Blowout
Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth
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Blowout
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Narrated by:
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Rachel Maddow
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Written by:
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Rachel Maddow
About this listen
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.”
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What the critics say
“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)
What listeners say about Blowout
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- jennifer goldie
- 2019-10-10
Wow wow wow
I’m a huge Maddow fan. This is such a compelling story (and holy crap...it’s freaking true) I could not stop listening
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Quadratic
- 2019-11-21
Well-researched, though imbalanced by a narrative
It's an excellent book for making the case that it sets out to make. Clearly well-researched, and (at least for someone as boring as me) it was an interesting read with minimal filler (though one or two chapters may qualify).
My only substantive problem with it is that it felt like the plaintiff's argument on its own, with the facts honed to a particular ideology, anthropomorphizing an industry into a being that can be judged across generations, with no real attempt to explore rebuttal offered by the *individuals* named. In a word, it needs more balance.
The audio quality is fine. I marked it 4 stars there because the bar has been raised elsewhere on audible and because the (bizarre) step was taken to play a Russian song in the middle of the book. That's right up there with Tolkien's random elf poetry. Could have been left out.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2021-03-01
Way to go Rachel! Brilliant book !!
All the way from AB Canada, this book shined light on the oil and gas catastrophe for which I never knew existed. How it’s ruined our great land from corruption to climate crisis.
Rachel made it a fun and informative listen.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- payne
- 2021-12-16
Oil made fun!
Too get gas and drive your car , a staple in day to day life. it's hard to believe the insanity and history behind that meraculis flammable liquid.
You won't Wana put those headphones down !
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Harry
- 2019-10-24
Incredible Book
Incredible book. A must read for everyone who wants to know how the world works.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- toby snelgrove
- 2019-10-15
Follow the money
Oil, corruption, and selfishness. Typical Maddow sarcastic smart-assness but well researched. To be read NOW.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- KaliDesautelsReads
- 2020-02-03
Maddow is “Fracking” hilarious
When one reads about oil and gas oligarchs, Russian spies, the Trump election, and the general madness of the past few years, it is hard to imagine that this would be a fun listen. But oh my goodness it is! I feel like you miss out on some of the laughs without Rachel Maddow’s inflections on her statements.
Well researched, well written, well worth delving into natural gas wells with her.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anneke Leupin
- 2019-11-23
This is a must,to learn where we live!
By listening to this book I learn so much. I feel that I can join an intelligent conversation,with people who know the political world,or at least think they know it. Thank you Rachel for your performance, you read as if you are right here in the room!
Thank you!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Alex
- 2020-03-08
Powerful and eye opening.
Highly recommend this book. As world citizens, we need to stop believing in the retoric most powerful corporations make "we produce jobs for the economy" and ensure proper legislation is created and enforced to make sure citizens are treated fairly and our world respected and cared for. It should be our global purpose to make sure corporations do no corrupt our governments for their gains. If you are a corporate leader reading this, make the effort to ensure your company is a good corporate citizen. This book brings to light the corporate "the end justifies the means" mentality via excellent research and presentation of data and the sad truths we live in today.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- CFnt
- 2020-02-18
Humanity and real analysis at its best combo.
Rachel provides the data, the analysis and above all the humanity needed in these times!
Thank you for your diligent and discerning work always.
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