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Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth
4.43 · Rating details · 4,446 ratings · 738 reviews
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Big Oil and Gas Versus Democracy—Winner Take All
In 2010, the words "earthquake swarm" entered the lexicon in Oklahoma. That same year, a trove of Michael Jackson memorabilia—including his iconic crystal-encrusted white glove—was sold at auction for over $1 million to a guy who was, officially, just the lowly forestry minister of the tiny #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Big Oil and Gas Versus Democracy—Winner Take All
In 2010, the words "earthquake swarm" entered the lexicon in Oklahoma. That same year, a trove of Michael Jackson memorabilia—including his iconic crystal-encrusted white glove—was sold at auction for over $1 million to a guy who was, officially, just the lowly forestry minister of the tiny nation of Equatorial Guinea. And in 2014, Ukrainian revolutionaries raided the palace of their ousted president and found a zoo of peacocks, gilded toilets, and a floating restaurant modeled after a Spanish galleon. Unlikely as it might seem, there is a thread connecting these events, and Rachel Maddow follows it to its crooked source: the unimaginably lucrative and equally corrupting oil and gas industry.
With her trademark black humor, Maddow takes us on a switchback journey around the globe, revealing the greed and incompetence of Big Oil and Gas along the way, and drawing a surprising conclusion about why the Russian government hacked the 2016 U.S. election. She deftly shows how Russia's rich reserves of crude have, paradoxically, stunted its growth, forcing Putin to maintain his power by spreading Russia's rot into its rivals, its neighbors, the West's most important alliances, and the United States. Chevron, BP, and a host of other industry players get their star turn, most notably ExxonMobil and the deceptively well-behaved Rex Tillerson. The oil and gas industry has weakened democracies in developed and developing countries, fouled oceans and rivers, and propped up authoritarian thieves and killers. But being outraged at it is, according to Maddow, "like being indignant when a lion takes down and eats a gazelle. You can't really blame the lion. It's in her nature."
Blowout is a call to contain the lion: to stop subsidizing the wealthiest businesses on earth, to fight for transparency, and to check the influence of the world's most destructive industry and its enablers. The stakes have never been higher. As Maddow writes, "Democracy either wins this one or disappears." ...more
Published October 1st 2019 by Crown
B07Q18953R
Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Nonfiction (2019)
Other Editions (10)
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Reading the excerpts makes me want to grab it! Sounds fascinating! Thanks P.S Winn for sharing it on my email When will you read, critique and give some stars to my books?
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Dec 14, 2019 Will Byrnes rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: american-history, books_of_the_year-2019, trump, brain-candy, economics, history, public-health, politics, nonfiction
I like driving a pickup and heating my house as much as the next person, and the through line between energy and economic growth and development is as clear to me as an electric streetlight piercing the black night. But the political impact of the industry that brings us those things is also worth recognizing as a key ingredient in the global chaos and democratic downturn we're now living through.
Rachel Maddow is the top news personality at MSNBC, host of The Rachel Maddow Show for the last
Rachel Maddow is the top news personality at MSNBC, host of The Rachel Maddow Show for the last eleven years. One of the smartest people to be found on your television, or screen of choice, she relies on research, facts, and informed guests to present her viewers with as high-end an hour of political news coverage as you can find anywhere, all while being upbeat, friendly, funny, and warm. Watching her show it might not be totally obvious, because she is so nice, but she is a first class hard-edged, incisive intellectual, a Rhodes scholar with a triumph of a book already to her credit, Drift, on our national tendency to war. One other gift Maddow possesses is a talent for story-telling. Watch her A-block (the opening 20 minute segment of her show) some night, any night, for a taste. In Blowout, Maddow looks at the centrality of oil (by which we mean oil and gas) to our history and to the events of the world today.
Rachel Maddow didn't set out to write a book. But a nagging question led her there: Why did Russia interfere in America's 2016 presidential election, and why attack the United States in such a cunning way? Although the MSNBC host regularly devotes ample airtime to the topic of Russia on The Rachel Maddow Show, her digging led her to a thesis she thought was too long for TV.
- from the NPR interview
Rachel - image from Hooch.net
From her depiction of Vladimir Putin's visit to NYC to celebrate the opening of the first Lukoil gas station in the USA, to the story of alarming means being used in an early attempt at fracking, from a look at how third-world dictators live large on oil revenues, while their people suffer, from the history of oil to the history of Putin, from the big personalities to the local damage, she takes you right there and walks you through the events like a docent leading a group through the Met, a very slippery, oily Met. Watch that glimmery puddle!
On our right is a family tree that echoes the shape of a gusher, noting the beginning of oil drilling in 1859, see where Rockefeller and Standard Oil gets into the game, and everything spreads out from there until the canvas is almost entirely covered in iridescent black goo.
John D. Rockefeller - image from Curious Historian
This one over here is quite surprising. There is a story to the mushrooms. You think fracking for natural gas is a nasty, brute force extraction method, generating vast collateral damage? You would be right of course, but in the 60s and 70s an even scarier method of loosening up the gas trapped in underground shale and sandstone was tested, three times, Nukes! Yes, that's right. As a part of Project Plowshare, three Hiroshima-level nuclear bombs were detonated in the continental USA. Thankfully, and unsurprisingly, the resulting gas carried a level of radioactivity that was considered unmarketable, so the project was abandoned. Guess it had a very short half-life.
Moving on, look over here. We have an excellent painting that shows how the oil/gas companies control academic research as well as government regulatory agencies. Notice how the energy company board overlaps the board of the local university, the one sponsoring the researcher who is looking into the possible causes for the steroidal increase in earthquakes in Oklahoma, an increase that occurred only after the introduction of fracking technology. You might recognize the large claw-like form in the painting, and the academic in that claw being squeezed. Definitely not OK.
On your left you will see a more modern image, a dynamic sculpture, showing the recent story of fracking, very angular, as the straight vertical lines veer suddenly horizontal, but are accompanied by vast volumes of a goo called slickwater being forced into the ground. If you look back up to the top, you will see a geyser of very crude crude being forced up out of the ground. The artist has included, as part of the exhibition, a special platform around the work. Go ahead, step up. That bouncing and rumbling you feel beneath you is meant to mimic the actual experience of residents in heavily fracked locations.
Putin with his parents in 1985, before being sent to Germany as a KGB officer - image from wikimedia
These lovely gilded tryptichs up ahead tell the story of Vladimir Putin, his rise from KGB operative in Germany to possible anti-Christ. Each panel shows a step along his path, growing from unknown KGB agent to mayor of St Petersburg, to the accumulation of a group of loyalists called the siloviki (which would be a great brand name for one of the few products Russia still produces, vodka), to aligning with, then back-stabbing Boris Yeltsin, as the USSR descended from failed social experiment to full on gangster-state kleptocracy. We see in this one to your right how Pootee murders or jails not only political opponents, but anyone foolish enough to own a successful business he wants to steal. Doesn't the blood red go so dramatically against the gold?
Russia's shaky economy, hampered by a reliance on oil and gas, helps explain the country's weakness, and "some of Russia's weakness explains why they attacked us in the way they did," Maddow argues. She says Vladimir Putin exploited Russia's lucrative oil industry to support his vision of making Russia a superpower again. "When you've got one resource that's pulling in such a big revenue stream, you tend to end up with very rich elites who will do anything to hold onto power who stopped doing the other things that governments should otherwise be doing to serve the needs of the people," she said in an interview with All Things Considered. - from NPR
Aubrey McClendon - image from Business Insider
In the next room we have a few portraits of energy bigwigs, Aubrey McClendon, a genius at picking land to hold for resource development, promoter of shale and gas drilling in the USA and iconic Oklahoma City booster. Liked to use company money for his personal needs and had issues with price-fixing collusion. Got kicked out of his own company. Robert S. Kerr, founder of Kerr McGee, and a remarkably corrupt politician. Harold Hamm, a self-made billionaire who never saw an environmental regulation he did not hate, or a tax he was willing to accept. The big one at the end of the hall, the screaming T-Rex is, of course Rex Tillerson, still spreading carnage across the planet and not yet trapped in that tar-pit with the "DJT" inscription barely visible on it. As you can see in the painting, the artist was aware that T-Rex hunted in packs. No one is safe when these toothy critters were looking for a meal. The bones you see in the background are the remains of scientists who dared to describe the impact carbon-based energy usage has had on the planet, and residents who opposed the local leader siphoning off all the oil royalties for themselves.
Harold Hamm - image from AP via Politico
Up ahead the mural you see may remind you of Picasso's Guernica, but this one is called The Resource Curse. It shows how a poor country discovers oil, the pastoral fields being flooded with black, the local leader growing at one end of the mural from a small bully to an inflated grotesque crushing his people alongside an even larger T-rex, the people fleeing and screaming in despair.
Teodorin Nguema Obiang Mangue, son of the Equatorial Guinea president, living large on the oil revenues siphoned from the country – image, one of many showing his impressive array of insanely expensive vehicles, from Ghafla!
Not all the reporting in the book is horrifying or depressing. Here is one that shows a ring of Russians holding hands, dressed like Americans, living in America. Russian spies, sent here to infiltrate the western enemy, sleeper cells, waiting for the day they would be summoned into action. It was the only part of the book that was laugh-out-loud funny. You'll see why when you read it.
Ten members of the Russian spy program – the inspiration for the TV series The Americans - maybe you recognize a former neighbor here? – image from ABC.Net.AU
The next room is kept nicely refrigerated. The ice sculpture in the middle of the room shows an oceanic drilling rig, with dark lines standing in for the inability of the rigs to keep from leaking, and the parts scattered on the icy ocean surface standing in for the advanced safety rig elements that were not used in these early drilling attempts.
