Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power [Paperback]

From the award-winning and bestselling author ofGhost Warsand Directorate S, an “extraordinary” and “monumental” exposé of Big Oil (The Washington Post)

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 Empirepulls 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 Empireis a defining portrait of Big Oil in American politics and foreign policy.“ExxonMobil has met its match in Coll, an elegant writer and dogged reporter…extraordinary… monumental.”—THE WASHINGTON POST

“Fascinating…Private Empireis a book meticulously prepared as if for trial, a lawyerly accumulation of information that lets the facts speak for themselves… a compelling and elucidatory work.”—BLOOMBERG

“Private Empireismeticulous, multi-angled and valuable… Mr. Coll’s prose sweeps the earth like an Imax camera.”—Dwight Garner, THE NEW YORK TIMES

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