Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
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- Create Date：2021-04-12 09:54:34
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Ashlee Vance
- ISBN：006230125X
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Summary
In the spirit of Steve Jobs and Moneyball， Elon Musk is both an illuminating and authorized look at the extraordinary life of one of Silicon Valley’s most exciting， unpredictable， and ambitious entrepreneurs—a real-life Tony Stark—and a fascinating exploration of the renewal of American invention and its new “makers。”
Elon Musk spotlights the technology and vision of Elon Musk， the renowned entrepreneur and innovator behind SpaceX， Tesla， and SolarCity， who sold one of his Internet companies， PayPal， for $1。5 billion。 Ashlee Vance captures the full spectacle and arc of the genius’s life and work， from his tumultuous upbringing in South Africa and flight to the United States to his dramatic technical innovations and entrepreneurial pursuits。
Vance uses Musk’s story to explore one of the pressing questions of our age: can the nation of inventors and creators who led the modern world for a century still compete in an age of fierce global competition？ He argues that Musk—one of the most unusual and striking figures in American business history—is a contemporary， visionary amalgam of legendary inventors and industrialists including Thomas Edison， Henry Ford， Howard Hughes， and Steve Jobs。 More than any other entrepreneur today， Musk has dedicated his energies and his own vast fortune to inventing a future that is as rich and far-reaching as the visionaries of the golden age of science-fiction fantasy。
Thorough and insightful， Elon Musk brings to life a technology industry that is rapidly and dramatically changing by examining the life of one of its most powerful and influential titans。
Elon Musk spotlights the technology and vision of Elon Musk， the renowned entrepreneur and innovator behind SpaceX， Tesla， and SolarCity， who sold one of his Internet companies， PayPal， for $1。5 billion。 Ashlee Vance captures the full spectacle and arc of the genius’s life and work， from his tumultuous upbringing in South Africa and flight to the United States to his dramatic technical innovations and entrepreneurial pursuits。
Vance uses Musk’s story to explore one of the pressing questions of our age: can the nation of inventors and creators who led the modern world for a century still compete in an age of fierce global competition？ He argues that Musk—one of the most unusual and striking figures in American business history—is a contemporary， visionary amalgam of legendary inventors and industrialists including Thomas Edison， Henry Ford， Howard Hughes， and Steve Jobs。 More than any other entrepreneur today， Musk has dedicated his energies and his own vast fortune to inventing a future that is as rich and far-reaching as the visionaries of the golden age of science-fiction fantasy。
Thorough and insightful， Elon Musk brings to life a technology industry that is rapidly and dramatically changing by examining the life of one of its most powerful and influential titans。
Reviews
Dan Plumeri
，
A great piece of journalism that encapsulates the core drive of Elon Musk。 A fascinating journey from early startups like zip2 and paypal to his passionate engineering endeavors in Tesla and SpaceX。 If you want to understand the fanaticism of people you worship Elon， this book will convert you。 This book will inspire you if you have a deep interest in engineering and science。
Natasha
，
Дуже корисно читати книжки про біографії людей з високим інтелектом， бурною фантазією та нелюдською працездатністю。Але всі вони виявляються майже тиранами для своїх працівників。Невже без цього не буває успіху？Книга написана гарно。 Є бажання купити Теслу， та побачити， що Маск дійсно зробе， коли йому виповниться сімдесят。
TS
，
I thoroughly enjoyed the book。 I felt like it was well-balanced， making Mr。 Musk neither a hero nor a villain。 The author followed his career journey and along the way we learn about the human being behind the persona。
Yu On
，
