Boom How Fracking Ignited the American Energy Revolution & Changed the World

Russell Gold, a brilliant and dogged investigative reporter at andlt;I andgt;The Wall Street Journalandlt;/Iandgt;, has spent more than a decade reporting on one of the biggest stories of our time: the spectacular, world-changing rise of and#8220;fracking.and#8221; Recognized as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and a recipient of the Gerald Loeb Award for his work, Gold has traveled along the pipelines and into the hubs of this countryand#8217;s energy infrastructure; he has visited frack sites from Texas to North Dakota; and he has conducted thousands of interviews with engineers and wildcatters, CEOs and roughnecks, environmentalists and politicians. He has also sifted through reams of engineering reports, lawsuit transcripts, and financial filings. The result is an essential bookand#8212;a commanding piece of journalism, an astounding study of human ingenuity, and an epic work of storytelling.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Fracking has vociferous critics and fervent defenders, but the debate between these camps has obscured the actual story: Fracking has become a fixture of the American landscape and the global economy. It has upended the business models of energy companies around the globe, and it has started to change geopolitics and global energy markets in profound ways. Gold tells the story of this once-obscure oilfield technologyand#8212;a story with an incredible cast of tycoons and geologists, dreamers and drillers, speculators and skeptics, a story that answers a critical question of our time: Where will the energy come from to power our worldand#8212;and what price will we have to pay for it?

"Russell Goldand#8217;s andlt;iandgt;The Boomandlt;/iandgt; is a double quest. He tells the story of the biggest innovation in energy so far in this centuryand#8212;the shale gas revolution. He captures the personalities, and the drama and surprises, and brings clarity to the debate about the environmental impactand#8212;and what it means for the U.S. economy and and#8220;energy independence.and#8221; But itand#8217;s also a more personal story and#8211; about and#8220;The Farmand#8221; in rural Pennsylvania where he spent time as a child, and his quest to understand what is happening in this new age of shale gas."

and#8220;In andlt;iandgt;The Boomandlt;/iandgt;,andlt;iandgt; andlt;/iandgt;Russell Gold provides a compelling account of the last half century of natural gas technology development. Driven by hunches, large ambitions and even larger personalities, the story of fracking is the story of innovation, American style. Gold delves into the growing conflict between economic development and concerns over environmental damage, and explains why fracking is seen by some as a vital bridge to a sustainable energy future and feared by others as another excuse to postpone addressing the risks of climate changeand#8230;. andlt;iandgt;The Boomandlt;/iandgt; puts a human face on the unfinished story of our struggle to transition to a sustainable world.and#8221;

"Gold's book is an early must-read for 2014: it is both a thorough and fascinating examination of the fracking economy and the technological innovations that have made these new riches accessible (including the often catastrophic damage done in the process of obtaining them)."

"An insiderand#8217;s guide to the most controversial energy-production technique in the United States."

and#8220;Gold delivers an engaging and expansive education on the promise and risks involved with the sudden rise of fracking for oil and natural gas in the United Statesand#8230; Gold delivers a balanced analysis weighing the benefits (the reduced use of dirtier coal, an end to the reliance on foreign oil and foreign entanglements, and sudden and reliable abundance of energy supply) against the pitfalls (the impacts on the environment and quality of life as energy companies stampede to secure leases and rush to drill, often in populated areas). Worthy of the attention of both frackingand#8217;s boosters and opponents, Goldand#8217;s insightful reportage supplies a well-rounded view of a polarizing subject.and#8221;

and#8220;Whether you think fracking is our salvation or an agent of environmental destruction, andlt;Iandgt;The Boomandlt;/Iandgt; is worth your time.and#8221;

"Combining lucid explanations of frackingand#8217;s technical aspects with the practiceand#8217;s more dramatic backstory, Goldand#8217;s work is a tour de force of contemporary journalism that will captivate anyone concerned with the future of energy consumption and andlt;BRandgt; our rapidly changing climate.and#8221;

and#8220;This deftly handled account of the shale revolution provides a sobering assessment of the current limits of alternative energy, making for a nuanced treatment of an issue too many would prefer to see in black and whiteand#8230;Mr. Gold performs a valuable service by looking at it from a historical, economic, political and environmental perspectiveand#8230;his clear, thorough treatment of the subject is the starting point for a more informed discussion of energy and environmental policy.and#8221;

