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Saudi America: The Truth About Fracking and How It's Changing the World Kindle Edition

by Bethany McLean (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 316 ratings
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Bestselling author Bethany McLean reveals the true story of fracking’s impact—on Wall Street, the economy and geopolitics

The technology of fracking in shale rock—particularly in the Permian Basin in Texas—has transformed America into the world’s top producer of both oil and natural gas. The U.S. is expected to be “energy independent” and a “net exporter” in less than a decade, a move that will upend global politics, destabilize Saudi Arabia, crush Russia’s chokehold over Europe, and finally bolster American power again.

Or will it?

Investigative journalist Bethany McLean digs deep into the cycles of boom and bust that have plagued the American oil industry for the past decade, from the financial wizardry and mysterious death of fracking pioneer Aubrey McClendon, to the investors who are questioning the very economics of shale itself. McLean finds that fracking is a business built on attracting ever-more gigantic amounts of capital investment, while promises of huge returns have yet to bear out. Saudi America tells a remarkable story that will persuade you to think about the power of oil in a new way.

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  1. Print length
    140 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Columbia Global Reports
  5. Publication date
    12 Sept. 2018
  6. File size
    1637 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
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Product description

Review

Named one of Vanity Fair's 11 Nonfiction Books to Read this Fall

800-CEO Reads Editor's Choice: "McLean exposes the faulty foundation not only of our supposed energy independence, but of the very desire for it....The sloganeering of “drill, baby, drill,” and the false, geopolitically fraught hope of energy independence it implies, ignores these basic business, economic, and existential human realities. In exposing them, McLean offers hope for a more reasonable discussion, a more sustainable and profitable industry, and, perhaps, a more integrated energy policy."

"As journalist Bethany McLean sketches with clarity and concision in this book, the shale revolution has had profound effects on the US, creating jobs and cutting energy costs, but many of the claims made for it have been overblown.... Unlike some who have taken a skeptical view of the shale industry, McLean is not trying to debunk it―those who have tried have been made to look foolish by its success in recent years ―but she does urge us to be cautious about being too trusting." ―Financial Times

"Bethany McLean explores fracking's nuanced success, but also cautions that this energy revolution is not the country's golden ticket to energy independence." ―NPR, Marketplace

"McLean, who was a co-author of the bestseller The Smartest Guys in the Room, has tapped into the recent history of the U.S. oil and gas boom. She describes geology in plain English, recounts the rise and fall of one of the country’s most flamboyant shale gas tycoons, and studies the political consequences of a United States that is far less dependent on oil imports than it was just a decade ago." ―The Washington Post

"Who cares about another crooked, over-compensated CEO? Bethany McLean does. She is the co-author of the brilliant dissection of the Enron scandal The Smartest Guys in the Room, and has written a slim book called Saudi America for Columbia Global Reports. The book suggests McClendon's life is more than just a tale of a greedy, white, male executive whirling through the upper echelon of American life. McClendon was fracking incarnate. And we need to understand fracking because it may be the cause of the next economic collapse." ―Los Angeles Review of Books

About the Author

Bethany McLean is the co-author of the bestseller The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron with Peter Elkind. Her second book, which she co-authored with Joe Nocera, is All the Devils are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis. Her most recent book is Shaky Ground: The Strange Saga of the U.S. Mortgage Giants. She is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and lives in Chicago.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07FSY6P3X
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Columbia Global Reports (12 Sept. 2018)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1637 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 140 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0999745441
  • Customer reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 316 ratings

About the author

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Bethany McLean

Bethany McLean

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Bethany McLean is a well-known journalist. Her March 2001 article in Fortune, "Is Enron Overpriced?," was the first in a national publication to openly question the company’s dealings.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
316 global ratings

