Blowout

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

De: Rachel Maddow

Narrado por: Rachel Maddow

2021 GRAMMY® Winner for Best Spoken Word Album

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Big Oil and Gas Versus Democracy—Winner Take All

“A rollickingly well-written book, filled with fascinating, exciting, and alarming stories about the impact of the oil and gas industry on the world today.”—The New York Times Book Review

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.”

chilling...

i lived sixty years of my life in Oklahoma. i have had family, friends and clients who have lived their entire lives in or on the fringes of the oil patch. i have witnessed and they have experienced the booms and busts of the oil patch. some of Madow's story i already knew, but i am shocked and stunned at how much was totally unknown to me. i have watched Madow enough to have great respect for her diligence, intellect and honesty, even when she occasionally comes close to going on a rant. i have learned that if i sit still and listen, i will almost always find her compelling and convincing. we are in really deep trouble here - way more than i had ever imagined

Rachael: the storyteller

Rachael Maddow is the best storyteller I know. Her wonder, enthusiasm, and integrity are incomparable. She can explain anything.

Excellent!

Well-researched, fascinating and timely expose of the fossil fuel industry and its geo-political impact past, present and future. Perfectly read by the author and delightfully spotlighting the dulcet charms of Pussy Riot (only 90 seconds, lol)—this is a feast for the ears as well as the mind. The narrative is so engaging, one forgets how challenging the subject matter is to the uninitiated. Despite some very discouraging conclusions, the author refuses to succumb to defeatism, instead turning to the hope of global resistance and activism.

Rachel Maddow for President!

A tour de force review of the ills of the oil and gas stranglehold on nation states the world over! Corruption has corrupted absolutely! A deep depression has descended over our US of A - how can we continue this madness? Thank god for Rachel Maddow’s clear and compelling parsing of the current state of world affairs in this age of oil and gas dominance. Good luck to our Senators and Representatives who cannot say to their constituencies that they didn’t know! Word is out! We do not want to live in a gangster state or a gangster world - where money is the only language of negotiation. Where humanity’s needs and desires are shit on by thug rulers and undermined by corporate sponsored murders and economic destruction. So tell us Congress - what’s your next move? My vote hangs in the balance.

I'm just sad it's over!

If you watch her show at all, you'll find that having her read this book will be like an extra special treat of having more time with such a sane, reassuring voice guiding you through something exceedingly complex and timely. She pulled off in a grander scale the same thing she accomplishes every night: pulling seemingly disparate threads and weaving them together in a cogent, intelligent way until you see the full picture coming into focus. It's an incredibly informative book from several points of view - you learn a bit of geology, the history of the oil and gas industry, and a lot of geopolitics. I liked how she structured the book - the same themes, places, and people would pop up again and again, pushing her narrative forward through important dates and facts without being too much of one thing at once. The whole picture she painted here is pertinent, enlightening, and incredibly alarming. However, there are glimpses of hope. I'm just sad it's over.

Pulls Info Dots into Clear Picture

This book is a must read if you believe or think that democracy isn’t all that important. And a must read for all of us that do believe in and/or think that living in a democracy (government by and for the the people) is the only way to go. I’ve read the Mueller report, consistently watch the news, listen to podcasts, and read every book/article on applicable history and current events. As usual, Rachel Maddow pulls all the data into coherent understandable categories that could lead to the fall of democracy but if we democracy believers get into action democracy can flourish.

Wow

Rachel Maddow has delivered a unique and thorough history for this country and for the world. She reveals the ugly underpinnings which are usually and deliberately kept hidden from average citizens. She does this in a similar way that she delivers her television news but without all of the fluff and filler I find completely unbearable to wade through in that format. I listened to her own audiobook narration with wide-eyed awe.

Rachel’s biting summary of Putin’s failures as a world leader compared tit for tat with the ways he could have lead Russia into a truly great world power cemented my own disdain while at the same time, made me actually worry for her safety in laying him bare for all the world to see. Rachel is brave in a way that few are in this country.

I heard Rachel express the wish she could be like Molly Ivins in the recent and fantastic documentary, Raise Hell: The Life & Times Of Molly Ivins, and I thought throughout the entire listen of this book that she IS like Molly Ivins. Rachel is profoundly intelligent and she shares her unique gifts of combining that intelligence with thorough research, sharp biting humor and historical context in a way that has made her a force itself in the world.

This book reads like a John le Carré meets Stephen King novel. Their novels you need read a few dozen times to get all the characters and details straight. At least I need to do that and I enjoy each read or listen more than the last. I have already listened to this audiobook twice and am about to press play on my third listen. I predict that I will listen several more times and will then look up the books Rachel references to deepen my own knowledge base of this amazing story of America, Russia, oil & gas, and the world.

Thank you Rachel Maddow! I still cannot wade through the shows fluff & filler format, but I will eagerly await everything you write and narrate. Keep on raising hell!

Slime and scum ruling our world...

I knew much of this, but it still shocked me. Here's to renewable energy, healing our planet------and making the greedy pay to clean it up. (And, uh, I really hope that Rachel has really good security.) She is the new Walter Cronkite.

Thanks Rachel

This should be required information for our future political landscape. All the dirty oil/gas industry dots have been connected. Thanks Rachel.

Wow.

Rachel is one of those who see the world as it is, skillfully and insightfully tells that story, and inspires us to make our story be on the caring and positive side of the scale. This book will help.