson once envisioned himself overseeing. To read his words now, knowing what we do about the fate of his company, is to be captivated by the classical themes and flaws found within them, making Thompson's utterances redolent of Greek literature or Shakespearean tragedy. Irony, blindness, hubris and whiffs of conspiracy abound. Let us consider them, in order.

Q: What is your all-time favorite book?

A: The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Visions of Glory by William Manchester.

Q: Is there a particular genre that appeals to you?

A: I read a wide range of books and publications, but 1 especially enjoy biographies and historical novels. I love lessons learned, from historical figures.

--"What 1 Read: Ken Thompson, Wachovia CEO," USA Today, Nov. 5,2007

Who can ponder those answers astonished by the irony within them? Only those people who don't know, or have forgotten, Wachovia's history--and by that we actually mean the history of First Union Corp., the bank that swallowed Wachovia but then took on its name. In the 1990s, First Union and its hometown competitor, NationsBank (formerly NCNB and latterly Bank of America), launched a frenzied race for local bragging rights to bigness. Hugh McColl headed NationsBank, while Ed Crutchfield headed First Union--gunslingers both. It was high noon at Trade and Tryon, the fabled intersection in downtown Charlotte that had become the epicenter of Wall Street South. In the end, McColl won, mostly...