The Discoverer - grounded in Unalaska, AK, unable to handle Arctic winds – not reassuring – image from Pew Trust
As our tour comes to an end, you can leave those parkas in the bin by the door, and be sure to load up with paper towels from the table ahead. It would appear that the billions invested by the energy business in advancing the technology of extraction has in no way been matched by investment in researching clean-up tech. You hold in your hands the state of the art in oil spill clean-up. Pause briefly to smile.
Before you read Blowout, you should stock up on your blood pressure medication, maybe schedule some extra time for mindfulness, meditation, or whatever works to keep you from completely losing your mind to absolute rage.
Recently a religious friend wondered whether the current president might be the anti-Christ promised in the epistles of John, (and in Islamic lore as well). I suppose Trump would serve as well as any, but on further thought, it seemed to me that, as Trump was very much a puppet of Putin, and thus deserved a demotion, and as Putin was not only running Trump, but has his tentacles around many political and non-political people of importance around the planet, it was Pootee who deserved the title more. On reading Maddow's book, I am having third thoughts.
If Putin is the source of most of the evil in the world (well, certainly a lot of it, anyway) who or what is it that is moving Putin? As you will see in Blowout, much of the mischief Putin has engaged in regarding the USA elections stems from a desire to remove the sanctions imposed after Pootee hacked off the Crimean piece of Ukraine to be absorbed into the Russian Borg. Limitations on the fluidity of the oligarch funds in the West were problematic, particularly as Pootee was the biggest oligarch of them all. But even worse was the limitation placed on western investment in Russia. On its own, and despite its spectacular glut of natural petro/gas resources, Russia is just this side of a failed state, unable to keep up with advances in technology that are now widespread in the West. Russia NEEEEDS the western investment of contemporary extraction technology to retrieve the resources with which it has been blessed, having placed all his national development chips on oil and gas. It is only the nerve of western leaders like Barack Obama, John Kerry, and Joe Biden, with the bi-partisan support of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and other western nations, that saw to it that sanctions were imposed. This kept Pootee from being able to fully exploit Russia's carbon-based fuel supplies. Not that he or his minions are gonna starve any time soon, but they cannot come close to realizing their ultimate avaricious or nationalistic fantasies without modern means of sucking every last drop out of the ground. And as energy resources have become a primary usable weapon (really, if he let loose the nukes, Russia, and much of the world, would be in cinders in an hour, so not really a practical weapon for immediate needs) in Russian geopolitics, (along with cyber-crime of diverse sorts) he would like to be as well-armed as possible.
==========In the summer of 2019 GR reduced the allowable review size by 25%, from 20,000 to 15,000 characters. In order to accommodate the text beyond that, I have moved it to the comments section directly below.
Sep 07, 2019 Jimmie rated it really liked it
If you're a regular viewer of her show (or, like me, a regular listener to her podcast) you're aware that Rachel's stories come with EXHAUSTIVE background, preambles, and prefatory material. But, if you're a regular viewer of her show, you know the windup is worth it. This book takes a little while to get off the ground, but eventually it soars.
Oct 03, 2019 Sahitya rated it it was amazing
Shelves: non-fiction, politics, favorites, 5-star, 2019-read
I've had this book on my TBR since the day it was announced and none of my excitement diminished when I was rejected for the ARC. It only meant I had to wait for the release day and I'm glad I did, because now I got the opportunity to both read the book and listen to the audiobook narrated by Rachel herself, which was an absolutely riveting experience.
If you have read any of my reviews before, particularly the non fiction ones, you know I'm fairly liberal, so it should not come as a surprise I've had this book on my TBR since the day it was announced and none of my excitement diminished when I was rejected for the ARC. It only meant I had to wait for the release day and I'm glad I did, because now I got the opportunity to both read the book and listen to the audiobook narrated by Rachel herself, which was an absolutely riveting experience.
If you have read any of my reviews before, particularly the non fiction ones, you know I'm fairly liberal, so it should not come as a surprise that I'm also a fan of Rachel Maddow's show. And I may have to preface this review by saying that you'll really enjoy the experience of reading or listening to this book if you like Rachel's style of narration on her show. She is witty and snarky, but also has this meandering way of storytelling in her show everyday, where you are initially wondering where she's going with it but ultimately she'll draw a very full picture for you to understand. And that's exactly how this book is written.
It's signature Rachel and I feel that you may not fully appreciate it if you are unfamiliar with her reporting. However meandering the writing may feel, she manages to give excellent historical context to the events that are being explained and the major players who are responsible for them, and even if the timeline is not always linear, I wasn't really ever confused. The book is also full of information (and I really mean lots of information) and it can feel overwhelming for atleast the first quarter of the book, but once you get the hang of it, you become familiar with what it's all about and then it unfolds like a very interesting and thrilling story spanning decades. Beginning with the Oil boom in the US in the late 19th century and ending with some conclusions of the Mueller report, this really is the saga of the Oil and Gas industry across the globe (and years) and how it has changed everything.
It's an undeniable reality that our current way of life depends a lot on the Oil and Gas industry. The use of fossil fuels have changed the way we live, but it has also meant the industry has become a major power player across the world in a way that threatens geopolitical stability but also the daily lives of people living across the US. The events, statements, and consequences that Rachel explains in the book show us an industry that is consumed by its greed for increasing its oil/gas production, it's lust for money and power at absolutely any cost - as long as their bottom line is served, the rest of the world can go to hell. It is equal parts horrifying and amusing, unbelievable but also kinda obvious, and particularly scary at times because I couldn't as a reader figure out if there was a way out of all the mess.
And when we are talking about Oil and Gas, it's impossible to avoid the major power players - the industry giants like ExxonMobil, the oil rich and utterly dependent on it countries like Russia, Ukraine, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea or even similar states in the US like Oklahoma, Texas, North Dakota etc. The way the companies permeate every part of the power structure of a country (or state) and then do their business with impunity, while simultaneously not caring at all about the common people's lives they've put at stake is terrifying to read about. Rachel particularly concentrates on the story of Oklahoma, it's history and it's dependence on the industry, how the governance of the whole state became essentially a puppet of the fracking industry masters and nothing could be legislated without their approval. It's also a story of the power of democracy and people and public servants, and their resilience in the face of the brute force attack of money and power from all sides.
And on a larger scale is the story of Russia - how it's abundance of oil and gas could have propelled it to a global scale on better terms, if not for the infamous Resource curse meeting an authoritarian leader with paranoid tendencies. The story of Putin, ExxonMobil (and Rex Tillerson), the Oil companies and their owners in Russia and the few people who were brave enough to oppose the leader plays out like a gangster thriller, and while I was initially unsure what was the point of it all, by the end I realized that as long as the industry players work hand in hand with dictators and let them interfere in global democracies with impunity, the world is only gonna end up in more chaos.
There are quite a few important figures whom we get to know more about in the book along with their beliefs and methods and motivations, and it was fascinating to see how the common thread across all of them was greed and some kind of narcissism. Whether it is Rex Tillerson; Putin and his right hand, the head of Russia's biggest oil company Igor Sechin; the eternal President and his son of Equatorial Guinea; Oklahoma's own business tycoons like Harold Hamm and Aubrey McClendon; one thing they all have is loads of money and power acquired through Oil and Gas, and one thing they all want is the freedom to exploit the nature with impunity and earn boatloads more of money.
But we also get to know some unlikely heroes in the story - someone like Austin Holland, a seismologist working for the Oklahoma Geological Survey who is probably one of the key persons responsible for bringing the damage done by fracking to light; journalists like Ken Silverstein and Peter Maass who brought forth the atrocities of the leader of Equatorial Guinea and his son's profligate tendencies; and also someone like Boris Nemtsov, who had the gall to make public the extent of Putin's corruption and had to pay with his life. There are many more, and the "Sources" section of the book is full of information about them and their work.
I probably have a lot more to say but I I'll conclude my review by saying that it's an important book which talks about one of the most influential industries of our times, and I highly recommend it. Rachel is neutral for the most part, giving us all the information so that we can form our own opinions, but her sarcasm does come out at times which I enjoyed. I also think the best way to enjoy this book is reading while simultaneously listening to the audio, because her narration brings a lot of life to what can feel like a very long story. I had fun listening to it, I also felt shocked and terrified and hopeless. But Rachel ends with a slightly hopeful note, remarking that it's always possible to course correct but we (which includes people and government) need to have the courage and conviction to standup for democratic principles and the importance of transparency. ...more
Oct 29, 2019 Sue rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: non-fiction, politics, russia, history, read-2019, net-galley, economics
Well, this has been quite a reading experience: a sequence of "aha" and "I remember that" moments followed by my absorbing the deeper meaning behind a news story or legislative moment that occurred sometime within the past several years. As a news junkie since childhood, I knew something about most of the subjects that Maddow covers in her over-arching view of the oil industry at work throughout the world. Even my most pessimistic self would not have imagined the inner workings of the U.S. Well, this has been quite a reading experience: a sequence of "aha" and "I remember that" moments followed by my absorbing the deeper meaning behind a news story or legislative moment that occurred sometime within the past several years. As a news junkie since childhood, I knew something about most of the subjects that Maddow covers in her over-arching view of the oil industry at work throughout the world. Even my most pessimistic self would not have imagined the inner workings of the U.S. components of this business.
This is my first time reading a book by Rachel Maddow who I have enjoyed watching on television. She presents her information in a conversational tone. The facts are backed up with quotations, statistics, etc, which are more fully delineated in the Sources section provided at the end of the book.
