Scan barcode
A review by rbruehlman
Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson
5.0
5 stars for how well it was written, 4 stars for my own personal enjoyment.
Firstly, credit is due where credit is due--Walter Isaacson is an excellent biographer. Steve Jobs remains one of the best books I've ever read, and Isaacson continues his deep, no-stones-unturned, the good-the-bad-and-the-ugly approach and engaging prose in Elon Musk. I would pick up any book Walter Isaacson writes at this point, a feat he shares only with Jon Krakauer in my book (no pun intended).
Isaacson is an exhaustive biographer, and while this came across in Steve Jobs, it was many times more evident in Elon Musk. Much of what Isaacson recounted in Steve Jobs had already happened decades ago, from many interviews and conversations with people involved. In Elon Musk, it's clear that, in addition to extensive interviews, Isaacson accompanied Musk for several years, living in the moment with him. Musk is no joke to follow around; he keeps an exhausting schedule, hardly sleeping and bouncing from one thing to the next. The fact that Isaacson was there to recount much of it truly speaks to his level of dedication.
As for the subject himself... I'll confess, I don't like Elon Musk, and I haven't for a long time, well before his shenanigans with Twitter. He has always struck me as one of those brilliant guys who think the rest of the world thinks just like them, and their proposed solutions to social problems end up sounding ridiculous and farfetched... solutions that would, indeed, work if everyone thought like them, but it's not reality. (See for reference Elon Musk's take on unschooling, a concept that would have worked well for a self-motivated genius like Elon, but very poorly for the average person.)
I have a grudging amount of respect for him as a result of this book, though. He's an arrogant jerk, but he is very smart and willing to try new things. I don't think I would be impressed particularly by Musk if he was just smart and led one company well. Talented CEOs are a dime a dozen. What makes Musk impressive is how much he does, and how many companies he juggles. The man is powered by a motor. I felt exhausted sometimes reading the book--when does this guy sleep? How does he function? Isaacson's painstaking detail of his frenetic day-to-day is dizzying. I didn't appreciate just how much Elon Musk does every day. It's a wonder the wheels didn't come off the bus off of all his different companies, especially as things ramped up with Twitter.
Speaking of Twitter ... that was probably the most interesting part of the book. Musk's genius with physical engineering is obvious. However, software engineering is another ballgame, and I would hesitate to call Twitter a software engineering company. It's more of a social fabric company? A communication tool. Messing up has huge ramifications. Tweaking anything has huge ramifications. If you cut corners on a rocket, it blows up and you're out of money, but that's the end of the ripple effect. Cut corners on Twitter, and everything blows up, and you have a massive impact on people. I think Musk really bit off more than he could chew, his arrogance blinding him. Engineering is discrete and solvable. There is a right and wrong way to do things in engineering. Social networks ... no. There is no black and white, just tons of grey. Musk might not have agreed with the moderation choices Twitter made, but Twitter made the choices it did for a reason. Musk believes in a free economy where the best ideas win, which works in capitalism and in engineering, but does not work with free speech on the internet very well. The good ideas don't necessarily win out. Chaos is more likely to reign. The consequences of Musk removing speech moderation were obvious, but Musk never saw it coming. Sometimes, you are so smart, you are actually stupid. Case in point: Elon.
I'm still shocked Twitter managed to hang on. I thought for sure it would implode when Musk started breaking things. I don't think Twitter has the reputation it once did, but I also don't see it dying anytime soon. I believe Musk got lucky in this regard; it could have blown up in his face a lot worse than it did. I think the unfortunate thing for Musk is that now that he owns Twitter, his voice is amplified even further on the platform, and any damage he does to himself is now further magnified. I don't think Twitter will implode because of technical problems at this point. It's more likely to implode because Elon runs his mouth so much. I suspect he'll eventually say something that gets him into trouble. As the owner of Twitter, the spotlight will be on him. It's better to say stupid things on a platform you don't own, than on a platform you do. It just lands differently.
As for criticisms...
