Elon Musk and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance

Elon Musk and the Quest for a Fantastic Future (Young Readers edition) by Ashlee Vance.  HarperCollins, 2017, 273 pages

Reading Level: Teens, ages 12-15

Recommended for: 12-up

If there’s a candidate for “Thomas Edison of the 21st century,” he would be it.  Born and raised in South Africa, he headed for North America as soon as possible.  Not surprisingly, he ended up in Silicon Valley, where the future was happening.  His first entrepreneurial efforts were in computing, and very early he established a pattern: vision, promising start, setbacks or failure, success.  His first Intel startups, after a rough launch, made him a millionaire when he sold them (one of them became PayPal).  Then the big thinking began: not about the increasingly micro-world of computing, but about powering communities and traveling around the world and into space.  Tesla Inc. and SpaceX both encountered massive problems, cost overruns, and expensive delays that brought them to the brink of bankruptcy.  But in both cases, Musk doubled down, worked out the details and eventually broke through to success (update: Tesla hasn’t done so well lately but maybe in time we’ll have a long-range, horsepower-equivalent electric vehicle).

Elon Musk is not the genius: a crew of first-rate engineers, programmers and logicians make it happen.  But he has the vision and the business sense to hang in long enough to produce a practical electric car and a rocket capable to going to the moon—and eventually to Mars. This biography, a young-reader edition of the author’s original book, gets a bit technical for this non-tekkie reviewer, and it appropriately soft-pedals its subject’s marital difficulties (second divorce in the works).  I also appreciate how the author handles quoted vulgarity, to the point of using ellipses and bracketed euphemisms.  As such, the language doesn’t detract.  Musk has his personal faults, and could best be described as an agnostic, but his story is a testimony to the power of human creativity and free (or mostly-free) enterprise.

Cautions: Language (a few instances of mild profanity, such as “hell.”)

Overall Rating: 3.5 (out of 5)

  • Worldview/moral value: 3
  • Artistic value: 4

 

Stay Up to Date!

Get the information you need to make wise choices about books for your children and teens.

Our weekly newsletter includes our latest reviews, related links from around the web, a featured book list, book trivia, and more. We never sell your information. You may unsubscribe at any time.

Something went wrong. Please check your entries and try again.

Support our writers and help keep Redeemed Reader ad-free by joining the Redeemed Reader Fellowship.

Stay Up to Date!

Get the information you need to make wise choices about books for your children and teens.

Our weekly newsletter includes our latest reviews, related links from around the web, a featured book list, book trivia, and more. We never sell your information. You may unsubscribe at any time.

Something went wrong. Please check your entries and try again.

FREE Bible Guide!

Get a guide to the Best Bibles for Children and Teens. Perfect for an Easter gift.

Janie Cheaney

Janie is the VERY senior staff writer for Redeemed Reader, as well as a long-time contributor to WORLD Magazine and an author of nine books for children. The rest of the time she's long-distance smooching on her four grandchildren (not an easy task). She lives with her equally senior husband of almost-fifty years in the Ozarks of Missouri.

We'd love to hear from you!

Our comments are now limited to our members (both Silver and Golden Key). Members, you just need to log in with your normal log-in credentials!

Not a member yet? You can join the Silver Key ($2.99/month) for a free 2-week trial. Cancel at any time. Find out more about membership here.

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.