And there are so many outrageous events detailed in Blowout. From very basic concepts such as why does an industry that has historically had some of, if not the highest profits in United States history still receive annual tax breaks they were initially given as incentives to explore? And what about the huge increase in earthquakes that seemed to in the area of fracking? And what about the relationship between Exxon and Russia/Putin? These are just three areas dealt with in depth.
There are also very strong links to Ukraine here, ones that I don't recall hearing discussed on any talk shows yet. More reasons why Putin would want to destabilize that country.
All in all, I think this is is a must read for anyone confused, worried, otherwise wondering what is happening in this world around us where there seemed to be some rules in the past and now it's a free-for-all. So, highly recommended. It is a very readable source on the oil industry, the new Russia, the state of our democracy, and our potential future.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review. ...more
Dec 09, 2019 Jean rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: business, africa, audio-book, non-fiction, economics, politics
I recently read Maddow's first book entitled "Drift" about the military-industrial complex. I felt that reading that book first helped me understand her method of presenting complicated data.
The book is well-written and meticulously researched. I am impressed at how thorough Maddow is with her research and analysis. She apparently was attempting to understand why Russia meddled in our 2016 election and ended up completing an academic research and analysis of the oil and gas industry. Maddow also I recently read Maddow's first book entitled "Drift" about the military-industrial complex. I felt that reading that book first helped me understand her method of presenting complicated data.
The book is well-written and meticulously researched. I am impressed at how thorough Maddow is with her research and analysis. She apparently was attempting to understand why Russia meddled in our 2016 election and ended up completing an academic research and analysis of the oil and gas industry. Maddow also provided detailed information about Vladimir Putin as well as a mini biography of Rex Tillerson. The author does an excellent job revealing historical texture to the current oil and gas industry. She also provides one of the best descriptions of fracking I have come across. When considering the earthquakes and the risks of contaminating water and soil with very toxic chemicals; why would anyone allow fracking is something I do not understand. I learned a lot about the Russians, the petroleum industry and fracking. Maddow does an excellent job putting complex data into easy to understand information.
I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is fifteen hours and thirty-three minutes. I particularly enjoyed listening to Maddow narrate the book.
Aug 26, 2019 Dorie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Blowout! :Corrupted Democracy, Rouge State Russia, and The Richest, Most Destructuve Industry on Earth
by Rachel Maddow
due 10-1-2019
#netgalley. #Blowout
What the Frack is going on with the oil and gas industry? How did we, as a Democratic country, get to this point? Regardless of age, sex, race, religion, political beliefs, etc., how did we become dependent on a global industry built on corruption, greed and incompetence?
Rachel Maddow brings it all together and makes this complicated Blowout! :Corrupted Democracy, Rouge State Russia, and The Richest, Most Destructuve Industry on Earth
Rachel Maddow brings it all together and makes this complicated issue, easy to understand. She explains the power, complexities, and political gamesmanship behind fracking. How Yeltsin literally gave the Russisn Presidency to Putin, and how and why Putin used the oil industry to maintain his power, by sending the crude oil to its biggest oil rival, the USA.
From Oklahoma City to Russia to Siberia and Equatorial Guinea, we see how oil and the crude pollutants from fracking, made by unsafe drilling; an industry that has taken far more from the earth than it ever gave. ExxonMobil and Rex Tillerson are examples of the mindless incompetence that make full transparency necessary. We hold the responsibility of separating the corporate from the villains.
Aubrey's Chesapeake Energy-Oklahomas earthquake outbreak of 2010 due to fracking-the Alaskan drilling fiasco- the Winter Olympics at Sochi in 2014 and Pussy Riot- Guccifer. It's all here, and so essential to understanding exactly what is happening, and why.
One of the things I admire and live about Rachel Maddow is how she will lay a foundation by sharing the history and importance of issues, policies and subjects. By explaining both sides, we can decide for ourselves where we stand without being preached at and told what to believe. Her wit, candor, humility and her original spin, for me, make her a woman who uses her intelligence to make people aware, for the greater good. This book is an example of just that.
I learned so much about the oil industry, the consequences of non transparency and the willingness to deceive to win.
Mostly I learned we need to re-think the need vs. the greed of oil.
Thank you for this exceptional, necessary and timely book, Rachel.
Thank you to netgalley for sharing this requested e-book ARC for review. ...more
Sep 30, 2019 Nancy rated it it was amazing
Shelves: netgalley
I thought I should read Blowout by Rachel Maddow. Should being the giveaway word to my motivation. Instead of a dose of medicine that's good for me but hard to swallow, it was a terrifying funhouse ride that totally engaged my attention! Maddow weaves together a narrative of how we 'got to here' that illumines the present.
Maddow lays out the oil industry's history from Standard Oil to fracking to Putin's dream of Russia becoming the world's fuel provider to trolls on Facebook disseminating I thought I should read Blowout by Rachel Maddow. Should being the giveaway word to my motivation. Instead of a dose of medicine that's good for me but hard to swallow, it was a terrifying funhouse ride that totally engaged my attention! Maddow weaves together a narrative of how we 'got to here' that illumines the present.
Maddow lays out the oil industry's history from Standard Oil to fracking to Putin's dream of Russia becoming the world's fuel provider to trolls on Facebook disseminating discord.
The oil industry has always been too big and wealthy and powerful to control, starting with John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil which drove out or took over the competition. The values have not changed; anything goes in the pursuit of increased production and mindboggling wealth. And power. Don't forget the obscene power.
The oil industry has always looked for better ways to get to the oil, using nuclear bombs and ocean drilling and fracking. Sure, messes happen. The best clean up tool they have developed is a big stick of paper towels.
Fracking was going to save the day! Years worth of 'clean' gas. So what if Oklahoma suffered 900 earthquakes in 2017?
I didn't know how Putin had gambled everything on the fossil fuel industry bringing Russia money and power across the globe. But they needed the technology to make it happen. And Rex Tillerson and Exxon/Mobile were planning to help him. Those pesky sanctions got in their way.
Business and capitalism is amoral; politics and justice and fairness are irrelevant. The prime directive is making money. You lobby for the best tax deals, pay workers the lowest wages possible, make deals with the Devil--if you are killing people, or the entire planet, cover it up and carry on making the big bucks.
The damage fossil fuels are doing to the planet is happening NOW, has been happening for a long time before we wised up to it. It isn't just when we take a jet or when we eat a half-pound burger or drive the kids to school. Getting that gas out of the ground it escapes. Lots of it. From the get-go, fossil fuels damage our world.
Maddow writes, Coal is done, and so is gas and oil but they don't know it yet.
Oh, the last desperate gasps of the old world struggling to hold on.
I was given a free ebook by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. ...more
Nov 01, 2019 John Hatley rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
This amazing and brilliant book gets five stars from me. I'm not normally known for reading non-fiction--especially current events usually make me furious--but I can highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in returning a minimum of democracy to democratic governments and breaking the strangle-hold of big industry, not just the oil and gas industry, on governments east and west. Very well researched and, as one might expect from Rachel Maddow, she manages also to spice the book This amazing and brilliant book gets five stars from me. I'm not normally known for reading non-fiction--especially current events usually make me furious--but I can highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in returning a minimum of democracy to democratic governments and breaking the strangle-hold of big industry, not just the oil and gas industry, on governments east and west. Very well researched and, as one might expect from Rachel Maddow, she manages also to spice the book with humour, black-humour to be sure, but funny nevertheless.
Read it! ...more
Oct 12, 2019 Barbara (The Bibliophage) rated it it was amazing
Shelves: politics-and-the-world, audio, 2019, own-digital, history
When I finished Blowout by Rachel Maddow, I had to wash all the residual oil slick off my skin. The book is just that immersive in the oil industry. Not to mention a different kind of Kremlin-based, Putin-esque oiliness. Wow, this book contains nothing less than a gusher of information.
Blowout is sub-titled Corrupt Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth. I started it hoping to better understand the messy state of 2019 politics. I got that, and then When I finished Blowout by Rachel Maddow, I had to wash all the residual oil slick off my skin. The book is just that immersive in the oil industry. Not to mention a different kind of Kremlin-based, Putin-esque oiliness. Wow, this book contains nothing less than a gusher of information.
Blowout is sub-titled Corrupt Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth. I started it hoping to better understand the messy state of 2019 politics. I got that, and then some. As Maddow has been saying on her show, the timing of this book's publication is uncanny. There's plenty about Ukraine and its fractured relationship with Putin in Blowout.
But its deep background starts with the origins of the oil industry and moves into detailed biographies of many industry power players. Maddow discusses Oklahoma, OKC, earthquakes, the 1995 bombing, and the titans who make or break its economy. If she does a deep dive here, she goes even further into the background of Russia's oil industry and its oligarchs (AKA gangsters). Most importantly, she explains what it means to have only one viable global industry in a kleptocracy.
Since November 2016, reading about the politics of the current Russian state seems critically important. So far, this is the first book explaining the industry that strongly ties our two countries together, for better or worse. In one country, the government owns the oil and gas industry. And in the other, the oil and gas industry influences the government to its benefit. And if you don't know which country is which now, Blowout makes it crystal clear.
My conclusions
Despite Maddow's use of fact after researched fact, Blowout retains the tongue-in-cheek chattiness of her television show. Yes, definitely expect snarky asides or exclamations. The straight-up scholarly information is balanced by how she breaks down a complex situation into something easy to digest. That is, if you don't mind your hydraulic fracking with a substantial side order of corruption.
Because of her unique writing style, I zipped through this nonfiction tome. Okay, having a nasty cold helped—I took a few days off and read a lot. But don't be concerned it's dry. It's not. Maddow uses a narrative, almost novelistic, approach to this true-life story. It's extremely readable. Or change it up, and switch to the excellent author-narrated audiobook. I did both, but ultimately found that highlighting passages was more important than hearing Maddow's familiar vocal intonations.
