Elon Musk’s life is a series of epic triumphs and failures. As a child, warned against playing with fire, he ignored the advice and lit matches behind a tree. This story, recounted in Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson, takes readers through Musk’s extraordinary journey. Isaacson, who spent two years researching and gaining access to Musk’s life, friends, family, and even ex-wives, gives us an unfiltered look at the tech mogul. Remarkably, Musk never read the final manuscript before publication.

The book begins in the 1970s, detailing Musk’s childhood in South Africa and his move to Canada at 18. He co-founded Zip2 with his brother Kimbal, then later X.com, which evolved into PayPal. His late-night coding binges and his mix of rudeness and detachment lost many coworkers, which he blamed on his Aspergers. In 2002, he started SpaceX, defying predictions of failure. Musk seems to feel most energized when in survive-or-die mode. The early rocket launches were disastrous, but Musk’s relentless drive eventually led to success, with SpaceX launching 31 rockets into orbit. NASA gave up the rocket business, and Elon moved in with SpaceX.

From Tesla’s autonomous vehicles to the Neuralink project, Musk has revolutionized multiple industries. His ambitious goals include creating humanoid robots, developing AI for self-driving cars, and building a supercomputer with Dojo, capable of performing nearly eight exaflops per second. Even his controversial acquisition of Twitter fits his pattern of relentless risk-taking.

The book is filled with volcanic eruptions, unbelievable success in the impossible dreams of Elon, and the fantastic minds gathered from all over the planet. Isaacson captures Musk’s oscillation between brilliance and unpredictability, describing him as driven by “bold, stubborn, reckless, and visionary” impulses. Despite his demons, Musk’s vision has reshaped the future. The book is a thrilling, fast-paced read, filled with monumental achievements that constantly defy expectations.