This is the book I'll definitely read many times！！ Very worth reading！ It lets you know being Elon is not an easy thing。 This book shows u how his personality， friendships， are integrated to build his empire。 During some pages， it made me feel kinda emotional， like how he works so hard to keep his company from falling & how he keeps innovating great things。 Also there are a lot of good informations in this book， about batteries， rockets， EV and more。It's a very amazing book！ I very love it！ ANOT This is the book I'll definitely read many times！！ Very worth reading！ It lets you know being Elon is not an easy thing。 This book shows u how his personality， friendships， are integrated to build his empire。 During some pages， it made me feel kinda emotional， like how he works so hard to keep his company from falling & how he keeps innovating great things。 Also there are a lot of good informations in this book， about batteries， rockets， EV and more。It's a very amazing book！ I very love it！ ANOTHER I LEARN FROM THIS BOOK:Many people just talk about ideas they have， but ELON makes it happen。 。。。more
Thanawat
，
หนังสือชีวประวัติสุดทึ่งของตำนานมีชีวิต เรียกได้ว่าตั้งแต่ยุค “หลังสตีฟ จ็อบส์” ก็มี “อีลอน มัสก์” นี่แหละ ที่เป็นผู้ประกอบการที่ถูกกล่าวถึงมากที่สุดคนหนึ่งแห่งยุค และมีแนวโน้มว่าจะครองพื้นที่ไปอีกนานด้วยวิสัยทัศน์ที่มองไปไกลระดับจักรวาลช่วงต้นของหนังสือที่ปูพื้นเพ ที่มาที่ไป สาแหรกครอบครัวตามสไตล์ชีวประวัติ ทำได้ตามมาตรฐาน แน่นอนว่ามันไม่ได้หวือหวา แต่ก็ทำให้เห็นตัวตนในวัยเด็ก และสิ่งที่หล่อหลอมอีลอน มัสก์ ขึ้นมาได้พอเข้าสู่ช่วงที่เล่าถึงการสร้าง SpaceX， Tesla นี่แหละ ที่สนุกแบบจับต้องได้ เพราะ หนังสือชีวประวัติสุดทึ่งของตำนานมีชีวิต เรียกได้ว่าตั้งแต่ยุค “หลังสตีฟ จ็อบส์” ก็มี “อีลอน มัสก์” นี่แหละ ที่เป็นผู้ประกอบการที่ถูกกล่าวถึงมากที่สุดคนหนึ่งแห่งยุค และมีแนวโน้มว่าจะครองพื้นที่ไปอีกนานด้วยวิสัยทัศน์ที่มองไปไกลระดับจักรวาลช่วงต้นของหนังสือที่ปูพื้นเพ ที่มาที่ไป สาแหรกครอบครัวตามสไตล์ชีวประวัติ ทำได้ตามมาตรฐาน แน่นอนว่ามันไม่ได้หวือหวา แต่ก็ทำให้เห็นตัวตนในวัยเด็ก และสิ่งที่หล่อหลอมอีลอน มัสก์ ขึ้นมาได้พอเข้าสู่ช่วงที่เล่าถึงการสร้าง SpaceX， Tesla นี่แหละ ที่สนุกแบบจับต้องได้ เพราะมันเป็นเทคโนโลยีที่เห็นอยู่ในปัจจุบันน่าสนใจมากที่การอ่านหนังสือเล่มนี้ช่วยให้เห็นภาพ “อนาคต” ที่มัสก์ต้องการเทคโนโลยีอวกาศเอย รถไฟฟ้าเอย พลังงานสะอาดเอย เป็นความสำเร็จที่ถ้าเป็นคนธรรมดาคงจะพอใจสุดๆ แต่สำหรับมัสก์ สิ่งเหล่านั้นเป็นความสำเร็จพื้นฐานที่จะพาไปสู่สิ่งที่ใหญ่ที่สุด ซึ่งนั่นก็คือ “มนุษย์เป็นเผ่าพันธุ์ที่สามารถมีชีวิตอยู่บนดาวได้มากกว่าหนึ่งดวง” 。。。more
Evan Bruccoleri
，
AWESOME！ Makes you wish you studied engineering。 Many valuable insights into Tesla， SpaceX， and Solar City。
Michael
，
What Elon has accomplished is stunning。 He let nothing stand in his way and only sought out achieved exactly what he wanted without compromise on the end product。 Great read
Silvia
，
It was a great read。 Ashlee Vance did a good job on collecting good pieces of information about Musk's life until 2017。 A lot has happened since then， however this book gives us a great understanding about the man behind all these massive achievements that is making the world believe that the EV's will take over and change the concept of a car as we knew until now。 Not only this， Musk is on all fronts of sustainability， with Solarcity growing at a fast pace， with Space X proving that the interpl It was a great read。 Ashlee Vance did a good job on collecting good pieces of information about Musk's life until 2017。 A lot has happened since then， however this book gives us a great understanding about the man behind all these massive achievements that is making the world believe that the EV's will take over and change the concept of a car as we knew until now。 Not only this， Musk is on all fronts of sustainability， with Solarcity growing at a fast pace， with Space X proving that the interplanetary travel is not fiction anymore and will be reality sooner than most of us think。 The book also gives us an understanding of Musk's the modus operandi to achieve all his goals and visions。 For some he is a genius， for others he is just another Silicon Valley rich boy who likes attention and to show off。 However， no one can deny that he is achieving what most thought impossible。 。。。more
Vitasta Kaul
，
Fantastic read！ So reminded of this-Do or do not。 There’s no try ！ 😅
Pclaiborn08
，
Really interesting topic （Elon Musk， Tesla， SpaceX！！） really boring writing style。
Garvit
，
It is a great book and has inspired me to create and work on startups and gave me some beautiful ideas and tips to keep in mind while working 👍🏻👍🏻