Impressing all my friends and family with facts and history I learned in Blowout sounds fun. Right before I buy them their own copy for the holidays. It's an important topic that is likely to be timely for some years to come. Please give it a go.
Thanks to NetGalley, Crown Publishing, and the author for the opportunity to read a digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.
Pair with A Very Expensive Poison: The Definitive Story of the Murder of Litvinenko and Russia's War with the West or Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin's War on America and the Election of Donald Trump.
Originally published on my book blog, TheBibliophage.com. ...more
Oct 09, 2019 Suanne Laqueur rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: my-five-stars, best-of-2019
One million stars. I listened to the audible version and it was like Rachel telling me secrets. Especially the sections about Harold Hamm's divorce case. Hamm's wife's name is Sue Ann. And so I got to hear Rachel say my name over and over and over and... Sorry, where was I?
Besides her bottomless well of knowledge, impeccable explanations, dry wit and incomparable expertise in weaving all the parts together, you get to hear Rachel curse (which I wish she would do on air, but I'm weird like that.) One million stars. I listened to the audible version and it was like Rachel telling me secrets. Especially the sections about Harold Hamm's divorce case. Hamm's wife's name is Sue Ann. And so I got to hear Rachel say my name over and over and over and... Sorry, where was I?
Besides her bottomless well of knowledge, impeccable explanations, dry wit and incomparable expertise in weaving all the parts together, you get to hear Rachel curse (which I wish she would do on air, but I'm weird like that.)
Fascinating. Horrifying. Sobering. But not without hope. Rachel swears she'll never write another book. I call bullshit. :-) ...more
Dec 04, 2019 Jeanette added it · review of another edition
Shelves: did-not-work-for-me
It's true confession time. The one and only reason I wanted to read this book was because I adore Rachel Maddow. She's smart and funny and a meticulous researcher and a superb writer. I tried and tried with this book, both in print and on audio, where I got to listen to Rachel's dulcet tones reading her own work. Sadly, no amount of Maddow love can overcome my non-existent interest in the oil industry. Sigh.
May 20, 2019 Bettie rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: autumn-2019, tick-tock-clocks, beautifully-put, fraudio, corruption, follow-the-money, history-in-the-making, drilling-mining-digging, forensic-accountancy, propaganda
The dedication...
Blowout book tour dates and locations announced!: Rachel Maddow alerts viewers that book tour dates in connection with her forthcoming book, "Blowout," have officially been announced, with tickets available through links at MSNBC.com/BlowoutTour.
Coming October 2019: Blowout
Description: Big Oil and Gas Versus Democracy—Winner Take All: Rachel Maddow's Blowout offers a dark, serpentine, riveting tour of the unimaginably lucrative and corrupt oil-and-gas industry. With her
Description: Big Oil and Gas Versus Democracy—Winner Take All: Rachel Maddow's Blowout offers a dark, serpentine, riveting tour of the unimaginably lucrative and corrupt oil-and-gas industry. With her trademark black humor, Maddow takes us on a switchback journey around the globe—from Oklahoma City to Siberia to Equatorial Guinea—exposing the greed and incompetence of Big Oil and Gas. She shows how Russia's rich reserves of crude have, paradoxically, stunted its growth, forcing Putin to maintain his power by spreading Russia's rot into its rivals, its neighbors, the United States, and the West's most important alliances. Chevron, BP, and a host of other industry players get their star turn, but ExxonMobil and the deceptively well-behaved Rex Tillerson emerge as two of the past century's most consequential corporate villains. The oil-and-gas industry has weakened democracies in developed and developing countries, fouled oceans and rivers, and propped up authoritarian thieves and killers. But being outraged at it is, according to Maddow, "like being indignant when a lion takes down and eats a gazelle. You can't really blame the lion. It's in her nature."
This book is a clarion call to contain the lion: to stop subsidizing the wealthiest industry on earth, to fight for transparency, and to check the influence of predatory oil executives and their enablers. The stakes have never been higher. As Maddow writes, "Democracy either wins this one or disappears."
18th Nov 2019: Greenpeace: The more people hear about Big Oil's efforts to conceal life-saving science on global temperature rise from the public, the more they view them as responsible for the ClimateEmergency. ...more
Oct 15, 2019 Beth rated it it was amazing
There are few people that can take a complicated subject, woven through with various *other* subjects seemingly at random, and make them ALL make sense. Rachel Maddow is one of those few. I bought this as soon as we got a copy in the store, and finished it last night. What I read made my head spin - not from confusion, but from frustration and anger at seeing just one more way that the oil and gas industry have ruined so much of the global world. Now, don't get me wrong - they have been There are few people that can take a complicated subject, woven through with various *other* subjects seemingly at random, and make them ALL make sense. Rachel Maddow is one of those few. I bought this as soon as we got a copy in the store, and finished it last night. What I read made my head spin - not from confusion, but from frustration and anger at seeing just one more way that the oil and gas industry have ruined so much of the global world. Now, don't get me wrong - they have been necessary in many ways. But their push for profits over people, no matter the cost, is infuriating. I talked to a customer the other day who grew up in Oklahoma and knows first hand what Rachel speaks of in the book - and she got plainly irritated just speaking over the damage done in that state. Seeing so many names that I would not have recognized before, but now know from the current administration, just added fuel to the fire.
All is not lost, though. Rachel makes a helluva case, but she also uses Oklahoma as an example of what "we the people" can do when we've finally decided we've had enough. I'm truly hoping that the more people who read this book, the more we will have that will step up and say NO MORE. ...more
Aug 13, 2019 Claudia rated it it was ok
I love Rachel Maddow, I wanted to give this book a try, however I found this book frankly a little boring, It just didn't keep my attention
Oct 25, 2019 Susan Stuber rated it it was amazing
Shelves: investigative-reporting
No wonder this book almost killed you, Rachel. How you were able to do the research for this book, much less put it together with such brilliance in your regular causticly humorous style, and at the same time manage to carry on with your regular TV program, is beyond me.
But let this one citizen and faithful follower thank you. Who knows, as this present crisis careens towards a hairpin curve, if your book will make any difference in the end. Who will come unscathed out of the wreckage? For No wonder this book almost killed you, Rachel. How you were able to do the research for this book, much less put it together with such brilliance in your regular causticly humorous style, and at the same time manage to carry on with your regular TV program, is beyond me.
But let this one citizen and faithful follower thank you. Who knows, as this present crisis careens towards a hairpin curve, if your book will make any difference in the end. Who will come unscathed out of the wreckage? For there is no doubt there will be wreckage. Already the wheels are coming off and the brakes are gone. The question is, will there be anything left to be salvaged.
Certainly those who will save American democracy as we know it, if it makes it around the curve, will be the many people who have been maintaining it these past years, but also investigative reporters and anchors like you, Rachel Maddow. You are called "the nation's explainer" for good reason. The behavior, words, negotiations, deals, un-doings, mis-doings, lies, facts, laws, crimes, characters, countries and governments involved are a confusing mess that makes one's head spin; and yet you always manage to make sense of it all, and never in a heavy-handed manner.
So yes, anyone who wants to understand how the gas & oil industry has shaped (and warped) Russia, the U.S. and other countries, and why Trump wants to get sanctions lifted on Russia, should absolutely read this book.
Sep 30, 2019 Elise Musicant rated it liked it
Shelves: owned
This book was very interesting, but the problem I had through it all was that I couldn't figure out what it was about. Was it about corruption in the oil industry? How Russia devolved into the country it is today? How oil affects politics? There were a lot of interesting threads in this book, and they all tied together, but it felt like the writer was trying to tell too many stories.
I could tell this book was well researched. It was dense, however, with very long paragraphs. I found I had to This book was very interesting, but the problem I had through it all was that I couldn't figure out what it was about. Was it about corruption in the oil industry? How Russia devolved into the country it is today? How oil affects politics? There were a lot of interesting threads in this book, and they all tied together, but it felt like the writer was trying to tell too many stories.
I could tell this book was well researched. It was dense, however, with very long paragraphs. I found I had to read very carefully, because with long paragraphs, it is easy to miss a small detail in all those words.
In addition, this writer inserts her own opinions into the book. When the facts are laid out for us is a specific way, adding a snarky "Riiiiight" isn't necessary, and it detracts from the writer's credibility.
Overall, interesting, but I would have liked to see this book have a clearer path.
Nov 11, 2019 Claudia rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: 2019-challenge-150-books, audible-books, nonfiction
OK -- yes, I am a Maddow fan. I love her snark, but am in awe of her research capabilities, and the ability to connect stories that seem to be unrelated into a whole. That's what I got here...and I read the audible, so she READ IT TO ME.
The GR preview calls the book 'switchbacks', and that's just what it is...she begins one story, seemingly leaves it to pick up another, related, story, and then, BAM! brings both threads together.
Oil and gas dominate my state of Oklahoma, so her chapters about OK -- yes, I am a Maddow fan. I love her snark, but am in awe of her research capabilities, and the ability to connect stories that seem to be unrelated into a whole. That's what I got here...and I read the audible, so she READ IT TO ME.
