Asked how he learned to build rockets, Elon Musk replied simply: “I read books.”
Elon Musk is one of the world's leading entrepreneurs. A tremendously successful figure, he once entered a Physics PhD program at Stanford University but left midway because it seemed unrelated to his field. Musk is not only among the most intelligent people but also an exceptionally hard worker.
Elon Musk's library contains 12 books that helped shape him and his career, contributing to his success today. Surprisingly, science fiction and fantasy novels make up most of them. Below are some of the books that most influenced Elon Musk, nurturing his soul as a child and turning him into a hero in his youth.
1. “The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien
Musk has shared that while living in South Africa, he overcame his shyness by reading science fiction and fantasy novels.
Those books shaped his vision of the future. ‘I always felt that the heroes in this book had a mission to save the world,’ Elon Musk shared.
2. “The Road to the Milky Way” by Douglas Adams
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Musk said in an interview that he experienced a serious crisis between ages 12 and 15. He could not overcome it until reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which taught him: “If you can define the question precisely, finding the answer will be very easy.”
3. ‘Benjamin Franklin: An American Life’ by Walter Isaacson
Musk draws inspiration from Benjamin Franklin, who began with nothing as a runaway child. Musk's story was somewhat similar: growing up in South Africa, studying in Canada, then transferring to UPEN before accepting an invitation to Stanford's PhD program to enter Silicon Valley.
4. Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacso
Musk learned much from Einstein's biography: a father struggling to find work who became the outstanding scientist known worldwide today. Through reading, Elon was inspired by a genius who changed the world through intelligence and ambition, much as Musk is doing.
5. “Structures: Or Why Things Don’t Fall Down” by J.E. Gordon
Musk is an entrepreneur and, like all successful businesspeople, proactive about self-education. When beginning the SpaceX spacecraft project, Elon Musk decided to learn the fundamentals of rocket science. This was one of the books that helped him most during that period.
6. “Ignition!: An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants” by John D. Clark
Ignition! is not just a book about rocket science. It also describes technical details, recounts successful experiments and provides fundamental knowledge that helps you explain how and why things were done in rocket science. It is a fascinating book because John D. Clark has collected all the information you want to know about this field in Ignition!
7. “Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies” by Nick Bostrom
In this book, Nick Bostrom presents his views on what will happen when artificial intelligence surpasses the human brain. Elon Musk, the eccentric billionaire who has successfully run three companies, addressed this issue on Twitter: “We need to be cautious with artificial intelligence.”
8. “Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future” by Peter Thiel
“Peter Thiel has built many groundbreaking companies, and in Zero to One he shows us how to succeed.” Elon shared this view in an interview when speaking about Peter. Peter's most notable achievement was founding PayPal and selling it to eBay in a multibillion-dollar deal.
9. “Howard Hughes: His Life and Madness” by Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele
This is a biography of a brilliant but eccentric filmmaker and aviation developer. It is easy to understand why Musk was so drawn to Howard Hughes—not only his success but also a distinctive personality quite similar to his own.
10. “Expert” by Naomi Orestes and Erik M. Conway
Merchants of Doubt is a work by 2 historians that examines the relationship among economics, politics and global health. “The same people who tried to deny tobacco’s mortality rate also deny the harmful effects of climate change,” Musk said.
11. A trilogy of works “Foundation” by Isaac Asimov
Elon Musk’s passion for space science may have originated in the science-fiction novels he read. In a 2013 interview with The Guardian, Musk said Isaac Asimov’s ‘Foundation’ series had a profound influence on him.
12. “The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress” by author Robert Heinlein
The novel, first published in 1966 and awarded a prize for the most compelling science-fiction novel, paints a forecast of the universe's future. This is also the kind of book Elon Musk enjoys and that suits his imagination.
Collected.
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