The truth about Koch Industries

This is a massive, and massively reported, book. But what's most impressive is its refreshing balance. Mr Leonard does not judge the Kochs; he explains them

With the notable exception of our president, probably no individuals in the last decade of politics have attracted as much dismay and fury as the billionaire Koch brothers, Charles and David, who have leveraged control of their family’s gargantuan, Kansas-based Koch Industries to create a political-influence machine of rare scope — all in the service of pushing back against government regulations, especially those dealing with climate change, pollution and energy policy.

The attention lavished on the Kochs’ in­f­l­uence, however, has tended to oversha­d­ow what made that influence possible in the first place: Charles Koch’s eye-opening pro­wess in business. While David Koch