Oil and gas dominate my state of Oklahoma, so her chapters about the industry, its two titans, and the teacher walk-out resonated especially for me. Aubrey McClendon is our tragic hero...with hubris as his fatal flaw. He never lacked in confidence and his trust in his own canny instincts. He was much beloved in this state. I've been to a meeting at his campus complex, and it's an amazing place. He changed the landscape of OKC, and he contributed much to the community...not the least of which is the Thunder. Still playing in McClendon's Chesapeake Arena. Then, there's the villain of the piece, Harold Hamm. A self-made man who used his powers to enrich himself and create a kingdom. I've seen him at the Capitol, wielding his might with legislators. Then there's the young idealist, Austin Holland, the seismologist at OU, who saw the rise of earthquakes in OK as alarming, and worked very hard to NOT jump to conclusions about the causes, but finally came out publicly saying they were probably caused by the fracking done by both oil and gas to extract even more product. Hamm made OU President a member of his board, and donated B-I-G money in an effort to squash Holland and his research. Can't have the truth come out, now. Can we?
BUT the really Machiavellian villain here is Vladimir Putin, the local secret police thug who rose to power by blackmailing, bullying, and assassinating folks in his way. His trusty henchman was given power over the vast oil industry in Russia, and other lucrative deals were given to Putin's judo coaches. NONE of them had any true knowledge of the industry, so they courted Big Oil. Enter, stage right, Rex Tillerson, head of ExxonMobile. Deals were made, hands were shook, and Putin became richer. And more ruthless, if that's possible.
Maddow makes the point that leaders in countries (and states..**cough cough** Oklahoma) who rely solely on O&G do not share the bounty with their citizens. Russian leaders are filthy rich...Russian citizens suffer. Equitorial Guinea's president and his feckless son are filthy rich. Their citizens are not. Money does not trickle down to the people who live in squalor. Enter, stage left, Oklahoma again. Maddow touches on the teacher walkout here, and the legislative efforts to finally raise taxes...including some for O&G...despite the statute that requires a 3/4 vote of BOTH houses to raise any taxes. The industry, despite Hamm's 'ham-handed' (sorry-not sorry. Maddow brings out snark in us all) efforts to keep HIS taxes low, despite the dire needs of our public schools. The legislature prevailed. Kinda.
Maddow even includes Russia's invasion of Ukraine at length, and some of Putin's motivations...makes today's news sharper for sure.
I believe, despite her politics (but Maddow does describe herself as an "Eisenhower Republican"), Maddow has presented a clear, fairly unbiased picture of the global risks and dangers of this industry, and frankly of its un-sustainability as an energy source, or as an industry. It's tainted.
"Coal is done and so is gas and oil, but they don't know it yet."
"Democracy either wins this one or disappears."
NOW my mission is to get someone who understands the industry to read the book and fact check it. I have a legislator in mind I'm gonna ask. ...more
Dec 26, 2019 Elizabeth☮ rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: non-fiction
"When government is no match for the power of the industry, it instead becomes an enabler, an apologist, and often a corrupt participant in the industry running roughshod."
That quote pretty much sums it up. Things in the oil and gas industry haven't changed much since John D. Rockefeller made his fortune with Standard Oil. The links back to this dynasty are scary. Rex Tillerson's tenure at ExxonMobil is frightening even more so that he was appointed Secretary of State for a minute under Trump. "When government is no match for the power of the industry, it instead becomes an enabler, an apologist, and often a corrupt participant in the industry running roughshod."
That quote pretty much sums it up. Things in the oil and gas industry haven't changed much since John D. Rockefeller made his fortune with Standard Oil. The links back to this dynasty are scary. Rex Tillerson's tenure at ExxonMobil is frightening even more so that he was appointed Secretary of State for a minute under Trump. It's what I've always known: government is run by the capitalists. We see this more so with the current White House.
I was directly affected by the lull in oil/gas a few years back when my husband would come home from his job as a machinist and tell me who got laid off that day. Eventually he came home and said, "Next week is my last week." Just like that. From ten hours of overtime to a cut in pay to a third of what he was making to unemployment. Maddow did the research and helped me to understand how and why.
It all makes me very sad. And very angry. ...more
Oct 27, 2019 Phil rated it it was amazing
A thoroughly researched book by one of the smartest and best journalist we have. Maddow's signature ability to pull seemingly disparate facts together to form a cohesive and compelling whole is fully on display.
If you ever watch her, you know that she builds thread-by-thread until the final intersecting payoff. So it is here. The history of oil and fracking, the rise of Putin and his energy state, the invasion of Ukraine, the Exxon-Mobil investments, Tillerson . . . the 'corrupted democracy and A thoroughly researched book by one of the smartest and best journalist we have. Maddow's signature ability to pull seemingly disparate facts together to form a cohesive and compelling whole is fully on display.
If you ever watch her, you know that she builds thread-by-thread until the final intersecting payoff. So it is here. The history of oil and fracking, the rise of Putin and his energy state, the invasion of Ukraine, the Exxon-Mobil investments, Tillerson . . . the 'corrupted democracy and destructive industry'. It takes some patience, but the threads do indeed come together in most disturbing ways.
Her mastery of details make this book a compelling read. Strongly recommended to those who want truly in depth knowledge. Even more powerful based on the unfolding saga coming out of Washington. ...more
Jul 25, 2019 Donna Hines rated it really liked it
Shelves: arc, netgalley
As with anything these days this novel is all about corporate and individual greed. The greed that warrants full power and full wealth under the disguise of saving others or helping the environment move towards the future goals.
From Oklahoma to NW Pennsylvania and beyond Rachel tackles the truth in a powerful and dynamic fashion that will leave no stone literally and figuratively not turned.
"Play on emotions; the bigger the lie, the better; lies should be reported many times."
These lies are what As with anything these days this novel is all about corporate and individual greed. The greed that warrants full power and full wealth under the disguise of saving others or helping the environment move towards the future goals.
These lies are what began the process especially with regard to hydraulic fracking in which it turned out many wondered if this fracking resulted in earthquakes such as in Oklahoma.
Two main players you'll find discussed often throughout this game play is Rex Tillerson of Exxon Mobile and Austin Holland of Oklahoma Geological Survey.
Accordingly hydraulic fracturing -breaking oil and gas out of shale rock- could cause earthquake in 1 out of every 10 fracked wells.
"For every 1 thousand wells in state and federal waters, there's an average of 20 uncontrolled releases or 'blowouts' every year."
Energy sources and renewable energy is what this discussion should be upon not becoming richer but sadly that's where the conversation has gone.
Heaven forbid the government also become involved and offer breaks or incentives for such advancements.
The oil and gas industry needs regulation, oversight, and transparency not self regulation.
We need to follow American interests and go through the proper channels designed to prevent such atrocities through the Committee on Foreign Investment.
Coal is dead. Oil and Gas is dead. Sadly the latter just doesn't look sick yet.
We cannot afford to continue the course by causing destruction to : Geological balance, governance, environmental injury and climate apocalypse.
Containment obviously is needed!
A fascinating read especially for me as I come from the Northeastern section of Pa near where the fracking debate continues with many friends having passed away because of it.
I hope we learn there is no immediate payment that could be fulfilled when we are literally killing humanity and our environment.
While the rich have may gotten richer it's at what costs that I need to remind you!
Please read, educate, and stop the hate.... ...more
May 20, 2019 Chelsey marked it as to-read
Shelves: tbr-audiobook
checked mid-announcement and this wasn't here. checked two seconds into O'Donnell and here we are. good job friends
Jan 13, 2020 Dan rated it liked it
Blowout by Rachel Maddow
Oil and its corruption have had a massive impact on our world to be sure. Maddow attempts to tell us this using many current examples and is mostly successful in her effort.
First the positive.
1. Maddow, a Rhodes Scholar, has a nose for what is important. I feel that all of the oil related threads covered in this book are of importance and, individually, are interesting.
2. Although she uses a few too many idioms at times, her sentence structure and thought processes are Blowout by Rachel Maddow
2. Although she uses a few too many idioms at times, her sentence structure and thought processes are easy to follow.
3. Maddow may be more knowledgeable about political impacts of big oil than just about anybody. She has spent countless hours on her talk show discussing the topic and interviewing knowledgeable people.
4. The Rex Tillerson coverage and Maddow's repeated digs toward him were far and away my favorite part of the book. How can a Boy Scout, like Tillerson, grow up to betray America's interests? And according to Maddow's reporting in this book he goes to great lengths to do so.
Then the negative.
1. The topic as presented is unwieldy.
2. There was not enough time spent writing, researching or editing the book. It is more of a current events book in a way. Ten years from now, I don't think the book will be of much interest or have much historical value.
3. The major and minor threads, while interesting, had little in common beyond oil. The Oklahoma natural gas thread with OKC Thunder owner McClendon and his suicide had no intersection with Rex Tillerson, Vladimir Putin, Gucifer 2.0 or oil exploration in the Chukchi Sea.
3.5 stars ...more
Dan There is a wonderful book called Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller by Ron Chernow. It discusses oil corruption that began way back in the 19th There is a wonderful book called Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller by Ron Chernow. It discusses oil corruption that began way back in the 19th century.
Will I respect your view and largely agree with you. Maddow's central thesis about Putin (and Tillerson) was very effective and intriguing. I didn't need the rest of the other threads to bolster that particular argument though since I know that Big Oil since the 19th century ehas lead to corruption, wars, climate change and pollution. To name a few.
