From Kochland: The Secret History of Koch Industries and Corporate Power in America, published this month by Simon and Schuster.

Every quarter, the business leaders from Koch Industries’ various divisions came to the headquarters in Wichita to report to Charles Koch. When it was time for such meetings, Charles would rise from his desk and walk across the small lobby into the boardroom, where the senior leadership team was seated around the large circular table. The boardroom was still spartan in its decoration. The puffy leather office chairs were unremarkable. The only extravagance was the leather coasters placed at…