9 Book Recommendations by John Collison
Liftoff
Eric Berger
The dramatic inside story of the first four historic flights that launched SpaceX--and Elon Musk--from a shaky startup into the world's leading edge rocket company. In 2006, SpaceX--a brand-new venture with fewer than 200 employees--rolled its first, single-engine rocket onto a launch pad at Kwajalein Atoll. After a groundbreaking launch from the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the Falcon 1 rocket designed by Elon Musk's engineers rose in the air for approximately thirty seconds. Then, its engine flamed out, and the rocket crashed back into the ocean. In 2007, SpaceX undertook a second launch. This time, the rocket rose far into space, but just before reaching orbit it spun out of control. Confident of success in 2008, Musk and his team launched their third rocket with several paying customers. The first stage executed perfectly, but instead of falling away, it thudded into the second stage. Another failure. Elon Musk had only budgeted for three attempts when he founded SpaceX. Out of money and with a single Falcon 1 rocket left in its factory, SpaceX decided to try one last, dramatic launch. Over eight weeks, engineers worked furiously to prepare this final rocket. The fate of Musk's venture mirrored the trajectory of this slender, single-engine rocket aimed toward the skies. If it crashed and burned, so would SpaceX. In September 2008, SpaceX's last chance for success lifted off . . . and accelerated like a dream, soaring into orbit flawlessly. That success would launch a miraculous decade for the company, in which SpaceX grew from building a single-engine rocket to one with a staggering 27 engines; created two different spacecraft, and mastered reusable-rocket descents using mobile drone ships on the open seas. It marked a level of production and achievement that has not been seen since the space race of the 1960s. But these achievements would not have been possible without SpaceX's first four flight tests. Drawing on unparalleled access and exclusive interviews with dozens of former and current employees--engineers, designers, mechanics, and executives, including Elon Musk--Eric Berger tells the complete story of this foundational generation that transformed SpaceX into the world's leading space company. Liftoff includes more than a dozen photographs.Doesn't cover Starlink, but I enjoyed @SciGuySpace's new book on the swashbuckling early days of SpaceX https://t.co/w92xc5DDnh
The Art of Doing Science and Engineering
Richard W. Hamming
"Hamming turned his lecture notes into a book, 'The Art of Doing Science and Engineering,' which has been republished by Stripe Press—a young publishing house [...] that brings out interesting left-brained books in beautiful, right-brain-friendly editions" https://t.co/XbIrAYBMgJ
American Kingpin
Nick Bilton
.@nickbilton’s American Kingpin is an incredible tale. Ross Ulbricht started Silk Road while watching Breaking Bad and became Walter White. He was arrested the day after the season finale. Life imitating art. https://t.co/0tnLM916X4
Financial Shenanigans
Howard Schilit
The 1MDB tale drives home the fact that there are no new ideas in fraud; they all follow a very similar outline. I enjoyed this accounting-focused treatment of many major frauds: https://t.co/xX3nVquCP6
Financial Shenanigans, Third Edition
Howard M. Schilit
The book is Financial Shenanigans and was a well-targeted gift from @patrickc who somehow keeps finding this stuff https://t.co/evDwixN8Hu
Stuff Matters
Mark Miodownik
A world-leading materials scientist presents an engrossing collection of stories that explain the science and history of materials, from the plastic in our appliances to the elastic in our underpants, revealing the miracles of engineering that seep into our everyday lives. 25,000 first printing.The fun "Stuff Matters" book answers why US chocolate tastes like ground-up newspaper to me. https://t.co/Df0IK5skB2 https://t.co/Dkz2fqwkL4
Hard Landing
Thomas Petzinger Jr.
An expose of the airline industry covers such events as the rise of Southwest Airlines, Pan Am's attempt to take over National, and the battle between British Airways and Virgin Air@jamesreggio this seems like an apt time to plug one of my favorite non-fiction books: http://t.co/K2Ljb80qNH
Elon Musk
Ashlee Vance
Elon Musk is the most daring entrepreneur of our time There are few industrialists in history who could match Elon Musk's relentless drive and ingenious vision. A modern alloy of Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Howard Hughes, and Steve Jobs, Musk is the man behind PayPal, Tesla Motors, SpaceX, and SolarCity, each of which has sent shock waves throughout American business and industry. More than any other executive today, Musk has dedicated his energies and his own vast fortune to inventing a future that is as rich and far-reaching as a science fiction fantasy. In this lively, investigative account, veteran technology journalist Ashlee Vance offers an unprecedented look into the remarkable life and times of Silicon Valley's most audacious businessman. Written with exclusive access to Musk, his family, and his friends, the book traces his journey from his difficult upbringing in South Africa to his ascent to the pinnacle of the global business world. Vance spent more than fifty hours in conversation with Musk and interviewed close to three hundred people to tell the tumultuous stories of Musk's world-changing companies and to paint a portrait of a complex man who has renewed American industry and sparked new levels of innovation—all while making plenty of enemies along the way. In 1992, Elon Musk arrived in the United States as a ferociously driven immigrant bent on realizing his wildest dreams. Since then, Musk's roller-coaster life has brought him grave disappointments alongside massive successes. After being forced out of PayPal, fending off a life-threatening case of malaria, and dealing with the death of his infant son, Musk abandoned Silicon Valley for Los Angeles. He spent the next few years baffling his friends by blowing his entire fortune on rocket ships and electric cars. Cut to 2012, however, and Musk had mounted one of the greatest resurrections in business history: Tesla, SpaceX, and SolarCity had enjoyed unparalleled success, and Musk's net worth soared to more than $5 billion. At a time when many American companies are more interested in chasing easy money than in taking bold risks on radical new technology, Musk stands out as the only businessman with enough dynamism and vision to tackle—and even revolutionize—three industries at once. Vance makes the case that Musk's success heralds a return to the original ambition and invention that made America an economic and intellectual powerhouse. Elon Musk is a brilliant, penetrating examination of what Musk's career means for a technology industry undergoing dramatic change and offers a taste of what could be an incredible century ahead..@valleyhack's new book on @elonmusk is a good read. http://t.co/zSfgs2w8zN
Hard Landing
Thomas Petzinger Jr.
An expose of the airline industry covers such events as the rise of Southwest Airlines, Pan Am's attempt to take over National, and the battle between British Airways and Virgin AirMy favorite history of the Uber vs Lyft war is this book: http://t.co/CSY1Uv7Skd