I guess at the end of the day I'm not normally a big fan of current event books. For example the story around Burisma came out about the same time as this book was getting set to publish. Burisma is infinitely more entwined with Putin than the fracking earthquakes in Oklahoma. ...more
5 hours, 52 min ago
Will Byrnes No question the attempt to go after Biden via Burisma was entwined with Putin, but Putin's motivation remains, as it was in 2016, defending himself No question the attempt to go after Biden via Burisma was entwined with Putin, but Putin's motivation remains, as it was in 2016, defending himself against Dems like Hillary and Joe who had (have) his number and would be unlikely to ease sanctions that keep him from fully accessing his energy resources. It seemed to me worthwhile to show the broader history and context of the "resource curse" that is applied not only to third world countries and autocracies like Russia, but even to parts, if not necessarily all, of the USA, too. With that, I would argue that Maddow's perspective is not merely current events, but, as with her first book, showing how the underlying structures on which current policy rest came to be, and inform what happens today. ...more
Nov 03, 2019 Holly rated it it was amazing
Shelves: informational-nonfiction, politics
Oil and gas are valuable everywhere in the world, but with only a few exceptions the industry that produces them has shaped nations and states in ways that serve itself while screwing pretty much everybody else. As if its life depended on it, the industry has argued that it needs government off its back, it needs freedom and space to operate as it sees fit, and only the industry itself has the technological know-how to set the boundaries and expectations for how it behaves. And yes, energy
Oil and gas are valuable everywhere in the world, but with only a few exceptions the industry that produces them has shaped nations and states in ways that serve itself while screwing pretty much everybody else. As if its life depended on it, the industry has argued that it needs government off its back, it needs freedom and space to operate as it sees fit, and only the industry itself has the technological know-how to set the boundaries and expectations for how it behaves. And yes, energy exploration and production require some high-tech science and know-how, but it is not some freaking mission to Mars. Despite its gee-whiz nerds-R-us advertising and its self-proclaimed technical genius, this is still an industry that can barely launch a mission to Alaska, one that still uses paper towels and dish soap as its highest-tech and most effective cleanup tools when anything goes wrong. (347, emphasis added)
There are many threads entertwined in this book; the passage above is a good summary of Maddow's analysis of the basic ethos of the oil and gas industry. She details the corrupt behavior of the oil and gas industry in a few places (Oklahoma, Equatorial Guinea, Russia) to underscore the danger to all governments. Here's a bit about Oklahoma:
The man-made earthquake question in Oklahoma remained a nonissue for the next few years. Which makes this a case study in what happens when a powerful industry thoroughly captures a state government. In theory, an industry's job is to make money--to serve its customers and provide for its employees and shareholders--while the government's job is to make sure the industry operates on a level playing field, that companies follow the law and don't endanger others. When government is no match for the power of the industry, it instead becomes an enabler, an apologist, and often a corrupt participant in the industry running roughshod. There's a reason why the oil derricks were built first [in Oklahoma City] and the state capitol dome was tacked on a while later. (296)
On Russia and Putin:
Putin's most fateful decision for his country was that oil and gas wouldn't just be the profitable crown jewel in Russia's diversified economic array; it would be Russia's everything. And Putin would exercise almost complete control over it and use it in whatever way he saw fit.
It turns out to have been a colossal mistake, with grotesque consequences. For Russia, for the United States, for pretty much everyone except the oil and gas industry, and maybe Putin himself.
Now in his twentieth year running the show, Vladimir Putin presides over the metaphysical unforced error: the tragic scuppering of one of the potentially great nations in the world. Russia has been assiduously engineered into a sclerotic dictatorship; its economy wholly dependent on its one indispensable industry, which is by design almost solely monopolized by its big, lousy, noncompetitive state-controlled oil and gas companies, which are all run by spies or thugs or judo guys, and almost exclusively for the benefit of Vladimir Putin and his global aims. The companies are not exactly soaring on the strength of their R&D prowess. And there's a good reason for that. Anyone who rose to any station must owe that ascent to Putin, and answer to him for it. That has been doubly true in the energy sector, which has been Putin's crucial lever of power. No one in that industry held on to money or power or property except with his say-so and on his ugly terms. If you were trying to become a clean businessman, running a capable and profitable energy company outside the control of the Kremlin, you were going to lose that business....
Russia under Putin has become warped and stunted--a gigantic multi-continental country of 150 million souls, living on an economy considerably smaller than Italy's, with male life expectancy so low that you might think the national pastime was Russian roulette. (334-335)
I vacillated between four and five stars for this book: on the one hand, I learned SO MUCH and was rarely bored; on the other hand, I found the tone annoyingly cutesy from time to time. In the end, though, I'm going with five stars because I feel I understand the world more clearly now, and that's really valuable.
I will close by saying that while I never liked Rex Tillerson, after reading this, I'm even more glad that this dirty, rotten son of a gun was fired by tweet. It's the least he deserves. ...more
Oct 20, 2019 HeatherP rated it really liked it
Shelves: arc
I watch Rachel's show anytime I can. She has this way about her that when she explains something, she gives all of the information, and she delivers it a way that is easy to understand. I picked this book to read, not only because it is by her, but because I want to learn more about Russia, the 2016 election, and everything in between.
A good chunk of this book is about the gas and oil industry, and how it rules over our politics. I knew some about this, but now I'm blown away by how much I did I watch Rachel's show anytime I can. She has this way about her that when she explains something, she gives all of the information, and she delivers it a way that is easy to understand. I picked this book to read, not only because it is by her, but because I want to learn more about Russia, the 2016 election, and everything in between.
A good chunk of this book is about the gas and oil industry, and how it rules over our politics. I knew some about this, but now I'm blown away by how much I did not know. The connection between this, Oklahoma earthquakes, Deep Water Horizon, and how they ruin 3rd world countries. It just blows my mind.
I understood why people were upset over Rex Tillerson becoming SOS. After reading this I realize I had no real grasp on it and I'm just speechless.
Rachel is a phenomenal reporter. She does her research, and she does it well. Whether your a fan of her show, or someone who does not, and no matter your political views, I really feel like everyone should read this book.
ARC in exchange for an honest review ...more
Dec 01, 2019 Jimmy is currently reading it
Here is the subtitle which says a lot about what the book is about: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth.
The dedication reads "To the bots and trolls, all of you, with love."
The introduction begins with a tease. Some "head of state" is visiting New York in 2003, laying flowers at the the site of the Twin Towers. We find out after three pages that it is Vladimir Putin, one of the greatest bullshitters of my lifetime. And he had the whole Here is the subtitle which says a lot about what the book is about: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth.
The introduction begins with a tease. Some "head of state" is visiting New York in 2003, laying flowers at the the site of the Twin Towers. We find out after three pages that it is Vladimir Putin, one of the greatest bullshitters of my lifetime. And he had the whole city strung along. He was celebrating a new gas station belonging to Lukoil, the largest and most profitable oil company in Russia.
But as Rachel Maddow said, the 15 years since then were filled with "mistakes." --"His efforts to restore Russia as a world-stage superpower no longer depend on capacity and know-how. They depend on cheating. Putin and his minions cheat at the financial markets. They cheat at the Olympics. They cheat at their own fake democracy. They cheat other people out of their democracies."
Chapter 1: Splendor and Fragrance
The "big bang" occurred on August 28, 1859 when "rock oil" was discovered on a farm in Pennsylvania. They were looking for it and drilled to a depth of 69 1/2 feet. The owner and a hired man pulled 42 gallons of crude oil per day. Now around the world 90 million barrels are produced every day.
Here is what the President Emeritus of Harvard said in 1915: "This business . . . was an American invention." One man in particular was John D. Rockefeller and his industry Standard Oil. He managed to take control of all oil refineries. It's main product was kerosene.
There was Rockefeller in oil, Andrew Carnegie in steel, Philip Armour in meat, and James Duke in cigarettes. Rockefeller's fortune in today's dollars would be TRIPLE that of the #1 person on Forbes list.
He called making money "a gift from God." Recently Trump was referred to as "ordained by God." It's amazing to me how people get away with these statements.
When the Supreme Court tried to break him up, he managed to control the separate companies formed. Free enterprise it was not.
Quote: "The DNA of Standard Oil is shot through the oil industry, as are Standard's dominant traits: a penchant for pinching pennies, an eagerness to devour and expand, a mistrust and even hatred of government regulation, a vaguely delusional sense of higher calling, and a wary respect for innovation."
Chapter 2 is called "The Genie" as in the genie is out of the bottle. Too late to call it back in.
Interesting metaphor about sucking oil like water out of sponge. Most of us think it is like a Big Gulp drink. It's not. This is where fracking comes in. In 1969 there was the Project Rulison where a nuclear bomb was used to get at natural gas in the Rockies. One problem was the gas was left "mildly radioactive."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project...
All part of Atoms for Peace and Project Plowshares. In January 1957, Disney devoted an entire hour of its tv show to "Our Friend the Atom."
Chapter 3 is called "Stolen Goods." It centers around Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the oil company Yukos. He grew up under communism and understood how to rise: "The ticket to that happy life was the unbroken demonstration of fealty to the Communist Party." Then the USSR broke up. He still followed his "guiding light" of "Profit."
Capitalism was failing under Yeltsin because there were no regulations to control it and no one knew what they were doing. Corruption took over and a few wealthy men took control and became billionaires. They also became what we would call mobsters.
Khodorkovsky knew how to curry favor and got to be in control of Yukos. Big shots from America came over to join the wealth grab. Siberia looked like the goose that could lay golden eggs forever. But once Yeltsin was out, his time was running out.
The little known Vladimir Putin was coming into power slowly. Putin created a fake sex tape (sound familiar with Trump?) and destroyed a Russian prosecutor. He became the next man up for the presidency. But Putin was not a free market or Westernized man. He was security, KGB, being tough. He wanted Russia to be a great power again. His motto was "For my friends, everything; for my enemies, the law."
Putin would begin a purge, but not quite like Stalin. Khodorkovsky would go to jail on trumped up charges. Putin would take over the oil company. Some people think of him now as one of the wealthiest men in the world. Joining him were corporations like Exxon, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs. Kind of makes me want to cry. It is very hard to fight that kind of power.
