Maddow provides various examples of people who believe in the American dream so fiercely that their lives nearly confirm that American exceptionalism is a natural force at work in the world, as real as gravity. Notable examples include Aubrey McClendon, the natural gas tycoon who revitalized the economy and morale in Oklahoma City through the prosperous period of Chesapeake Energy’s golden age in the late 2000s. Rex Tillerson is another example of American exceptionalism at play, especially when it comes to American oil around the world.

So many of the central figures in Blowout are motivated not by noble ideals or altruistic desires but by economic self-interest. Money speaks loudest in in the oil and gas industry, which the book’s cover proclaims is the “most destructive industry on Earth.” President Teodorin Obiang of Equatorial Guinea is a prime example of this; he amasses a vast collection of Michael Jackson memorabilia while his nation’s citizens endure abject poverty. One person’s extravagant wealth incites another person’s dire need, which is especially apparent through the extreme examples found in the international oil industry.