Blowout

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

By: Rachel Maddow

Narrated by: Rachel Maddow

Length: 15 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

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.”

©2019 Rachel Maddow (P)2019 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“At its heart, this book is a tale of two countries, the United States and Russia, and how, as Maddow sees it—individually and together—they have been warped by a rapacious fossil fuel industry. . . . Fulminating comes easy to Rachel Maddow. What sets her apart from other serial fulminators is that she does it with facts—and sardonic wit.”—Washington Post

“[Maddow] may be a popular, progressive news-and-commentary anchor on MSNBC, but it's not to be forgotten that she holds a doctorate in politics from Oxford and seems to devour whole libraries of data before breakfast each day. . . . Expect a tweetstorm as Maddow’s indictment of a corrupt industry finds readers—and it deserves many.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Known for her intense inquiries into complex subjects, Maddow brings her laser-like intuitiveness and keen and wily perception to Big Oil, that stalwart of global economics, and the shadowy nexus of commerce and politics. Maddow likes murky, the murkier the better, and her examination of the intricacies of off-shore drilling, transnational pipelines, and hydraulic fracking is as deep as the coveted wells themselves. . . . Like trailblazing journalists before her, Maddow exposes both the slapdash and sinister practices underlying geopolitics and energy policies and revels in peeling back the layers of malfeasance to stoke righteous outrage.”—Booklist (starred review)

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

Brilliant, Terrifying and yet you Must listen...

If you are already familiar with the work of the brilliant Rachel Maddow, this book is a, ‘no- brainer’ choice for you. It contains her unique gift of thorough, precise research wrapped in her fascinating craft of, ‘story telling’ which is all refreshingly presented in outstanding writing. The story, while always interesting is truly heartbreaking and terrifying, yet Rachel manages to keep you coming along because on the one hand it’s like a shocking (but real life) horror movie and on the other hand you’re desperate for some hope that we (democracy, the planet) stand any chance at all. The added bonus of Rachel narrating her own work allows us to hear every nuance, just as she intended as she wrote it, and the effect is captivating. She still manages to make us laugh through our tears and instruct without preaching. Every single high school, college, book club, legislator and adult human should read this book - and then - show the world, “this is what democracy looks like”. Rachel Maddow is a national treasure and we’d better get it together and start listening to her. She’s on to the truth of it here and she’s lighting the way (hopefully via sunlight) for any reasonable person to learn, understand and then act, if we are to save ourselves, and the future of the planet. Listen to this book and then buy one for everyone you know. As with any real life story, it’s far more interesting than fiction and further, assuming you don’t work in the industry, and perhaps even if you do, you’ll be stunned to realize how much you don’t know about what you don’t know. Don’t pass up the chance to listen to Rachel explain how everything that’s happening right now is all connected and after you run though a few stages of grief you’ll find yourself well rewarded for listening because you’ll be so much more well informed and you got there by being thoroughly engaged and fascinated throughout the entire journey.

Must Read

I was born and raised in west Texas (direction not city) and I know the oil life. The impact the oil industry has on our communities appears is different conversation. This book gives insight on how it is all connected and how sad and destructive it is.

Oil and power makes me think of what my dad would say to me as a young kid, “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should”.

Thank you for doing your research and making sure it is accurate.

Rachel Maddow at her finest, again

Blowout is a logical and understandable layout of the otherwise opaque and indecipherable energy industry and its intertwining with governments around the world, especially the U.S. and Russia. Exhaustively researched and beautifully written in a manner that could only be achieved by the crown jewel of American journalism, the only thing that could possibly make it better would be for Maddow to narrate her own work, which, of course, she does. Bonus points for the Pussy Riot track, which I now feel compelled to buy.

Maybe Trump's topple should be "Blowout-gate"???

Gripping read!
putting so many moving parts in perspective.

Why >>did<< Russia need to swing the American election?
Maddow was already investigating the bones of this conflict before Whistleblower. So she provides the underlying framework.
Then she gives us clues and a challenge to "What can freedom-loving people do now?"

This book is enlightenment and inspiration...
but not without some serious reminders and cautionary tales.

