Book

Of Roughnecks & Riches: A Start-Up in the Great American Fracking Boom

2026

Synopsis

Deep beneath fracking’s endless headlines—some good, some bad—lies a business fraught with risk and resilience, greed and grace…and unrelenting madness.

The missteps, the abysmal timing, the pitiful, stumbling overreach, none were recent developments. All were part of an early onset failure, all wired into my DNA from the start. The symptom that was my fledgling frack company, but the cause, the reason, that was all me. I’ll make a hurried, overly zealous decision to do something, then just do it. I’ll assume that if I do, I’ll land on my feet. The bedrock of all my assumptions has always been Why shouldn’t I land on my feet? Why though? Why so damned cavalier?

It is because I am an entrepreneur.

I’m not necessarily proud of it, either, this inescapable disarrangement, irrepressible and agitating against authority, seeking difficulty over ease, naivety over season. It’s the same bullheadedness that marks all entrepreneurs; our cacophonous, messy catchall of a group which, by all reasonable standards, is a shit-poor group to belong to.

Suggested Reading

The Boom: How Fracking Ignited the American Energy Revolution and Changed the World

First invented in 1947, hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has not only become a major source of energy, it is changing the way we use energy, and the energy we use. It is both a threat and a godsend for the environment, and it is leading the revival of manufacturing in the United States. A definit...

The End of the German Monarchy: The Decline and Fall of the Hohenzollerns

By the autumn of 1918 Germany was on the verge of starvation-the result of four years of war and blockade. Sailors led a revolt in Wilhelmshaven on 29 October 1918, followed by the Kiel mutiny in the first days of November cascading eventually to Germany's capitulation and the Kaiser's abdication. T...

We use cookies to improve your experience on our website. By continuing to browse, you accept our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.