George P. Mitchell: Fracking, Sustainability, and an Unorthodox Quest to Save the Planet

George P. Mitchell: Fracking, Sustainability, and an Unorthodox Quest to Save the Planet

by Loren C. Steffy
George P. Mitchell: Fracking, Sustainability, and an Unorthodox Quest to Save the Planet

George P. Mitchell: Fracking, Sustainability, and an Unorthodox Quest to Save the Planet

by Loren C. Steffy

Hardcover

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Overview

Upon George Mitchell’s death in 2013, The Economist proclaimed, “Few businesspeople have done as much to change the world as George Mitchell,” a billionaire Texas oilman who defied the stereotypical swagger so identified with that industry. In George P. Mitchell: Fracking, Sustainability, and an Unorthodox Quest to Save the Planet, award-winning author Loren C. Steffy offers the first definitive biography of Mitchell, placing his life and legacy in a global context, from the significance of his discoveries to the lingering controversies they inspired.
 
Mitchell will forever be known as “the father of fracking,” but he didn’t invent the drilling process; he perfected it and made it profitable, one of many varied ventures he pursued for years. Long before his company ever fracked a well, he pioneered sustainable development by creating The Woodlands, near Houston, one of the first and most successful master-planned communities. Its focus on environmental protection and livability redefined the American suburb.  This apparent contradiction between his energy interests and environmental pursuits, which his son Todd dubbed “the Mitchell Paradox,” was just one of many that defined Mitchell’s life.

Anyone who puts fuel in a tank or turns on a light switch has benefited from Mitchell’s efforts. This compelling biography reveals Mitchell as a modern renaissance man who sought to make the world a better, more livable place, a man whose unbounded intellectual curiosity led him to support a wide range of interests in business, science, and philanthropy.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781623498030
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Publication date: 09/30/2019
Series: Kenneth E. Montague Series in Oil and Business History , #26
Pages: 376
Sales rank: 685,259
Product dimensions: 6.20(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

LOREN C. STEFFY is the author of Drowning in Oil: BP and the Reckless Pursuit of Profit and The Man Who Thought Like a Ship. A former business columnist for the Houston Chronicle and a four-time finalist for the Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism, Steffy is a writer-at-large for Texas Monthly. He has appeared on CNBC, Fox Business, MSNBC, the BBC, and the PBS Newshour.

Table of Contents

Preface xiii

Chapter 1 A Farewell to Trees 1

Chapter 2 The Greek with the Irish Name 12

Chapter 3 George 22

Chapter 4 The Fortunes of Lovesick Freshmen 35

Chapter 5 "Call Me Mitch" 44

Chapter 6 "You're Going to End Up a Bum" 51

Chapter 7 The Bookie and the Big Bet 62

Chapter 8 Beyond the Big Nine 71

Chapter 9 Growing Concerns 82

Chapter 10 Social Awakening 93

Chapter 11 Flying by the Seat of His Pants 100

Chapter 12 Lafitte's Gold 111

Chapter 13 Going Public 121

Chapter 14 How to Build a City 154

Chapter 15 A House Divided 167

Chapter 16 Galveston Reborn 175

Chapter 17 Subatomic Dreams 187

Chapter 18 The Fight for Fracking 196

Chapter 19 Fire from the Ground 210

Chapter 20 The Frack Heard Round the World 222

Chapter 21 Persistent Doubts 232

Chapter 22 Selling Out 238

Chapter 23 Attempted Retirement 249

Chapter 24 Wendy's Telescope 258

Chapter 25 Fishing in the Sunsets of Eternity 268

Chapter 26 Benefits and Backlash 278

Acknowledgments 291

Notes 295

Selected Bibliography 323

Index 331

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