Ask HN: What are thoughts on Walter Isaacson's new biography of Elon Musk?
I found it a very easy and engaging read, even though my perspective of Musk has changed over time. My one criticism is that it seems a bit premature, I feel like the most interesting part of the story is yet to come, he'll either achieve more of his goals or will self immolate.
I felt it ended quite abruptly too, and then I remembered Elon still seems healthy enough and may accomplish/mess up more.
Nicely written as his books usually are, but I have two issues with it:
1. It is simply at many points a recitation of events that happen. It tries to delve no deeper into Musk than "a guy with big dreams who pisses people off to make it happen, also had a bad childhood"
2. Many business leaders will use it as justification that the only way to get good results is to be punishing and ruthless. There are certainly aspects that benefit leaders (low agreeableness, highly detail oriented) but they aren't necessary.
This review addresses your concerns. https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/1/23895069/walter-isaacson-... The book is more revealing about Isaacson than it is about Musk once one digs into the known facts of the events.