Despite everything I've written here, I struggled to finish this book. I really am not interested in Tesla or Space X. This isn't a "ugh, I hate Tesla" kind of lack of interest, it's a "I do not care about cars or how they work" kind of interest. I found the details of Steve Jobs very interesting because I work in the field ... but cars? Spaceships? My eyes glazed over when they talked about how the mechanics worked. It wasn't Isaacson's fault, I just don't have any interest in it. A large swathe of the book discussed that, though, so ... caveat emptor if you are also not interested in vehicles.
I did worry in reading the book that it would not be as raw and honest as it could be. After all, Musk is still very much in the public spotlight with decades left of his career, with public companies who can't afford a bombshell. He has a reputation to protect. Steve Jobs didn't; he was terminal. Despite also being an asshole, Jobs also seemed like more of a principled person than Elon Musk. Isaacson said in his afterword that Musk didn't ask to read the book, which I was surprised by. I think there was plenty in the book that was unflattering, but I still wonder if it is the full story.
On the note of criticism, lots of people talked to me about this book as I took it from place to place while reading. A common recurring criticism popped up: while comprehensive, people said, it didn't directly criticize Elon Musk or comment on the effects of his behavior, and Isaacson seemed to handwave everything off as "genius."
Maybe? True, Isaacson didn't take him to task. If you want a book to rip Musk to shreds, this book is not for you. However, I'm not sure not directly criticizing him equates to supporting his behavior. Walter Isaacson's style seems to present all sides of a person--good, bad, and ugly--and allow readers to take away their own conclusion. There was a lot said that was unflattering about Elon in the book, so ... no, Isaacson didn't come right out and say, "Elon is a giant dick," but lots of people quoted in the book along the way said pretty much that. Do I personally like Elon? No. Is he Hitler? Also no. I don't think it's Isaacson's style to tell you how to think. I don't need a hit piece on Elon; I can draw my own conclusions.
I guess maybe Isaacson made him a bit more likable. I'll concede that. But then Musk retweeted an anti-Semitic tweet a day or two after I finished the book, and, well, I guess that was a good reminder he's still kind of an ass. Don't worry :-)
Firstly, credit is due where credit is due--Walter Isaacson is an excellent biographer. Steve Jobs remains one of the best books I've ever read, and Isaacson continues his deep, no-stones-unturned, the good-the-bad-and-the-ugly approach and engaging prose in Elon Musk. I would pick up any book Walter Isaacson writes at this point, a feat he shares only with Jon Krakauer in my book (no pun intended).
Isaacson is an exhaustive biographer, and while this came across in Steve Jobs, it was many times more evident in Elon Musk. Much of what Isaacson recounted in Steve Jobs had already happened decades ago, from many interviews and conversations with people involved. In Elon Musk, it's clear that, in addition to extensive interviews, Isaacson accompanied Musk for several years, living in the moment with him. Musk is no joke to follow around; he keeps an exhausting schedule, hardly sleeping and bouncing from one thing to the next. The fact that Isaacson was there to recount much of it truly speaks to his level of dedication.
As for the subject himself... I'll confess, I don't like Elon Musk, and I haven't for a long time, well before his shenanigans with Twitter. He has always struck me as one of those brilliant guys who think the rest of the world thinks just like them, and their proposed solutions to social problems end up sounding ridiculous and farfetched... solutions that would, indeed, work if everyone thought like them, but it's not reality. (See for reference Elon Musk's take on unschooling, a concept that would have worked well for a self-motivated genius like Elon, but very poorly for the average person.)
I have a grudging amount of respect for him as a result of this book, though. He's an arrogant jerk, but he is very smart and willing to try new things. I don't think I would be impressed particularly by Musk if he was just smart and led one company well. Talented CEOs are a dime a dozen. What makes Musk impressive is how much he does, and how many companies he juggles. The man is powered by a motor. I felt exhausted sometimes reading the book--when does this guy sleep? How does he function? Isaacson's painstaking detail of his frenetic day-to-day is dizzying. I didn't appreciate just how much Elon Musk does every day. It's a wonder the wheels didn't come off the bus off of all his different companies, especially as things ramped up with Twitter.
