One of the book’s themes is the degree to which Western capitalists — bankers and oilmen — abetted Putin’s rise to power, cheered on his capture of resources and partnered with him no matter what he was doing to Russia’s democratic and capitalist experiment. Chief among them was Exxon’s C.E.O. Rex Tillerson (later the secretary of state), who was so cooperative that in 2013 Putin awarded him the Order of Friendship, one of the country’s highest honors bestowed on a foreigner. And Tillerson was a fast friend indeed. Maddow quotes from a 2016 conversation in which Tillerson explained that after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea, he visited Russia and was surprised by his interactions with Putin and his aides. “The first question they asked me was … ‘Are you O.K.?’ And I said, ‘Well, yeah, I’m fine. Why do you ask?’ They said, ‘Well, we just wondered whether your government was coming after you because you’ve been doing business with us.’” Tillerson marveled that “they were more worried about me.” What amazing concern and consideration! For him, Putin’s aggression seemed far less noteworthy than his empathy.

Ukraine features prominently in Maddow’s account because it has become the central struggle between Putin and the West, and America in particular. She describes how Putin was outraged by American support for the ouster of the corrupt and pro-Russian Ukrainian leader, Viktor Yanukovych, which happened in the midst of his triumphant Sochi Olympics. Putin was already deeply hostile toward the Obama administration, and Hillary Clinton in particular, for having given verbal support to pro—democracy protests in Moscow. For Putin, Western efforts at regime change could only be countered by his own attacks on Western democracies.

Maddow’s book is rich with other stories, from fracking in Oklahoma to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. But while the tone throughout is one of shock, amazement and condemnation, the book is not as radical in its conclusions as readers might have anticipated. Maddow advocates more stringent rules on Western companies aiding foreign corruption. And she argues for an end to subsidies for the oil and gas industry, urging that it “pay for what it does.” I assume that means a carbon tax.

The caution is perhaps because Maddow knows that, whatever we might say about the oil and gas business, we are all eagerly consuming its products — charging our phones, flying on planes and using plastics. Around 80 percent of the world’s energy supply comes from fossil fuels, just about the same as 25 years ago. “I like driving a pickup and heating my house as much as the next person,” Maddow writes, “and the through-line between energy and economic growth and development is as clear to me as an electric streetlight piercing the black night.” In 2018, renewables made up just 11 percent of United States energy consumption. Without fossil fuels today, the lights would go out in much of the country.

“Blowout” is a brilliant description of many of the problems caused by our reliance on fossil fuels. But it does not provide a path out of the darkness.