"Russell Gold's andlt;Iandgt;The Boomandlt;/Iandgt;, authoritative and fairly balanced, is a welcome guide - the best all-around book yet on fracking."

and#8220;[The Boom] brings new clarity to a subject awash in hype from all sidesand#8230; a thoughtful, well-written and carefully researched book that provides the best overview yet of the pros and cons of fracking. Gold quietly leads both supporters and critics of drilling to consider other views.and#8221;

and#8220;[An] engaging story about the rise of fracking and how it has changed the energy landscape. Deep down, the book is a story about individual choices playing out against the wider energy landscape [and#8230;] And, in the steady hands of Gold, a Wall Street Journal energy reporter and Pulitzer Prize finalist, the book ranges into a thorough explanation of fracking itself.and#8221;

and#8220;The Boom marries the muscly prose of a beat reporter with a flair for finding compelling characters and telling anecdotes around this once-obscure oilfield technology.and#8221;

and#8220;An excellent, fair-minded, engaging bookand#8230; Goldand#8217;s words tell a dramatic and engrossing story. The book is well-informed and well-told: a great job of reporting.and#8221;

and#8220;Gold brings clarity to a subject awash in hype from all sides. It's a thoughtful, well-written and carefully researched book that provides the best overview yet of the pros and cons of fracking.and#8221;

and#8220;[A] revelatory and a cautionary taleand#8230;illustrates how dramatically Americaand#8217;s energy equation has been rewritten in less than a decade.and#8221;

An award-winning journalist and Pulitzer Prize finalist offers an insightful, no-holds-barred exploration of today's most controversial yet promising new energy technology: fracking.
Russell Gold, a brilliant and dogged investigative reporter at The Wall Street Journal, has spent more than a decade reporting on one of the biggest stories of our time: the spectacular, world-changing rise of "fracking." Recognized as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and a recipient of the Gerald Loeb Award for his work, Gold has traveled along the pipelines and into the hubs of this country's energy infrastructure; he has visited frack sites from Texas to North Dakota; and he has conducted thousands of interviews with engineers and wildcatters, CEOs and roughnecks, environmentalists and politicians. He has also sifted through reams of engineering reports, lawsuit transcripts, and financial filings. The result is an essential book--a commanding piece of journalism, an astounding study of human ingenuity, and an epic work of storytelling.
Fracking has vociferous critics and fervent defenders, but the debate between these camps has obscured the actual story: Fracking has become a fixture of the American landscape and the global economy. It has upended the business models of energy companies around the globe, and it has started to change geopolitics and global energy markets in profound ways. Gold tells the story of this once-obscure oilfield technology--a story with an incredible cast of tycoons and geologists, dreamers and drillers, speculators and skeptics, a story that answers a critical question of our time: Where will the energy come from to power our world--and what price will we have to pay for it?

An award-winning journalist and Pulitzer Prize finalist offers an insightful, no-holds-barred exploration of todayand#8217;s most controversial yet promising new energy technology: fracking.andlt;brandgt;andlt;brandgt;Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is the process of injecting fluid into the ground at extremely high pressure in order to fracture shale rocks and release the oil and natural gas inside. It has been the subject of three major films, countless news articles, and has become a hotly contested topic both for its environmental impact and its positive effect on the economy and job creation. andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;In andlt;iandgt;The Boomandlt;/iandgt;, Russell Gold examines both sides of the arguments and illuminates the truth of this frequently misunderstood technology. It is a thrilling journey filled with memorable and colorful characters: a green-minded Texas oilman who created the first modern frack; an Oklahoman natural gas empireand#8211;builder who gave the world an enormous new supply of energy but was brought down by his own success; and a cast of many. Gold melds his natural gift for engaging, in-depth storytelling and reportage with his insight into the energy industry to bring to life the fascinating history of how this major new source is changing the way we use energy. andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;The Boomandlt;/Iandgt; is not simply the story of fracking: It is the compelling and thought-provoking story of the modern global economy and how the United Statesand#8212;and the worldand#8212;have been forever changed.

Russell Goldandlt;b andgt; andlt;/bandgt;has reported on energy regularly in andlt;i andgt;The Wall Street Journalandlt;/iandgt; since 2002. His coverage of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was honored with a Gerald Loeb Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He lives in Austin, Texas.andlt;b andgt;andlt;/bandgt;