Speaking of Twitter ... that was probably the most interesting part of the book. Musk's genius with physical engineering is obvious. However, software engineering is another ballgame, and I would hesitate to call Twitter a software engineering company. It's more of a social fabric company? A communication tool. Messing up has huge ramifications. Tweaking anything has huge ramifications. If you cut corners on a rocket, it blows up and you're out of money, but that's the end of the ripple effect. Cut corners on Twitter, and everything blows up, and you have a massive impact on people. I think Musk really bit off more than he could chew, his arrogance blinding him. Engineering is discrete and solvable. There is a right and wrong way to do things in engineering. Social networks ... no. There is no black and white, just tons of grey. Musk might not have agreed with the moderation choices Twitter made, but Twitter made the choices it did for a reason. Musk believes in a free economy where the best ideas win, which works in capitalism and in engineering, but does not work with free speech on the internet very well. The good ideas don't necessarily win out. Chaos is more likely to reign. The consequences of Musk removing speech moderation were obvious, but Musk never saw it coming. Sometimes, you are so smart, you are actually stupid. Case in point: Elon.
I'm still shocked Twitter managed to hang on. I thought for sure it would implode when Musk started breaking things. I don't think Twitter has the reputation it once did, but I also don't see it dying anytime soon. I believe Musk got lucky in this regard; it could have blown up in his face a lot worse than it did. I think the unfortunate thing for Musk is that now that he owns Twitter, his voice is amplified even further on the platform, and any damage he does to himself is now further magnified. I don't think Twitter will implode because of technical problems at this point. It's more likely to implode because Elon runs his mouth so much. I suspect he'll eventually say something that gets him into trouble. As the owner of Twitter, the spotlight will be on him. It's better to say stupid things on a platform you don't own, than on a platform you do. It just lands differently.
As for criticisms...
Despite everything I've written here, I struggled to finish this book. I really am not interested in Tesla or Space X. This isn't a "ugh, I hate Tesla" kind of lack of interest, it's a "I do not care about cars or how they work" kind of interest. I found the details of Steve Jobs very interesting because I work in the field ... but cars? Spaceships? My eyes glazed over when they talked about how the mechanics worked. It wasn't Isaacson's fault, I just don't have any interest in it. A large swathe of the book discussed that, though, so ... caveat emptor if you are also not interested in vehicles.
I did worry in reading the book that it would not be as raw and honest as it could be. After all, Musk is still very much in the public spotlight with decades left of his career, with public companies who can't afford a bombshell. He has a reputation to protect. Steve Jobs didn't; he was terminal. Despite also being an asshole, Jobs also seemed like more of a principled person than Elon Musk. Isaacson said in his afterword that Musk didn't ask to read the book, which I was surprised by. I think there was plenty in the book that was unflattering, but I still wonder if it is the full story.
On the note of criticism, lots of people talked to me about this book as I took it from place to place while reading. A common recurring criticism popped up: while comprehensive, people said, it didn't directly criticize Elon Musk or comment on the effects of his behavior, and Isaacson seemed to handwave everything off as "genius."
Maybe? True, Isaacson didn't take him to task. If you want a book to rip Musk to shreds, this book is not for you. However, I'm not sure not directly criticizing him equates to supporting his behavior. Walter Isaacson's style seems to present all sides of a person--good, bad, and ugly--and allow readers to take away their own conclusion. There was a lot said that was unflattering about Elon in the book, so ... no, Isaacson didn't come right out and say, "Elon is a giant dick," but lots of people quoted in the book along the way said pretty much that. Do I personally like Elon? No. Is he Hitler? Also no. I don't think it's Isaacson's style to tell you how to think. I don't need a hit piece on Elon; I can draw my own conclusions.
I guess maybe Isaacson made him a bit more likable. I'll concede that. But then Musk retweeted an anti-Semitic tweet a day or two after I finished the book, and, well, I guess that was a good reminder he's still kind of an ass. Don't worry :-)