Elon Musk - Walter Isaacson

Elon Musk

By Walter Isaacson

  • Release Date: 2023-09-12
  • Genre: Biographies & Memoirs
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 1,686 Ratings

Description

#1 New York Times bestseller

From the author of Steve Jobs and other bestselling biographies, this is the astonishingly intimate story of the most fascinating and controversial innovator of our era—a rule-breaking visionary who helped to lead the world into the era of electric vehicles, private space exploration, and artificial intelligence. Oh, and took over Twitter.


When Elon Musk was a kid in South Africa, he was regularly beaten by bullies. One day a group pushed him down some concrete steps and kicked him until his face was a swollen ball of flesh. He was in the hospital for a week. But the physical scars were minor compared to the emotional ones inflicted by his father, an engineer, rogue, and charismatic fantasist.

His father’s impact on his psyche would linger. He developed into a tough yet vulnerable man-child, prone to abrupt Jekyll-and-Hyde mood swings, with an exceedingly high tolerance for risk, a craving for drama, an epic sense of mission, and a maniacal intensity that was callous and at times destructive.

At the beginning of 2022—after a year marked by SpaceX launching thirty-one rockets into orbit, Tesla selling a million cars, and him becoming the richest man on earth—Musk spoke ruefully about his compulsion to stir up dramas. “I need to shift my mindset away from being in crisis mode, which it has been for about fourteen years now, or arguably most of my life,” he said.

It was a wistful comment, not a New Year’s resolution. Even as he said it, he was secretly buying up shares of Twitter, the world’s ultimate playground. Over the years, whenever he was in a dark place, his mind went back to being bullied on the playground. Now he had the chance to own the playground.

For two years, Isaacson shadowed Musk, attended his meetings, walked his factories with him, and spent hours interviewing him, his family, friends, coworkers, and adversaries. The result is the revealing inside story, filled with amazing tales of triumphs and turmoil, that addresses the question: are the demons that drive Musk also what it takes to drive innovation and progress?

Reviews

  • Masters

    2
    By Reading gmom
    Too much jumping around.
  • So much I did not know…

    5
    By Ptvogelzang
    Elon is an amazing person: strong, brutal, but necessary. Great book and research Walter Isaacson! Loved every word!
  • Great book

    5
    By Сергей Белов 33213
    Pretty good summary of how Elon’s life has unfolded and his thinking process behind building companies.
  • Solid book

    5
    By A to A 2 A
    Very good book. I would say the first 80% of the book was extremely interesting to see the rise of Elon Musk and what type of person he is. The last 20% was too heavy on personal drama and I felt like I was reading a soap opera. However, the diligence and the patience of the author and all those that played a part in creating such a great book is remarkable.
  • Amazing!

    5
    By classypotatohead
    This book will help you understand Musk at a deep level and will help you visualize where the world is heading in the next 10-15 years.
  • Fantastic

    5
    By momeymike760
    One of the best book I have ever ridden
  • Do not like the free sample…

    1
    By Bob Kerstetter
    …so not spending $s on the book. Elon Musk is brilliant, but not Steve Jobs, as the cover photo attempts to imply. Do not like the writing. Maybe Isaacson shares his own opinion too much. Just tell the story.
  • Excellent book

    4
    By Hurricane Keith
    I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It certainly gave insight to who Elon Musk is, and how it has made him today. It shows certainly the good things that he has done, and also shows the bad. He certainly is an innovator and has his faults. I enjoyed this book and certainly suggest it to anyone who is interested.
  • Great read on an iconic forward thinker

    5
    By dffyuytrc
    Elon needs no introduction. Gained a lot of insight into his persona and the way he thinks. This was excellent. Where will all this lead - only Elon knows for sure.
  • Well written and candid study of a fascinating man

    4
    By AD-GJ
    Loved the in-depth insight. Shy of 5 stars because the conclusion felt trite and overly subjective in relation to the approach taken throughout the rest of the book.

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