Newburyport Public Library

Great American outpost, dreamers, mavericks, and the making of an oil frontier, Maya Rao

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 315-324)

illustrationsmaps

no index present

non fiction

Great American outpost

bibliography

1033594384

Maya Rao

dreamers, mavericks, and the making of an oil frontier

"In 2012, a recovering addict named Don arrived in North Dakota with no money, no connections, and no job. Like many others, Don had heard that the Bakken Shale was being fracked, and within just twelve days, he'd landed a salary of over $100,000 hauling sand. North Dakota was experiencing a resurgence of population and wealth comparable to only one event in American history: the California Gold Rush. Through stories of men like Don--as well as down-on-their-luck businessmen, Ponzi-schemers, prostitutes, and reality-television hosts--Great American Outpost recounts the dramatic boom and bust of the largest oil rush in US history. As a writer for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Maya Rao spent more time in the Bakkens than any other reporter. By day, she worked at the local truck stop, hauled supplies, and explored frack sites with hard-worn truck drivers. By night, she dined with the Dakota elite: deceitful bankers, ex-strippers, drug lords, and a whole cast of characters hoping to get rich quick. Rao discovered that where there is oil, crime, greed, and sensationalism follow. The result is a fascinating microcosm of the United States in the twenty-first century that reads like a frontier novel of the Wild West"--, Provided by publisher

I should be dead -- The water depot -- Before the eyes of Roosevelt -- The wild bison -- Williston Brewing Company -- Great American scam -- Street lights -- South of Sasketchewan -- Edge of the world -- The sheer emptiness of it -- Nobody lives here -- The fattest chicken in the barn -- Empire of junk -- The North Dakota way -- Capitalism is legal -- A great steaming pile of money -- Ballad of La Bruta -- The dinner party -- Peyton Place on the plains -- Fifteen Enrons -- Going to war -- The derrick goes sideways -- Oil to $1 beer -- Nat Geo's in town -- Fracking hell -- A convicted ponzi schemer walks into a bar -- The dangers at 20 feet -- Pipelining blues -- You chose oil over us -- Exodus -- Bile of the subterranean -- Frigid despair -- This is your treasure