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Customer Review

268 of 286 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic insight into Musk and his ecosystem, May 19, 2015
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This review is from: Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future (Hardcover)
The best thing I have read on Elon Musk so far (and from what I understand, the only one that he has participated in himself). Vance is an excellent writer, and you may or may not be familiar with him from Bloomberg Business and other high profile writings. I loved the insight into Musk and how he operates, and you get a very broad and complete picture of Musk as a driven visionary that is absolutely set on delivering some of the most aspirational goals of any human in history. You also get some great insight into the overall ecosystem around Musk - his companies (SpaceX and Tesla primarily), relationships with other companies and gov entities, as well as the important people around him. Many bios give you a timeline of the person, but little insight into the broader context and I appreciated that in this book.

You get unique insight into his personal relationships, how he coped with things that went wrong (not always a pretty story), and how he manages through both failure and success. Since you learn so much about his childhood and formative years, you get a good grounding on why he is the way he is, and how those relationships developed.

Finally, you get a lot of detail around 'green' industry, space exploration, etc. which really fills out this ecosystem and delivers an inspiring and educational view of one of the most intriguing people of our lifetimes. The book almost seems to ask "What are you going to go out and reinvent?" Well worth reading and even gifting to friends who may be fans.
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Showing 1-10 of 11 posts in this discussion
Initial post: May 26, 2015, 3:31:22 PM PDT
Apricot says:
Hi - I'm thinking of getting this book as a gift for an older person, 75+, who is aware of the internet and takes a basic interest in new technology (very pro-green/eco-friendly), but who does not really use the internet or PayPal, etc.

Would the descriptions of Elon's projects and interests be too abstruse, do you think, or are things explained in a fairly universally comprehensible way?

Many thanks!

In reply to an earlier post on May 26, 2015, 5:23:20 PM PDT
There is NOT a lot of technical stuff in this book. It is indeed explained in a very general way that anyone should understand.

In reply to an earlier post on May 27, 2015, 2:00:11 AM PDT
Apricot says:
Thanks again

In reply to an earlier post on Jun 1, 2015, 2:38:01 PM PDT
S. Chettiar says:
Would you recommend it for a 9 year old who is interested in a career in entrepreneurship? are there any adult elements in the book?

In reply to an earlier post on Jun 6, 2015, 11:06:57 PM PDT
A. DeMeo says:
Not appropriate. Elon Musk uses the f word a lot, and it's frequently written out in the book.

In reply to an earlier post on Aug 28, 2015, 7:44:42 AM PDT
Last edited by the author on Aug 28, 2015, 7:45:16 AM PDT
R. Walker says:
With that said however, I would *highly* recommend the book in 4 years or so when the kid is a teenager. I wish this were a book I could have read when I was younger.

In reply to an earlier post on Aug 28, 2015, 10:29:22 PM PDT
ct says:
Elon mentioned the F word a few times but i wouldn't let that be the reason to not let kids read this book. Kids know a lot nowadays and 9-year-olds aren't too young to read this book. This book teaches good work ethics and shows what successful people tend to do at a young age.

In reply to an earlier post on Oct 24, 2015, 8:35:57 PM PDT
E. Blalack says:
My 12 year old is reading it now--we both are-- and he is eating it up. I did warn him about the f--- word so he wouldn't be surprised. There is a podcast interview with Ashlee Vance--I forget which podcast, but it is about an hour long, and that would be appropriate for your child. The podcast Planet Money might also be good for that age level--it is 15 minute segments about a wide range of topics, and my son loves it.

Posted on Dec 3, 2015, 2:51:11 PM PST
[Deleted by Amazon on Jan 4, 2017, 12:12:19 AM PST]

In reply to an earlier post on Dec 7, 2015, 3:16:58 PM PST
Last edited by the author on Dec 7, 2015, 3:25:12 PM PST
bestlab says:
I'm 80 and grew up and attended college during the 1950's when most of this technology was being invented at Bell Labs and other places- I am reading a library copy of this book with full understanding of all the content - financial and technical - Us old guys DO understand how this stuff works >> BeenThereDoneThat - We also admire the Musks who are making it a reality
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