Chetan Sharma
，
The author describes how Elon went from a bright， logical but bullied boy to the most accomplished businessman of our times and an inspirational figure; how he just left his homeland （South Africa） and started working manual jobs in Canada when he arrived there without a proper plan in place， then while in University just cold called influential people to learn from them， took the advantage of dot com bubble to build and sell a directory listing website， then revolutionized the banking industry The author describes how Elon went from a bright， logical but bullied boy to the most accomplished businessman of our times and an inspirational figure; how he just left his homeland （South Africa） and started working manual jobs in Canada when he arrived there without a proper plan in place， then while in University just cold called influential people to learn from them， took the advantage of dot com bubble to build and sell a directory listing website， then revolutionized the banking industry with Paypal， sunk all of his ~$250 million fortune into creating two industries which had never succeeded， electric cars and private spacecrafts。 。。。more
ed68a458
，
This book is obviously also a marketing effort。 But。Well written and compelling。 The author is good at making the character fascinating。 The subject already is， but the author is still good。The Elon of this biography has many merits and many things to learn from: Work ethic， Perseverance and Understanding when you are right despite what the detractors say and Learning to plan well。Elon never seems to stop and a touch of haughtiness seems right。 Maybe in this simulation it's just right。 Being Ica This book is obviously also a marketing effort。 But。Well written and compelling。 The author is good at making the character fascinating。 The subject already is， but the author is still good。The Elon of this biography has many merits and many things to learn from: Work ethic， Perseverance and Understanding when you are right despite what the detractors say and Learning to plan well。Elon never seems to stop and a touch of haughtiness seems right。 Maybe in this simulation it's just right。 Being Icarus is wrong， but Icarus was wrong because he didn't know physics。 Elon knows it and never seems to sin in hubris。 At least， that's what we get from the book。 Other things I learned is that you shouldn't be afraid to be daring and that you should always stay at the edge of tech。 You always have to experiment and do things that serve people。 If Elon had "lost，" no one would have remembered him。 But he won and we read his biography。 If we are in a simulation then we all need to learn something about the rules of this simulation 。。。more
Achi Arjevanidze
，
ილონ მასკის შესახებ ისედაც ბევრჯერ გვესმის და მისი კომპანიების სისტემატიურ წარმატებასთან ერთად， როგორც ჩანს კიდე ბევრჯერ მოვისმენთ。 წიგნი მეტად გასაგებს ხდის თუ მასკს როგორი დამოკიდებულება და პრინციპები გააჩნია， როგორ განსაჯავს დაქირავებულებს და რა სტანდარტებს აწესებს კომპანიებში。 მისი მიდგომა შესაძლოა ცივი და უემოციოც იყოს， მაგრამ ფაქტია， რომ დღეს ყველაზე მდიდარი ადამიანი， სამი დიდი და წარმატებული კომპანიების უკან， გამართლების ხარჯზე არ დგას。 მასკის აზრით ინტენსიური მუშაობა， მაღალი სტანდარტები ილონ მასკის შესახებ ისედაც ბევრჯერ გვესმის და მისი კომპანიების სისტემატიურ წარმატებასთან ერთად， როგორც ჩანს კიდე ბევრჯერ მოვისმენთ。 წიგნი მეტად გასაგებს ხდის თუ მასკს როგორი დამოკიდებულება და პრინციპები გააჩნია， როგორ განსაჯავს დაქირავებულებს და რა სტანდარტებს აწესებს კომპანიებში。 მისი მიდგომა შესაძლოა ცივი და უემოციოც იყოს， მაგრამ ფაქტია， რომ დღეს ყველაზე მდიდარი ადამიანი， სამი დიდი და წარმატებული კომპანიების უკან， გამართლების ხარჯზე არ დგას。 მასკის აზრით ინტენსიური მუშაობა， მაღალი სტანდარტები და რთული დავალება ამობილიზებს ადამიანს შექმნას რაიმე ღირებული， იგი გატაცებულია იდეით， რომ გარდასახოს არსებული და მოახდინოს რყევები დანერგილ არსებულ საკითხებში。 იქნება ეს კოსმოსური ფრენები თუ ავტომობილები， ელექტროენერგიის გამომუშავება თუ სხვა。 მასკი მუდამ ეძებს ახალ გზებს აკეთოს რამე ნაცნობი სხვანაირად， უფრო ეფექტურად და ხარისხიანად。 ტესლამ და სფეის ექსმა თავიანთი ხარისხი და ეფექტურობა უკვე არაერთხელ წარმოაჩინეს。კომპანიები， რომლებსაც სასაცილოდაც არ იგდებდნენ და პროგნოზირებდნენ თუ როდის გაკონტრდებოდნენ， დღეს მოწინავე სიებშია。 ბუნებრივია， რომ რაც არ უნდა იდგეს მასკის უჩვეულო პერსონის უკან， მისი წარმატება არაერთ დარგში ცხადყოფს， რომ ყოველი ჩვევა რაც მას გააჩნია მნიშვნელოვნად ირეკლება მის საბოლოო შედეგზე。 წიგნშიც ეს ყველივე ვრცლად და გასაგებად არის აღწერილი。 აუცილებლად წასაკითხია მათთვის ვინც მსგავსი პიროვნებებით ინტერესდება。 ილონი აშკარად ერთ-ერთი მათგანია， ვიზეც სასურველაი მეტი ვიცოდეთ。 。。。more
