The Frackers

Things looked grim for American energy in 2006. Oil production was in steep decline and natural gas was hard to find. The Iraq War threatened the nation's already tenuous relations with the Middle East. China was rapidly industrializing and competing for resources. This book tells the story of the tycoons behind the US fracking controversy.

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The Frackers by Gregory Zuckerman, bestselling author of The Greatest Trade Ever, tells the untold story of the tycoons behind the US fracking controversy. Things looked grim for American energy in 2006. Oil production was in steep decline and natural gas was hard to find. The Iraq War threatened the nation's already tenuous relations with the Middle East. China was rapidly industrializing and competing for resources. Major oil companies had just about given up on new discoveries on US soil, and a new energy crisis loomed. But a handful of men believed everything was about to change. By experimenting with hydraulic fracturing through extremely dense shale - a process now known as fracking - these 'wildcatters' started a revolution. In just a few years, they solved America's dependence on imported energy, triggered a global environmental controversy - and made and lost astonishing fortunes. The frackers have already transformed the eco - nomic, environmental, and geopolitical course of history, and like the Rockefellers and the Gettys before them, they're using their wealth and power to influence politics, education, entertainment, sports, and many other fields.
Activists argue that the same methods that are creating so much new energy are also harming our water supply and threatening environmental chaos. Award-winning reporter Gregory Zuckerman gained exclusive access to the frackers, chronicling the untold story of how they transformed the nation and the world. The result is a dramatic narrative that stretches from the barren fields of North Dakota to the tense Wall Street boardrooms. The Frackers also tells the story of the angry opposition unleashed by this revolution, and explores just how dangerous fracking really is. Gregory Zuckerman is a special writer at The Wall Street Journal and the bestselling author of The Greatest Trade Ever. He is a two-time winner of the Gerald Loeb Award and a winner of the New York Press Club Journalism Award.