Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
Written by Ashlee Vance in 2015
The Raccoon: Elon Musk delves into the life, personality, and mission of entrepreneur Elon Musk. Journalist Ashlee Vance traces the development and trials of Musk’s many companies and features discussions with Musk’s peers, rivals, and relatives.
UNMASKED: “Do you think I’m insane?”
Vance opens Elon Musk with this arresting question that Musk himself asked the author during an interview, immediately establishing the kind of man we are about to explore. As Vance paints the scene and events leading up to that particular conversation, the reader finds that he/she already has a picture of the way Musk’s mind works and how he relates to others by the time he/she settles into the book.
Elon Musk is far superior to other biographies because of the lens that the author uses. While a significant chunk of the book is dedicated to Musk’s childhood and the environmental factors that shaped his personality, hobbies, and passions, Vance focuses on Zip2, Paypal, Tesla, and SpaceX. Musk’s inability, or perhaps unwillingness, to establish a work/life separation means that the structure and progress of his companies are the windows to his soul.
A biography has a more explicit goal than any fiction book; to teach the reader about the life of the subject. Elon Musk passes with flying colors, allowing the reader to see inside of Musk’s mind, empathize with his successes and setbacks, and, in my case, become confident and inspired enough to invest in Tesla.
Strengths:
- Vance includes headlines and opinions of people who criticize Musk, as well as those who worship him. His lack of bias enables the reader to develop his/her own opinion.
- Elon Musk also serves as a historical record of several companies and as an intriguing study of American attitudes toward innovation, space exploration, and renewable energy, providing a wealth of knowledge.
Weaknesses:
- The book is broken up by one huge collection of pictures, rather than having interspersed images at relevant locations in the text.
Rating: 19/20 launches
Ideal Setting: Read this when you are sick of people saying, “When there’s a will, there’s a way,” and “If you really believe something will happen, it will.” As it turns out, they are absolutely right, when you are Elon Musk.
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