Top review from United Kingdom

Shaun D
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 December 2018
Verified Purchase
I found this mini book a very interesting and informative read. I would recommend it to anybody interested in learning more about the US shale revolution.
Helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Peter Cabana
5.0 out of 5 stars GET THE FACTS STRAIGHT ON FRACKING
Reviewed in the United States on 12 December 2023
Verified Purchase
I wrote a book ENERGY REALITY WHAT THEY DON’T WANT YOU KNOW. Bethany McLean’s Saudi America: The Truth About and How It’s Changing the World is WHAT I NEEDED TO KNOW. Our energy future is unknown. We will all have to participate, educate, and keep ourselves informed. Misinformation from the fossil fuel industry ever since Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Trust to Saudi America made me realize not much has changed in the hydrocarbon business.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A very informative overview of the economic boom behind fracking
Reviewed in Canada on 7 June 2019
Verified Purchase
I'm happy I came across this book. It was suggested by one of our MBA professors as an unbiased and thorough perspective of the real economy and financial consequences behind the fracking boom. The author doesn't try to convince the reader, but rather offers a sober look and analysis for the reader to decide, as only time will judge if the fracking is a real THING or not.
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Very pleased
Reviewed in Canada on 6 September 2022
Verified Purchase
Pleased with product
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William E. Mitchell
4.0 out of 5 stars Good material, unevenly edited
Reviewed in the United States on 23 September 2018
Verified Purchase
Good book worth buying and reading. The actionable insight for investors: we still don't know whether fracking will turn out to have been profitable at historically normal interest rates -- and the evidence we do have suggests not.

The book comes off as rushed, not quite ready for publication. The sections of the book don't quite follow logically, and the chronology is confused. There are a few dangling partial sentences and missing words. In the worst case, there are these two sentences, nearly identical but with facts that don't match, both containing grammatical errors, within one page of each other.

"In the years following its IPO, Chesapeake was one of the best-performing stock [sic] on Wall Street, climbing from $0.47 per share to $34.44 per share."

And one page later:

"In the years following its IPO, Chesapeake was one of the best-performing stocks on Wall Street, climbing from $1.33 a per [sic] share (split adjusted) to almost $27 per share."

Careless for someone of McLean's stature. Presumably the fault is not with the author, but instead with whoever was supposed to be copy editing at Columbia Global Reports, the publisher.

Despite this, the content is good and worth buying.
15 people found this helpful
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dberberick
5.0 out of 5 stars Bethany McLean and Saudi America are the Real Deal
Reviewed in the United States on 19 September 2018
Verified Purchase
Bethany McLean absolutely knocked it out of the park with Saudi America. I cracked the cover, and literally didn’t get out of my chair until I finished. The upstream oil and gas sector needs capital like a whale needs plankton!!

I’ve been a geoscientist in the oil and gas industry for 35-years, and feel that I understand the business quite well, but I learned an incredible amount by reading Saudi America. Bethany’s analytical abilities, clarity of thought, and communication style, continue to impress and deliver. Not only is the book filled with accuracy and precision in facts and history, but Bethany’s ability to put it all into an understandable context, and to interpret the facts and events, is truly remarkable. Without any doubt, Bethany’s track record of understanding business, capital allocation, investment, and asset bubbles affords her the ability to see common themes in the many companies and industries she investigates. Her credibility and investigative expertise is impeccable. The oil and gas industry and its investors are extraordinarily blessed to get her time and attention for this work.

The other thing Saudi America has going for it is the story telling and entertainment factor. I love the science and business economics of oil and gas, but the optimistic, risk taking, wild, and entertaining human characters in the oil field are what give it life and soul. Bethany’s focus on Aubrey McClendon was perfect, and his story is as complex as the business is risky.

The book is fairly short, but is quite comprehensive in scope, history, business... and gives the reader a broad understanding and appreciation for the shale revolution we’re in the middle of. Saudi America is a must read, and a wonderful break from all of the political drama we can’t seem to get away from these days.

Bethany McLean's books are all treasures, and this is another great one !!
3 people found this helpful
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