Mae Mueller
，
glorified elon WAYYY too much。 didn't mention anything about how many advantages he had， and even justified how strict and abusive he was to his employees。 however， i did get a good understanding of spacex's missions and tesla's impact and uniqueness。 glorified elon WAYYY too much。 didn't mention anything about how many advantages he had， and even justified how strict and abusive he was to his employees。 however， i did get a good understanding of spacex's missions and tesla's impact and uniqueness。 。。。more
Kaloyana
，
2，5 звезди。 Досадно много цифри и ненужни подробности （нито ще сглобявам части от спейсекс вкъщи， нито тесла в мазето， мерси за всяко болтче， винтче диаметър， цени на акции и не помня какво още）， много повторения， разказване на подобни случки。 Скука， досада。 Някак си е закърпена 0ттук-оттам за ли4ния живот и тн， няма литературна стойност， за съжаление。 И ако и вие като мен не харесвате безчовечни， неприятни， и странно изглеждащи хора като мъск， безос， и как беше този с айфона， заредете се с мног 2，5 звезди。 Досадно много цифри и ненужни подробности （нито ще сглобявам части от спейсекс вкъщи， нито тесла в мазето， мерси за всяко болтче， винтче диаметър， цени на акции и не помня какво още）， много повторения， разказване на подобни случки。 Скука， досада。 Някак си е закърпена 0ттук-оттам за ли4ния живот и тн， няма литературна стойност， за съжаление。 И ако и вие като мен не харесвате безчовечни， неприятни， и странно изглеждащи хора като мъск， безос， и как беше този с айфона， заредете се с много търпение。 （бих могла да кажа нещо защо не ме кефят то4но тези т。нар。 гении， виозионери и тн， ама ме мързи）Ако не беше аудиокнига， щеше да я зарязана 14 страница， посредством шут。 。。。more
Fraser Martin
，
Having recently become more interested in STEM， Elon Musk is somewhat of an idol。 Dubbed 'the real life Iron Man' he almost seems to be at the forefront of any industry or company that is set to take human beings into the future。 The story of Elon Musk is told from the perspective of someone in awe of his brilliance。 Ashlee Vance pieces together how Elon developed into a disruptor of industries from his beginnings as a bullied child。 Anecdotes from throughout his life， both good and bad， begin t Having recently become more interested in STEM， Elon Musk is somewhat of an idol。 Dubbed 'the real life Iron Man' he almost seems to be at the forefront of any industry or company that is set to take human beings into the future。 The story of Elon Musk is told from the perspective of someone in awe of his brilliance。 Ashlee Vance pieces together how Elon developed into a disruptor of industries from his beginnings as a bullied child。 Anecdotes from throughout his life， both good and bad， begin to describe why Elon thinks the way he thinks and acts the way he acts。 A great telling of the story of Elon Musk and a must read for anyone who wants to learn how someone can have such a futuristic way of thinking 。。。more
Sal reads
，
''Elon Musk is a body that remains very much in motion''That's a very inspirational book， the writing is clear I've learned so many new words， hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did。This book is the biography of Elon Musk。 Surely this guy is an incredible entrepreneur， from when he was called a know it all kid， because of his thirst of information ， to a 。com millionnaire to finally， the richest man alive。 also being a big risk taker which made a huge impact on his success， investing all his mone ''Elon Musk is a body that remains very much in motion''That's a very inspirational book， the writing is clear I've learned so many new words， hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did。This book is the biography of Elon Musk。 Surely this guy is an incredible entrepreneur， from when he was called a know it all kid， because of his thirst of information ， to a 。com millionnaire to finally， the richest man alive。 also being a big risk taker which made a huge impact on his success， investing all his money earned from Zip2 and PayPal， into SpaceX， Tesla and Solarcity， and even after being called mad， insane， he never really gave up on his vision， and that on itself is inspirational。 I wont say that he's perfect， he surely isn't， bossing people around and lacking sleep is definitely a hard road to take， which also shows his hard-will and determination。 risk is always a good idea if only it's followed by a good management and determination。 。。。more
