The Frackers

Things looked grim for American energy in 2006. Oil production was in steep decline and natural gas was hard to find. Major oil companies had just about given up on new discoveries on US soil, and a new energy crisis loomed.

But a handful of men believed everything was about to change.

By experimenting with hydraulic fracturing through extremely dense shale - a process now known as fracking - these 'wildcatters' started a revolution. In just a few years, they solved America's dependence on imported energy, triggered a global environmental controversy - and made and lost astonishing fortunes.

Award-winning Wall Street Journal reporter Gregory Zuckerman chronicles the untold story of how they transformed the nation and the world. The result is a dramatic narrative stretching from the barren fields of North Dakota to the tense Wall Street boardrooms.