Russell Gold's 2014 book, The Boom: How Fracking Ignited the American Energy Revolution and Changed the World, is a gripping tale of adventure, ambition, science, and being in the right place, at the right time, with the right accidental technology. And much luck. Whatever side you are on in the oil shale and Fracking debate, after reading Gold's tale, it is easy to see that the unlikely technology of hydraulic fracturing has extended the life of fossil fuels, just when it looked like renewables might get a foothold.