Chapter 4 is "Charlie Hustle" about Aubrey McClendon and oil in Oklahoma. It discusses the "special tax favors for oil and gas producers have been in force since Woodrow Wilson's first year in office and still stand today, seventeen presidential administrations later, as the LONGEST RUNNING WELFARE PROGRAM in the nation's history."
Chapter Five is called Thunder UP! The importance of getting the Oklahoma City Thunder NBA basketball team meant a lot to the state. We see how oil and gas money is tied to success or failure. There is no alternative. It's all boom or bust. The state was trying to escape the image of Grapes of Wrath. And then came natural gas and shale.
Chapter Six is called Rex Shrugged. We meet Rex Tillerson and his favorite book Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. I read it in high school. Enjoyed it a bit. Little did I know the damage it would cause with libertarian madness: hatred of government, hatred of regulations, and rule by oligarchs.
In 2008, Tillerson as head of Exxon Mobil banked a $45 billion net profit for his shareholders. That was tops in reported corporate history.
He was not the type of man who enjoyed working with democracies. Dictators eliminated all of those pesky bureaucrats that Americans seem to hate so much (and shouldn't).
In 1999 Exxon and Mobil merged. Can you imagine the power and the money? And as I have already said, the tax codes were fixed for their benefit. No matter how much money they made. No president could fight them.
In Chapter 7, we see how Rex Tillerson used his access to immense wealth to effect all over the world. Once he paid $600,00 in fines for killing 85 birds that were protected. A drop in the bucket for Exxon. He paid 32.2 million for Indian tribes who were cheated out of royalty payments. Other examples are here as well.
Then came the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Eleven workers died. Of course, British Petroleum was "deeply saddened." They followed all of Exxon's strategies. Delay and lie. Sound familiar in the Trump administration? The truth is that there were warnings and sloppiness.
Another familiar name Rick Perry said, "There are going to be things that occur that are acts of God that cannot be prevented." It's all God's fault. It is Rick Perry who said Trump was "the chosen one." That's God's fault too.
Just ten days after Deepwater Horizon, an aging pipeline in Nigeria erupted. A million gallons of oil leaked into the delta. A 2006 study showed that 11 million gallons of oil per year leak into the Niger delta. The curse of precious resources. Do you think people really care? No one in Congress bugged Tillerson about it.
In Chapter 8, we meet Teodorin Nguema Obiang Mangue, the leader of Equatorial Guinea. We see his lavish lifestyle as Exxon pours millions into his bank account. We see torture of dissidents. We see a country worse off because it has oil. The Resource Curse or the Paradox of Plenty. The money goes to oligarchs and the land and water are destroyed. Even for mid-level countries like Russia. Oil brings capital but not jobs. Hey, at least they're not socialists!
In Chapter 9, we learn more about Equatorial Guinea. This quote: "Everywhere they operate on earth, oil and gas companies are incentivized to push as far as they can on extraction and to escape negative consequences. ... That's the basic math that produces their profit, their market share, their stock price, and the happiness of their shareholders. ... So, the longer the relevant ruler is in power the better." They need that dictator on their payroll.
When some honest Senators in Congress tried to stop them, Tillerson fought back hard. Here is an interesting detail: "it would harm Exxon's relations with Russia."
Chapter 10 is about a few Russian spies. Putin wanted American investment and capital, but he didn't trust us. The chapter was like an episode of The Americans, one of my favorite tv shows of all time.
Chapter 11 deals with fracking. In Oklahoma, they had a 10,000 percent jump in the number of felt earthquakes. But that is only part of it. We see dogs dying because they drank from puddles in the street. A horse dies from heavy metal poisoning. A teenager has suffering so severe he has to get morphine. A toxicology test shows arsenic poisoning. In the meantime, no one does anything about the drilling. Not a single thing.
The excuse is "accidents happen." Poisonous water is spread all around in many different states. In Louisiana there was an example of 17 cows dying in a matter of hours. In Pennsylvania, they have one EPA inspector for every 1,750 wells. Forget about the companies themselves caring.
Chapter 12 goes into more failures of the fracking industry to police itself. There is water contamination everywhere. The only pressure business has is economic pressure. That means increase production and reduce costs. Protecting the environment is a whole other thing.
In Chapter 13 Rex Tillerson goes to the Sochi Olympics in Russia to seal an oil deal with Putin. Tillerson would later become the Secretary of State for the US and famously call Trump a "fucking moron" before he got fired. Everything about Trump has Russia and oil written all over him.
In Chapter 14 and 15 we see this is all about Russian honor and power. These guys are not running a country, they are running a crime mob.
Chapter 16 deals with Arctic drilling. Russia has an enormous fleet of icebreakers. The US has only two. Putin plans to take control of Arctic waters as ice melts to drill for oil. After all, how hard can it be to drill for oil in the Arctic? ...more
Aug 18, 2019 Jill rated it it was amazing
This is a non-fiction account of insatiable greed on the part of a particular segment of self-serving, uncaring people drunk on money and power, who work directly in, or benefit indirectly from, the oil and gas industry. It demonstrates how this industry fuels politics around the world, and has played a surprising role in attempts by Vladimir Putin to sow discord in the West and control Washington.
Rachel Maddow, known from her news show on MSNBC, is more than a media pundit: she received her This is a non-fiction account of insatiable greed on the part of a particular segment of self-serving, uncaring people drunk on money and power, who work directly in, or benefit indirectly from, the oil and gas industry. It demonstrates how this industry fuels politics around the world, and has played a surprising role in attempts by Vladimir Putin to sow discord in the West and control Washington.
Rachel Maddow, known from her news show on MSNBC, is more than a media pundit: she received her undergraduate degree in public policy from Stanford and a doctorate in political science from Oxford University. The information in her book is meticulously researched and documented.
She carefully weaves together connections between oil executives in the U.S. and oligarchs in Russia. Putin has chosen to gamble the future of Russia entirely on the success of its oil and gas production. But his control of the industry is based on "graft, financial manipulation, and violence as needed," rather than expertise, so he needs technology from the West to achieve his aims. Western companies - in particular, ExxonMobil - have been more than willing to ignore Russia's strong-arm and even murderous tactics in exchange for the opportunity to get in on the lucrative development of its untapped resources. In fact, as Maddow points out, the oil companies share a number of undemocratic values with Putin in any event, including a deep hatred for government regulation impacting their own operations, and a dedication to enlarging personal profits at the expense of wreaking "geopolitical and environmental havoc both at home and the world over."
Maddow includes fascinating portraits of the people who run the energy businesses, and how they spend their vast fortunes. What choices do you make, for example, when your net worth is $162 billion or more? How much is necessary to make sure politicians vote your way? (No matter how much you spend, it's peanuts in relation to the financial benefits of tax write-offs. As Maddow notes, "U.S. taxpayer subsidies for oil and gas drilling are now almost literally insane," and she gives numerous examples of why this is so.) How many houses and yachts do you buy? (Spoiler alert: as many as you can.) What concern do you have for the many people who are left to deal with your industry's toxic waste poisoning the air, land, and water, and damage from the massive numbers of earthquakes you have generated? (Spoiler alert: none.)
She also explains fracking; how and why fracking generates "earthquake swarms"; and how the growth of fracking has put pressure on those in the energy industry to get on top of the curve.
Most importantly for American readers, Maddow shows what it actually meant to appoint the CEO of ExxonMobil to be Secretary of State; why the Russians were so eager to meet with, and offer support (both overt and covert) to the Trump campaign, and what it all had to do with oil and gas, inter alia. (Hint: it's all about removing the sanctions that impede further oil and gas exploration.) She explains how even the Trump Tower Moscow project was adversely affected by the sanctions, which helped influence Trump's opposition to them. Maddow writes: "Mueller assessed [it] could have been worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Trump" if only he could get those pesky sanctions lifted.
Putin, a former KGB operative, is always looking for "useful idiots" to exploit. The Trump campaign team, she argues, offered plenty of them. (The sanctions themselves however have been miraculously - at least until now - protected by Congress, in spite of vigorous efforts by both the Trump team and the oil and gas industry to eliminate them.)
Maddow also clarifies what Putin's aggressive actions in Ukraine have to do with oil and gas - a great deal, as it turns out, and how Putin managed to keep Europe and the United States mostly in check as he took what he wanted. (It became a lot easier after the Russia-friendly Trump Administration came into power.) She also explains why the leadership of Ukraine will meet even the most absurd demands from the U.S. President if the country can procure help in protecting itself from Russia's predatory aims.
Using data collected from the Mueller investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, Maddow delineates, in perhaps her scariest chapter, how techies at a Russian troll farm - the "Internet Research Agency" north of St. Petersburg - disseminated misinformation via fake accounts by people working in two separate twelve-hour shifts - around-the-clock information warfare. As one adherent claimed: "One hundred repetitions make one truth. The defenders of the truth can be overwhelmed by repeated lies."
Putin's trolls were told to focus on the most contentious and divisive issues in America and fan the flames. One of them later confessed: "Our goal wasn't to turn Americans toward Russia. Our goal was to set Americans against their own government. To provoke unrest, provoke dissatisfaction." In short, to set up a situation in which millions of angry, disaffected people might vote for someone who wanted to tear the system down from the inside. Analogous to the oil and gas industry, Maddow notes, Putin's army of trolls "poured infectious waste" into the most ragged faults and fissures in Western democracy. [Presumably they are still hard at work, but Maddow sticks to what has been documented thus far.]
The oil and gas industry also sought to influence the 2016 election, enriching the coffers of Republican candidates by some $152 million, compared to $21 million for Democrats. When the Republicans won all three branches of government, party members quickly began to dismantle any legal protections for consumers against the industry. These included the repeal of laws requiring clarification of payments by oil and gas companies to foreign governments as well as the necessity for any declarations delineating actual tax payments and the use of tax shelters. They also eliminated as many Obama-era environmental protections as they could manage, a project that is ongoing.
