Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson

Synopsis: An intimate autobiography of 21st century prominent visionary and innovator.

Writing Style: Straightforward. Casual. Contemporary Journalism.

Pacing: Moderate.

Personal Highlights: Still don’t know what I expected to learn, but was pleasantly surprised to be so engaged and learn as much as I did. Omitting spoilers, the pacing and flow…to the end… (despite 'the back and forth' and sporadic repetition), is remarkable.

The early dreaming, the sci-fi novel reading, and none withstanding, Musk’s overall focus (discerned from text) to improve life for humans through ‘star-trekky’ technologies, spiked up the adventure. For the most part, I got him, and agreed with many of his methodologies, doing things others wouldn’t…couldn’t… or hadn’t.

…Beginning with when he was a kid, telling a cousin the more precise distance of the moon really tickled me. Read like something I would’ve said regarding books.😂. But of course Musk readily knew this info. This was his playground. SpaceX, Tesla, along with AI and somewhat Twitter was destined to become his jam. Excluding his social life, marriages, and mood swings (a sizable story inside the larger story), there is some decent reading between the lines in this bio. The philosophies. Developing best practices. Algorithms. “Going Russian…” Five-point check system. Effects of offshoring manufacturing. Differences between Musk, Jobs, Ellison and Bezo. Creating revenue streams. Over-automation. ‘Risk adverse’ cultures, or rather… addressing the status quo. Taking the Blue or Red pill…and the convo around moving those Twitter servers. All of this is solid engaging material. And still, overwhelmingly driving this narrative was a reckoning (kind of touched on), attributed to Musk early on; the coalescing of human understanding between spiritual phenomena and natural physics. 

Overall, on GP (general principle), innovation typically proffers potential gains for humankind. The long-term advantages AI might provide for the blind, deaf, and disabled seem promising. The conveniences of Tesla vehicles and factors entertaining the public with private space travel is as well trendy/trending. And to be clear, ‘empathy is not an asset’. It is a skill. Anyone interested in annals encompassing physics, engineering, risk-taking, or Musk in general, will find reading Elon Musk incredibly valuable!

Read Hardback copyright edition 2023.