BP blowout : inside the Gulf oil disaster / Daniel Jacobs.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The story of the worst environmental disaster in American history and its enduring consequences



BP Blowout is the first comprehensive account of the legal, economic, and environmental consequences of the disaster that resulted from the April 2010 blowout at a BP well in the Gulf of Mexico. The accident, which destroyed the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, killed 11 people. The ensuing oil discharge-the largest ever in U.S. waters--polluted much of the Gulf for months, wreaking havoc on its inhabitants and the environment.



A management professor and former award-winning Justice Department lawyer responsible for enforcing environmental laws, Daniel Jacobs tells the story that neither BP nor the federal government wants heard: how the company and the government fell short, both in terms of preventing and responding to the disaster.



Critical details about the cause and aftermath of the disaster have emerged through court proceedings and with time. The key finding of the federal judge who presided over the civil litigation was that the blowout resulted from BP's gross negligence.



BP has paid tens of billions of dollars to settle claims and lawsuits. The company also has pled guilty to manslaughter in a separate criminal case, but no one responsible for the tragedy is going to prison.



BP Blowout provides new and disturbing details in a definitive narrative that takes the reader inside BP, the White House, Congress and the courthouse. This is an important book for readers interested in the environment, sustainability, public policy, leadership, and risk management.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

The Deepwater Horizon crisis in 2010 was the worst environmental disaster in US history, spewing 134 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Eleven workers lost their lives, and thousands of animals were killed. The disaster produced immense damage to ecosystems (and human health) and billions of dollars in property and other economic losses. BP paid more than $62 billion in damages, fines, and compensation, but no corporate employee served time for criminal charges. This volume by an experienced US justice department attorney is a comprehensive narrative of what happened before, during, and after the disaster. The account is detailed, including information on damage claims and the "environmental trial of the century," and Jacobs leavens the mix with personal interest stories and dramatic touches. The author contributes to the literature through FOIA requests that provide information about false claims against BP and personal interviews with several important participants in the process. Weaknesses include platitudinous recommendations to government and industry and lack of penetrating analysis of why industry and government failed in the blowout and seem likely to fail again in outer-continental shelf drilling. Summing Up: Optional. General readers through professionals. --Gerald (Jerry) A. McBeath, University of Alaska Fairbanks