What can we do? Maddow argues:
"Containment is the small-c conservative answer to the problem at hand - democratically supported, government-enforced active and aggressive containment. . . . Powerful enemies make for big, difficult fights. But you can't win if you don't play, and in this fight it's the stakes that should motivate us: Democracy either wins this one or disappears. It oughtta be a blowout."
Evaluation: I felt like I needed a shower after each chapter, reading about the avarice and corruption that characterizes oil and gas industry operatives around the world, and how politicians have been bought off to protect that system. But in spite of the unpleasantness of this information, I think it is critical for Americans to understand not only how this industry has distorted the democratic process, but how the Russians have successfully roiled the waters in the West, and continue to do so. If we don't gain awareness and get inspired to take grassroots action to protect democracy, there may be nothing left to protect.
Dec 03, 2019 Marco G rated it it was amazing
I loved this book. It is one of the most important books I read this year. I cannot really discuss the premises about the book without getting overly political so I will avoid them. I will say that transparency on the part of Big Energy, freedom of the press, republican school teachers in oklahoma, brave souls that exposed Russia for what is is - a Kleptocracy that is ripping off its own people to enrich its oligarchs - and pussy riot of all things - are part of this incredible piece of work. It I loved this book. It is one of the most important books I read this year. I cannot really discuss the premises about the book without getting overly political so I will avoid them. I will say that transparency on the part of Big Energy, freedom of the press, republican school teachers in oklahoma, brave souls that exposed Russia for what is is - a Kleptocracy that is ripping off its own people to enrich its oligarchs - and pussy riot of all things - are part of this incredible piece of work. It is a fascinating book on how energy , and how it bestows immense power and wealth on those that control it (see Russia and its Alpha Gangster Putin). Our tax code and other laws have subsidized the oil and gas industry for over 100 years. The book brings to light many examples of this, and takes us to the shales off the Antarctic to Oklahoma, to Russia and all over the world. We are introduced to the concept of the "resource curse" and how poor countries with huge energy resources do not always see that wealth inure down the ladder to the poor who need it most. One alarming stat: a 15 year old male in Russia has a three year shorter lifespan than one in Haiti. Another stat: Russia, with its in excess of one trillion in exports of oil and gas over the last several years, has yet to build an interstate highway. Prospects are pretty grim unless you are a pal of Putin and the oligarchs. Immense wealth has been accumulated by those benefiting from oil and gas and will do whatever it takes to maintain the status quo at whatever cost. All of this is linked to the politics of the day, and how Russia influenced the election of Trump and of all things, the selection of Rex Tillerson as Sec of State. Their reach cannot be understated. She paints a pretty dramatic picture.
Maddow's prose and writers voice were a treat. I thought this book would be a chore to get through, but that was not the case at all. I breezed thru it. Not to say it was an easy read. Hardly. In fact, as I approached the end of the book, I was so angry and frustrated, I teared up. Tears flowed pretty heavily for a bit. I felt hopeless there for a while, because the cogs in place that protect this industry are massive. But there is hope. Free press, pussy riot and a motivated constituency can move mountains.
Oct 27, 2019 Betsy rated it liked it
Shelves: nonfiction, politics, commerce, recent-reads
[27 October 2019]
This is an interesting presentation of the recent history of the oil and gas industry in the U.S. and around the world. Maddow does history by telling a series of related stories, making the history very vivid. But Maddow is not really a historian, she's a news analyst and commentator and she's not afraid to insert her opinion into her commentary. So this is also a polemic, a scathing indictment of the industry and the harm it has caused. It's not particularly about climate [27 October 2019]
This is an interesting presentation of the recent history of the oil and gas industry in the U.S. and around the world. Maddow does history by telling a series of related stories, making the history very vivid. But Maddow is not really a historian, she's a news analyst and commentator and she's not afraid to insert her opinion into her commentary. So this is also a polemic, a scathing indictment of the industry and the harm it has caused. It's not particularly about climate change, though she does mention that. Rather she focuses on the immediate harm caused to local communities and developing nations through the selfish, short-sighted focus of the industry on making money at any cost. I happen to agree with Maddow so I don't mind her obvious bias. I also like Maddow's snarkey style, but it's not for everybody. ...more
Oct 23, 2019 Jeimy rated it liked it
I love Maddow. I devoured her first book, but this one was not as cohesive. However, I know that what I love most about Maddow is listening to her delivery which is why I was able to breeze through the book once the audiobook was out. Listening to The author talk about Russia, Exxon, and homegrown millionaires in Oklahoma allowed me to focus on the stories she was telling in each chapter instead of expecting a specific thread (other than petroleum) that tied all the stories together.
Dec 27, 2019 Susan rated it it was amazing
Understanding the power of the oil and gas industry
I'm not a newbie to all this. I worked 10+ years in the industry, perhaps I should say on the periphery thereof. Worked for a technology company that developed computer systems for the analysis of seismic data, company that eventually developed into an industry specific software company. I worked in marketing (for which I had to learn a great deal about the job to be done and how the software made it easier and more accurate to pinpoint drilling Understanding the power of the oil and gas industry
I'm not a newbie to all this. I worked 10+ years in the industry, perhaps I should say on the periphery thereof. Worked for a technology company that developed computer systems for the analysis of seismic data, company that eventually developed into an industry specific software company. I worked in marketing (for which I had to learn a great deal about the job to be done and how the software made it easier and more accurate to pinpoint drilling locations). Then I worked in marketing research, conducting interviews and focus groups among users and potential users. That required me to at least sound like I understood the process. My research subjects were usually geologists and geophysicists who worked for oil companies. Because my company was exclusively focused on oil and gas I read the industry mags and went to industry trade shows, from major industry shows in Houston and London to smaller events from Abilene, Texas to Mendoza, Argentina.
So I didn't come to this book entirely ignorant about how oil and gas companies do their business. I've been retired almost 10 years now, but it wasn't hard to follow the narrative of this book and the story of how horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) have breathed new life into an aging industry and promised energy independence for the US.
My last focus group was for a small company that manufactured fracking fluids. So I understand the it's more than just water that's forced down into the rock under pressure. All sorts of chemicals. Some even radio active. And I also understood that the earthquake danger if so do much from the fracking as from the disposal wells drilled to get rid of the water.
Rachel Maddox focuses in this book on smallish US independent companies who embraced fracking and on the one giant US company using fracking overseas. The independents are in the state of Oklahoma where fracking went on completely unregulated because it was creating wealth for several dynamic companies and that meant jobs and wealth and prestige for Oklahoma. Even an MBA team. The giant company was ExxonMobil, using horizontal drilling and fracking outside the US in one giant project with a Russian oil company in the arctic.
In both cases there are disasters. First in Oklahoma there were unexplained small earth quakes, in areas that had never experienced earthquakes. There was panic all around, people fearing that fracking caused earthquakes and the oil executives probably fearing it too but going to extraordinary lengths to bury data and obscure what was happening. Oklahoma practically bankrupted itself giving incentives to the oil companies. Their schools were a disaster until the people finally rose up and protested and they discovered they could tax the oil revenue and still have great schools. Eventually the earthquakes quieted down. It was discovered that the real problem was injecting the used water back into sensitive formations that the earthquakes happened and guidelines were developed to avoid that.
ExxonMobil was a case study for what happens when oil wealth enriches the rulers/government and does not benefit all citizens. At all. In fact after years of working with ExxobMobil to develop their offshore oil, there was so much corruption in Equatorial Guinea that the president's family were fabulously wealthy and ordinary people were poorer than they had been to begin with.
The case of Russia was not so simple, but nevertheless Putin's Russia had nothing going for it but a partnership with ExxonMobil until that was cut off by US sanctions after Russia expropriated Crimea, sent soldiers (disguised) into Ukraine, shot down an airliner, etC., etc. and the US put sanctions on Russia, which meant ExxonMobil could not work with the Russian oil company (which had no technology or know how of its own).
Putin has been "paying back" ever since, interfering in US elections, using fake news to co-opt American thinking.
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IBIS Read and Review: Blowout by Rachel Maddow 1 5 Nov 29, 2019 12:02PM
About Rachel Maddow
Rachel Maddow is host of the Emmy Award–winning Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC, as well as the author of Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power, a #1 New York Times bestseller. Maddow received a bachelor's degree in public policy from Stanford University and earned her doctorate in political science at Oxford University. She lives in New York City and Massachusetts with her partner, artist Rachel Maddow is host of the Emmy Award–winning Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC, as well as the author of Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power, a #1 New York Times bestseller. Maddow received a bachelor's degree in public policy from Stanford University and earned her doctorate in political science at Oxford University. She lives in New York City and Massachusetts with her partner, artist Susan Mikula. ...more
Books by Rachel Maddow
Trivia About Blowout: Corrupte...
Quotes from Blowout: Corrupte...
"We can see how many of the Euro-Atlantic countries are actually rejecting their roots, including the Christian values that constitute the basis of Western civilization. They are denying moral principles and all traditional identities: national, cultural, religious and even sexual. They are implementing policies" — 2 likes
"Standard DNA is shot through the oil industry, as are Standard's dominant traits: a penchant for pinching pennies, an eagerness to devour and expand, a mistrust and even hatred of government regulation, a vaguely delusional sense of higher calling, and a wary respect for innovation. Worth keeping these traits in mind, because they've gone on to shape the modern world. They still function as a character sketch—or maybe a psychological profile—of the richest, most powerful, and most destructive industry on the globe." — 1 likes