“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 Pulitzer Prize-winning and bestselling author of Ghost Wars and The Achilles Trap, 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.

Relying on primary sources dating back to the 1970s, describes how Exxon conducted cutting-edge climate research and then, without revealing what it had learned, worked at the forefront of climate-change denial, manufacturing doubt about the scientific consensus that its own research had confirmed.--Adapted from publisher's description.

This is a true story of how groups of people organized to preserve the environment and defeated gigantic mining companies. Native Americans, sports people, environmental groups, lake and property owners and ordinary citizens prevented a copper and zinc mine that threatened the environment.

On a spring morning in Morristown in 1992, authorities discovered a car idling in a driveway with the door open and the driver missing. After they learned the driver was Sidney Reso, the president of Exxon International, the FBI joined the investigation. Over the next two months, law enforcement received cryptic communications that led to a cat-and-mouse chase for those responsible. Retired cop Arthur Seale and his wife, Irene, demanded one of the largest ransoms in U.S. history, and authorities struggled to solve the case. Author John E. O'Rourke recounts the crime that rocked a sleepy community and brought the nation's eyes to North Jersey.

Describes the 1989 oil spill caused by damage to the Exxon Valdez ship off the coast of Alaska, detailing the events leading up to the spill, how it affected the wildlife and environment of Alaska, and the spill's longterm effect.