BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS
Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson
Thank you for joining me for Book Beginnings on Fridays. Please share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now.
MY BOOK BEGINNING
As a kid growing up in South Africa, Elon Musk new pain and learned how to survive it.-- from Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson.
Love him, hate him, don't care -- Elon Musk is in the spotlight. I decided this was the perfect time to read Walter Isaacson's biography of Musk to get a better understanding of this man playing such a huge role in public affairs right now. The book came out at the end of 2023, so does not cover the 2024 election or Musk's role heading up the DOGE. But it offers a lot of insight into this man of the moment.
Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs was excellent, so I knew this one would be well-written, meticulously researched, and balanced. I just finished it and it is all those things. Musk is a fascinating person. His technological breakthroughs and business successes are jaw-droppingly impressive. He is also a really strange dude and can be a total jerk. I was riveted. I highly recommend this one.
The Friday 56 is a natural tie-in with Book Beginnings. The idea is to share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of your featured book. If you are reading an ebook or audiobook, find your teaser from the 56% mark.
Freda at Freda's Voice started and hosted The Friday 56 for a long, long time. She is taking a break and Anne at My Head is Full of Books has taken on hosting duties in her absence. Please visit Anne's blog and link to your Friday 56 post.
MY FRIDAY 56
-- from Elon Musk:
YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS
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THE FRIDAY 56
Freda at Freda's Voice started and hosted The Friday 56 for a long, long time. She is taking a break and Anne at My Head is Full of Books has taken on hosting duties in her absence. Please visit Anne's blog and link to your Friday 56 post.
MY FRIDAY 56
-- from Elon Musk:
They were impressed and wanted him to work full-time, but he needed to graduate in order to get a U.S. work visa. In addition, he came to a realization: he had a fanatic love of video games and the skills to make money creating them, but that was not the best way to spend his life.
There's a lot of Revenge of the Nerds to Musk's story.
FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION
The #1 New York Times and global bestseller from Walter Isaacson—the acclaimed author of Steve Jobs, Einstein: His Life and World, Benjamin Franklin, and Leonardo da Vinci—is the astonishingly intimate story of the most fascinating, controversial innovator of modern times. For two years, Isaacson shadowed Elon Musk as he executed his vision for electric vehicles at Tesla, space exploration with SpaceX, the AI revolution, and the takeover of Twitter and its conversion to X. The result is the definitive portrait of the mercurial pioneer that offers clues to his political instincts, future ambitions, and overall worldview.
