Blowout

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

By: Rachel Maddow

Narrated by: 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.