Whilst it is perfectly possible to chance upon something wonderful browsing aimlessly in a book shop or library – you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your handsome prince, princess, or gender neutral royal. Time is short and information appears infinite, so it makes sense to be selective about what you feed your mind.
Bringing you reading recommendations that will help you develop as a leader and as a person. This week Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and CEO of SpaceX. Founder of PayPal and The Boring Company. Engineer, artist, intellectual. Often controversial and divisive and perhaps the closest thing to a renaissance man in the corporate world today.
This is what Elon Musk recommends reading:
Structures: Or Why Things Don’t Fall Down by J.E. Gordon
“It is really, really good if you want a primer on structural design.”
Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies by Nick Bostron
“Worth reading Superintelligence by Bostrom. We need to be super careful with AI. Potentially more dangerous than nukes.”
Ignition!: An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants by John D. Clark
“There is a good book on rocket stuff called ‘Ignition!’ by John Clark that’s a really fun one.”
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
“It highlighted an important point, which is that a lot of times the question is harder than the answer. If you can properly phrase the question, then the answer is the easy part. So, to the degree that we can better understand the universe, then we can better know what questions to ask.”
The Lord of the Rings: Boxed Set by J.R.R. Tolkein
As an undersized and picked upon smart-aleck, he turned to reading fantasy and science fiction. “The heroes of the books I read, always felt a duty to save the world.”
Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence by Max Tegmark
“Worth reading Life 3.0 by Max Tegmark. AI will be the best or worst thing ever for humanity, so let’s get it right.”
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson
“He was an entrepreneur. He started from nothing. He was just a runaway kid.”