A bit of Pussy Riot music added to the track as a bonus... ;)

Thank you, Rachel.
You read it well.

(I'm new to the Audible format, preferring words in print. But I'm happy that I took the plunge for this book tonight.
I hope I'll be able to update this review with more detail.)

I live in Oklahoma

Thank God for Rachel Maddow. I live in Oklahoma and I remember one winter Propane shot up to 4.00 a gallon. It took everything I had to just stay warm that winter. I now know why... God bless you Rachel and all that you are and do. You my dear are a national treasure. Thank you for writing this book.

This book is kickaxx

I live in a oil and gas state...in SW Kansas. Blowout is an excellent book, explains how we as a nation became so dependent on the industry and how internationally oil and gas has corrupted small and large countries. Analysis Russia's dependency on oil and gas production for their economy and why they have threated Ukraine...Western Europe and others. Blowout was such an eye opener on how oil and gas ties into so much of our world's interactions. Alternative methods need to be found to save our planet from distruction. Only negative is Schlumberger is not pronounced as Schlumberger...need to use the French pronounciation, such a little thing for such a great listen. Will be purchasing the hard copy next. Don't miss out on this great read.

More than I ever wanted to know about oil and gas.

I never had an interest in knowing anything about the oil and gas companies and I was perfectly happy not thinking about Russia in my daily life. Unfortunately my life has been turned into an ugly reality show I never wanted or watched. Since RM can explain anything in such a way that I can understand, I thought it was time to to be schooled. I gritted my teeth and listened to her melodious voice weave me a despicable B grade horror story of corruption . Thank you Tillerson and Putin for your absolute greed so great that we could no longer look away. Thank You Rachel Maddow for telling a story that we all need to hear.

Well worth the time ...

I’ve been listening to Rachel Maddow since she started her career and needless to say I’m a fan. The viewpoint and research of matters are spot on in the book as I’ve worked in the Arctic in the Oil & Gas industry as a contractor. Rarely have I read such an accurate depiction of what it is like from someone outside the business. Well done and thank you.

Rachel Maddow is a national treasure

This book has it all and points us in the direction needed to save democracy and the planet.

Excellent

Very well researched and presented
Everyone who cares about the planet, democracy and openness should read or listen to this book

Riveting

genuinely easy to listen to and just as easy to be educated and then appalled by what has been going on. I do hope Ms. Maddow writes more books. he podcast on Agnew is already excellent.

fascinating story

Absolutely loved this. I'd listen to Rachel reading a shopping list, but the amount of detail that this book goes into is scary and fascinating at the same time. The amounts of money and the depth of the global corruption is staggering to listen to

Brilliant and essential

Extremely well researched and written. Opened my eyes to corruption and wrong doing in Russia and the oil industry. It should and probably will make you mad but it joins dots that really need joining and now it's up to us to make sure politicians get control back and protect our democracy.

Inciteful expose

Brilliantly written and narrated. If only everyone could listen to this and take note! Can't wait for whatever Rachel explores next.

Very long for what it was

I have been an avid watcher of TRMS for well over 10 years (I am a UK citizen based in the UK), and love it. So I was surprised to end up so disappointed with this book. Many parts of it just washed over me and I felt it could have been a lot more concise.

We know Russia did it - Rachel explains why

Fantastic book in both content and composition. Reading by author is great.

I found myself making notes for use in my professional work.

Compelling, surprisingly interesting & very worrying

A brilliantly written book read superbly by the author herself. I never thought I would be interested by the world of oil & gas (I mean, c’mon) but the pathway between that industry, the corruption of governments and officials, all the detriment of the people. All the people. Everywhere. The question left is what do we do now?

Powerful book

An atomic bomb of a book! Spot on Rachel! This book has so many insightful stories that explain the impact of the oil industries in politics and environmental issues.

Brilliant story telling and a real eye opener

Brilliantly written and narrated, lots of interwoven stories about the oil industry that explain a lot about the world we live in today and the challenge we face if we want to shift away from our addiction to fossil fuels. It could have been a dry topic but the author's humour made it a really enjoyable listen.