The Frackers: The Outrageous Inside Story Of The New Billionaire Wildcatters (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
I am not so sure how 'outrageous' these stories were, however I did enjoy Zuckerman's biographical sketches of each company founder (George Mitchell, Harold Hamm, Aubrey McClendon, Tom Ward, Chariff Souki, etc), as well as the histories of the various companies mentioned (Chesapeake, Continental, Mitchell Energy, Cheniere, etc). Zuckerman also details the perceptions many held about U.S. oil and gas production during the 1990s and early 2000s, where many companies (majors like Chevron, Exxon, Phillips, etc) were looking outside of the U.S. to grow their production and reserves. In stark contrast to today's knowledge of how productive North American shale has been, the industry believed shale to be too costly and unproductive. Zuckerman did a good job highlighting this shift in perception.I would have rated this book 5 stars had it not been for Zuckerman's frequent over dramatization (as is apparent in the title of the book), and his lack of any expanded technical explanation of how hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling actually works (even an appendix would have worked). I think would have helped support his depiction of why so many in the industry were so skeptical of shale production, and why the combination of these two technologies was so successful.Overall, this was a fun read (particularly regarding the Oklahomans: Aubrey McClendon, Tom Ward, and Harold Hamm) and I would recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about the fracking boom and the oil and gas industry in general. Been awile since I rated a non-fiction book at 5 stars but this one was awesome. true, it covers a subject area that interests me a lot, but thought it was very well-researched and written. It did a great job discussing the race to develop fracking and horizontal drilling technologies and then grab promising drilling acreage while the complacent energy giants were sleeping or scoffing at the revolution in the making. It also does a nice job addressing some of the environmental arguments and touches upon the danger of the now disspiated "peak oil" fears of 10 years ago -- i.e., that we may become so used to business-as-usual with abundant natural gas and oil that it will stymie the push to alternative energy. The book gave me a lot of hope though because it shows what people can do when pushed to the brink of a complex problem and how solutions can be found.
What do You think about The Frackers: The Outrageous Inside Story Of The New Billionaire Wildcatters (2013)?
Indepth information about how tracking began and the risk taker factor of the oil business.
—Jam
An interesting story, unfortunately written in an uninspiring and formulaic manner.
—Hani
A good but incomplete history of tight oil and gas exploration in the US.
—melissa
