"ExxonMobil has met its match in Coll, an elegant writer and dogged
reporter . . . extraordinary . . . monumental." --The Washington
Post
"Fascinating . . . Private Empire is a book meticulously prepared as
if for trial . . . a compelling and elucidatory work." --Bloomberg
From the award-winning and bestselling author of Ghost Wars and
Directorate S, an extraordinary exposé of Big Oil. **Includes a
profile of current Secretary of State and former chairman and chief
executive of ExxonMobil, Rex Tillerson
**
In this, the first hard-hitting examination of ExxonMobil--the largest
and most powerful private corporation in the United States--Steve Coll
reveals the true extent of its power. Private Empire pulls back the
curtain, tracking the corporation's recent history and its central role
on the world stage, beginning with the Exxon Valdez accident in 1989 and
leading to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in
2010. The action spans the globe--featuring kidnapping cases, civil
wars, and high-stakes struggles at the Kremlin--and the narrative is
driven by larger-than-life characters, including corporate legend Lee
"Iron Ass" Raymond, ExxonMobil's chief executive until 2005, and current
chairman and chief executive Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald
Trump's nomination for Secretary of State. A penetrating, news-breaking
study, Private Empire is a defining portrait of Big Oil in American
politics and foreign policy.
