Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth

This is for sure some of Rachel Maddow's best work. And that's saying something given her prior achievements in relationship to ‘deep-dive’ journalism. It should be required reading for anybody who wants to understand how we got on the near precipice of the staggering environmental catastrophe known as ‘global warming’ and now increasingly referred to with that other euphemism - ’climate change’. The book is riveting, charming, infuriating, and brilliant in its depiction of the co-option of many governments, particularly our own, in the breakneck sociopathic/utilitarian exploitation of natural resources, in the service of unlimited fossil fuels, long-term environmental consequences be damned. All skillfully rationalized (jobs, energy independence, 'progress,' etc.)And yet I have to say, despite my enormous respect for this book, it comes up short framing the bigger picture of how something this catastrophic might really have happened. Standing back a goodly distance, one has to say that one common denominator is that we find sociopaths or at least individuals with significant sociopathic features in leadership positions within both powerful global corporations and within many governments. Rachel's book is littered with them - they are the stars and cast of her story. They simply do not care about the consequences to others of their exploitation of the environment, do not care that they are sacrificing the long-term planetary health for short-term gain, and simply do not care in anything but the most token fashion about the world's citizens, especially the less fortunate and less privileged ones who will certainly bear the extremely punitive impacts of climate change in the intermediate term. Not only do they not care but I believe many of them are genuinely psychologically incapable of caring. On the other hand, they care greatly about money, and the acquisition and corrupt exercise of power. And that's the problem. What the hell are we doing? Rachel talks about how real democracy is the only answer to this – but it's worth remembering that our increasingly manipulated democracy just gave the reins of an aggrandized presidency to Donald Trump, perhaps our second clearly sociopathic president since WWII. But they are everywhere.That is the question which the book begs but does not ask explicitly: why do we so often put sociopaths in charge – not in one place but all over the place? Can't we see who they are? This is really the disturbing question that Rachel does not ask us clearly enough to ponder. Why do we find people like Trump, Putin, Duterte, Erdoğan and yes, paradigmatically Hitler, worthy of leadership and the public trust? How did Putin become the richest and most powerful man in the world running what is essentially a Mafia state with nuclear weapons, working to destabilize and undermine all the Western democracies? What is wrong with us, that as sheep that we repeatedly and willingly enable the most ruthless of wolves?Even a cursory review of our history forces a conclusion that this alarming trend of populist naïveté, and the serial give away of power to the sociopathic is nothing new. If anything, quite the opposite. We apparently have been suckers for a never-ending parade of sociopathic and narcissistic leaders who have charmed us, seduced us and demagogued us into giving them power for as long as we have had human history, often times by channeling populist fear and hatred for out groups and other all-too-convenient scapegoats. The worst forms of tribalism appear to be the best friends and core weaponry of the worst sociopathic leaders. While they don't care about the environment, or the masses they exploit, they do care deeply about money and power. And they are good at acquiring and keeping it - and getting more of it! But it's never enough, as nothing seems to fill a hidden emptiness.And yet this answer itself is also unsatisfying - and gets each of us off the hook. We have to confess that our own utilitarian attitude towards Nature, that the biosphere on this planet is just a pile of resources to exploit without concern, and not something that we have to shepherd and care for, this exploitive and utilitarian attitude has been the invisible partner and enabler of our sociopathic corporate and government leadership around the exploitation of fossil fuels.Fossil fuels have powered the wonders of our technological civilization, but that has led us to a fundamental overconfidence. We have too much faith in technology – technology cannot fix everything, and it cannot replace a fatally damaged ecology. One thing is clear – we are running out of time in which to figure these things out, to save the good and even wondrous parts of our technological civilization. Rachel's brilliant book hopefully will motivate us to take desperately needed action . . . and soon, and to better see through the fog of lies by those with the sickest of motives. As she says, real democracy must win out, or it, and much of the biosphere, dies in a sixth mass extinction that already has a scary level of momentum.

The history of the oil and gas industry and how it has permeated politics, trade relations and more is chronicled in BLOWOUT, by Rachel Maddow. Maddow starts with Rockefeller and the beginning of the oil industry and continues through the beginning of the Trump administration. Maddow covers the environmental impacts of the industry, the greed and narcissistic dominance that breeds from oil and gas, and the political highs and lows that have crossed paths with desire to be master of oil and gas. Maddow does an excellent job of providing historical texture to each facet of the oil and gas industry. From the history of Oklahoma City and the state of Oklahoma, to the creation and evolution of the magnates in the industry, to the foreign, specifically Russian, approach to oil and gas collection and all of the right and wrong ways they went about it. Maddow's black humor and harsh criticism of industry and political leaders is clear; she uses those tools to point out the absurdity that all of the greed and naricissism that the industry creates. One of the best aspects of the book is the description of fracking; how it works, the benefits of it and if done improperly, the multitude of problems it creates. Well-written and compelling to read, BLOWOUT fosters a greater understanding of the entire industry and while there are moments that Maddow is clearly making her opinions known, the core of the book is refreshingly unbiased and factual. Thank you to Crown Publishing, Rachel Maddow, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Another fascinating and eye opening read by my favorite anchor/reporter/ hero. An important addition to her previous book this one focuses on the oil and gas industries. Russia, Tillerson Exon Mobil are all exposed and it’s a mouth gaping account of corporate greed, lies and how we need to act now, before it’s too late.

A good book but seems to be made up of chunks I assume she covered on her TV show. The section on Oklahoma and the attempt to rely on lightly regulated capitalism is a fascinating case study in US corruption and failure. For the corruption in Russia it is worth reading Red Notice which is better. The long history of oil industry lobbying is instructive. It is cheaper for Exxon to finance a few politicians and lobby groups than clean up their industry. Says it all.

This is a very interesting and very well written history of the oil and gas sector with an American focus and keen eye on how the sector has developed in Russia. I follow the news closely each day, but I still learned a lot about even quite recent events. If you are interested in learning more about the oil and gas sector, climate change or corruption around the world, this should be an interestin read.

The history of oil and gas exploration has always been deeply ingrained in politics and conservation as extracting oil and gas is exactly at odds with care for the environment. Rachel Maddow, who has her own programme on MSNBC five evening a week, is a matchless explainer of complex stories, pointing out the links along the torturous chains of greed and corruption. This is an essential book of illumination and warning and is at the absolute heart of the reasons Trump is beholden to Russia.

I got this book after a plug on MSNBC and I am glad I did. It has all what you would expect from Maddow, attention to detail, a cheeky sense of humour and a push to the boundaries of what you know. The only negative bits are a little rambling at times and a couple of events/incidents that could have been edited out. However, the bulk of the book far outweighs them. Good work Rachel.

This is one of the most informative and entertaining non-fiction books I have read in years. The author exposes the astonishing level of corruption created by the oil industry at home and abroad. She attacks the hypocrisy of top politicians and industry figures with excoriating wit. Everyone who is concerned about the future of the environment, and of democracy, should read this book.