The risk of implosion both economic and personal comes across in the truly tragic life of Chesapeake founder Aubery McClendon. There are no guarantees, no promises that oil will be found. We come to understand the innate gambles that explorers on each technology, project and well take. Maddow manages to sprinkle a little bit of oil and gases manifest destiny across the pages. From the fabled rise of Mitchell energy through the pioneering work of Nick Steknsberger to horizontal drilling. 40 or so years later the vision has been realised -energy independence has been achieved.īig personalities bring the narrative to life. The lengths the American governments went to ensure energy security through nuclear explosions will shock and alarm many. The damage it has wrought to the environment is writ large alongside the fortunes made and lost. The history of Fracking is dealt with deftly. Much of the material here will be familiar to industry insiders.
This is the first time I’ve seen it brought together in a compelling narrative which is accessible to the general public. The familiar drum beat of poisened water wells, boom and bust and catastrophic spills going back decades. Rachel Maddow’s foray into the murkey world of oil and gas is a tour de-force- bringing together the fracking, Russian geopolitics and big finance.
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