Staff Reports
Doug Brunt’s new book, The Lost Empire of Emanuel Nobel, digs up a story that reads like an oil-soaked thriller: massive wealth, imperial politics, and a disappearance from history that had nothing to do with merit and everything to do with a revolution. Megyn Kelly hosted Brunt on The Megyn Kelly Show to talk about why Emanuel Nobel and his Branobel empire should not be a footnote. If you care about the history of industry, energy, or how political upheaval erases inconvenient truths, this one is worth your attention.
Why Emanuel Nobel Matters to Energy History
Emanuel Nobel ran Branobel, a giant of the oil industry based in Baku during the Russian Empire. Doug Brunt argues that Branobel’s scale rivaled the likes of Standard Oil in certain regions, and that Emanuel Nobel was one of the richest men in Russia outside the tsar. That claim is bold, but the basic fact is simple: Branobel helped fuel modern industry and then vanished from mainstream history when Bolshevik nationalization wiped out private records and influence. If you want to understand how energy shaped empires, this is the kind of forgotten chapter you should read.
Brunt’s Case: Rescue History From the Rubble
Brunt’s book is pitched as part two of a planned trilogy and comes from Atria Books at Simon & Schuster, with a hefty initial print run. He recorded the audiobook himself — “free from audiobook prison,” as he joked — and hit the publicity circuit with Megyn Kelly to make the case. The narrative is archival, readable, and politically useful: it reminds us that private enterprise and entrepreneurs built much of the modern world, even in places later claimed by state ideology. That’s a point conservatives should relish rather than apologize for.
The Politics of Memory — Why the Left Forgets What It Doesn’t Like
The erasure of Emanuel Nobel’s name from popular memory wasn’t accidental. When revolutionaries seize assets and rewrite history, they don’t just change ownership — they change what future generations will know. Brunt’s book exposes how Soviet-era storytelling marginalized private industrialists and elevated state narratives instead. For readers who care about property rights, the lessons are blunt: nationalization wipes out more than bank accounts; it erases accomplishments and clouds judgment about what enterprise actually built.
Bottom Line: Read It and Think About Energy Policy
The Lost Empire of Emanuel Nobel is more than a captivating history. It’s a reminder that energy, wealth, and liberty are tangled together, and that politics can suddenly make giants invisible. Doug Brunt’s clean storytelling and Megyn Kelly’s platform give this forgotten titan a loud second act. If you want a slice of history that speaks to modern debates over industry, fossil fuels, and the role of the state, pick up the book (on sale May 19, 2026) and watch the interview. You’ll come away smarter — and maybe a little annoyed that good history was allowed to be forgotten for so long.