Amelia
，
Interesting biography。 Definitely reads from the perspective of Musk being eccentric and committed rather than somewhat abusive。
Dakshesh Thacker
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In the last three weeks that I have been reading this book， I have spoken to many technology geeks and start-up enthusiasts about their opinion on Musk。 The verdict is unanimous。 Musk is probably a great visionary and technical genius but a not so great people leader who can't lead technology firms like a Jobs， Cook or Gates。 Ashlee Vance's biography manages to convey the same message in an almost crisp but sufficiently detailed volume。 I must say that rigor of primary research， shadowing and fi In the last three weeks that I have been reading this book， I have spoken to many technology geeks and start-up enthusiasts about their opinion on Musk。 The verdict is unanimous。 Musk is probably a great visionary and technical genius but a not so great people leader who can't lead technology firms like a Jobs， Cook or Gates。 Ashlee Vance's biography manages to convey the same message in an almost crisp but sufficiently detailed volume。 I must say that rigor of primary research， shadowing and fieldwork that Vance may have put into writing the book would have made him at that time the singularly most obsessed with Musk on the planet。 Vance's hardwork reflects well in the book and as a reader you get a good glimpse into the Tony Stark-esque world of Musk。 Even more commendable is the style of writing and structure of the book。 Some of the sections leading up to Tesla's near bankruptcy in 2008 and SpaceX's multiple launch failures at Kwaj read like a page turning thriller。 Vance keeps shifting gears in the body of the book between the two major firms Musk works for and closes the book out with a chapter tying it all together and a future orientation。 Indian readers can consider it analogous to Rang De Basanti's screenplay。Although Musk's story by itself and his meteoric rise in the last two decades is a great story by itself and could easily have been science fiction a century back （and probably partially even today）， the subtle hero for me is Vance's style and analysis of Musk。 My second key takeaway is the belief in audacious thinking and the power of pure execution in reaching seemingly unachievable and super ambitious targets。 Reading the well crafted for layman technical details of the book has urged me to explore more about space， electric vehicles and a whole bunch of other technology related topics。 I would recommend this book to principally two kinds of readers。 Firstly， the start-up enthusiasts who are looking to learn about the success and failure of a startup journey and secondly the young science and tech freaks who are looking to understand space， EVs and renewable energy。 I can only hypothesize but had I read this book six years ago when it was first released I may have stuck around in electrical engineering and life would probably been very different。 。。。more
L
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Before I read this book I was a Musk idolizer。 I now see him more as a flawed man trying to do his best to change the world。But there is some shit here that if Musk did it it’s then musk is fucking crazy。
Dealer Mobil Mitsubishi
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Best Inspiration from future personHarga Mobil Mitsubishi New Pajero Sport Best Inspiration from future personHarga Mobil Mitsubishi New Pajero Sport 。。。more
Neall
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A well-researched and interesting story。 It’s unfortunate that Mary Beth Brown refused to interview for this book— I’m sure her experience would’ve been illuminating。If I had to guess， Musk will have created more value for humanity than all of his detractors combined。
