The Frackers: The Outrageous Inside Story of the New Billionaire Wildcatters

The Bakken rock layer was about ten thousand feet below the surface and just forty-five feet thick, adding to the challenge of finding oil.

McClendon had a unique ability to connect with employees, investors, and industry members. When he met them, he asked at least as many questions as he answered. How’s your family? What are you working on? Where do you see the industry going? Even the most cynical, hard-bitten investors were smitten. Many compared McClendon to former president Bill

Foreign nations lack perhaps the key element behind the U.S. energy revolution: an entrepreneurial culture and ample incentives for the years of trial and error necessary for shale breakthroughs.