Ankita
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I read Elon's biography on the enthusiastic recommendation of a friend who never finished it。 Impossible not to be grateful to her for it- this biography has influenced the choice of my career。 What can I say， like a millions before me， I fell under Elon's spell。At the time of reading this book， I wasn't in the habit of taking notes。 Fortunately， Tim Urban's blog Waitbutwhy has lovely deep-dives on the way Elon thinks。 For Elon， the phrase "it isn't rocket science" needs to bend。 Saying whether I read Elon's biography on the enthusiastic recommendation of a friend who never finished it。 Impossible not to be grateful to her for it- this biography has influenced the choice of my career。 What can I say， like a millions before me， I fell under Elon's spell。At the time of reading this book， I wasn't in the habit of taking notes。 Fortunately， Tim Urban's blog Waitbutwhy has lovely deep-dives on the way Elon thinks。 For Elon， the phrase "it isn't rocket science" needs to bend。 Saying whether Elon will build a colony on Mars or not in his lifetime is beyond my forecasting prowess。 My hypothesis is that he will。 Worse case scenario， he will make significant progress towards it。 Then someone will come along and build upon his work， advancing humanity forward forever。Naval called Elon a rare billionaire who seemed to be happy doing what he is doing。 I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand why that is the case。 。。。more
Vinay Gautam
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this book is for those who are curious and motivated to learn about space rockets， electric cars， and some related history， then I think someone as young as 11-12 might read all or part（s） of this book。 the author goes into great detail， but the entire biographical story is compelling。 love reading this book。
Anna Nguyen
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I'm a little bit disappointed with this book。 It feels like it tried too hard to be on Elon's good side。 I would expect more aspects of his thought process on his competitors， how he got through the struggles。 This is just like a report on how successful and awesome Elon is。 I'm a little bit disappointed with this book。 It feels like it tried too hard to be on Elon's good side。 I would expect more aspects of his thought process on his competitors， how he got through the struggles。 This is just like a report on how successful and awesome Elon is。 。。。more
Charlotte
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4。5 stars。 Incredibly interesting， and I wish I had read it right when it came out。 Musk is a fascinating figure who seems to have ambitious goals， and likely the potential as well， to fundamentally change the world。 The book went into a lot of detail about the inter-company workings and key employees at the different stages of Tesla and SpaceX， which was hard to get through if you can’t sit down and read for long periods at a time。
Koma Ivan
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I think book need be more divided by chapters and for 2021 this book can become rich by some new chapters）
Kevin R
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Overall a rather interesting read on the "sneak peeks" of one of the most phenomenal， if not the most extraordinary entrepreneur there is， and his 'earth-shattering' enterprises and its innovations。Enough said。P。S: there are quite a few sprinkles of f bombs throughout the course of the book， and the contents may be taken with a grain of salt as it is written with a somewhat idolizing tone， but in my subjective perspective， it may be quite the way to present this man as to how quirky his endeavor Overall a rather interesting read on the "sneak peeks" of one of the most phenomenal， if not the most extraordinary entrepreneur there is， and his 'earth-shattering' enterprises and its innovations。Enough said。P。S: there are quite a few sprinkles of f bombs throughout the course of the book， and the contents may be taken with a grain of salt as it is written with a somewhat idolizing tone， but in my subjective perspective， it may be quite the way to present this man as to how quirky his endeavors can be 。。。more
Łukasz
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