{"id":52880,"date":"2026-05-01T19:09:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T19:09:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/52880\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T19:09:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T19:09:28","slug":"the-books-elon-musk-says-most-influenced-his-life-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/52880\/","title":{"rendered":"The Books Elon Musk Says Most Influenced His Life"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-weight-normal about-author\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.giantfreakinrobot.com\/author\/joelle\" title=\"Joelle Renstrom\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Joelle Renstrom<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t | Published 1 hour ago\t\t<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/musk-snl-host-1200-900x500.jpeg\" alt=\"elon musk\" class=\"wp-image-237859\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Elon Musk is now one of the most famous and successful people in the history of the human race. He\u2019s become a real-life Tony Stark, but he didn\u2019t get that way overnight. It took a lot of work and a lot of reading. <\/p>\n<p>These are the books that he says most influenced his life.<\/p>\n<p>Elon Musk\u2019s Nonfiction Book Recommendations<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-9-900x450.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-739823\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel. <\/p>\n<p>Musk met Thiel when Thiel was running PayPal and Musk was running a rival payment company. Musk wholeheartedly believes Thiel knows how to create and run \u201cbreakthrough\u201d companies.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"508\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-10-900x508.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-739824\"  \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/library.sciencemadness.org\/library\/books\/ignition.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Ignition!: An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants<\/a> by John D. Clark <\/p>\n<p>It doesn\u2019t sound like beach reading, but apparently it\u2019s \u201creally fun.\u201d Clark\u2019s account of the history of rocket fuel draws on his background as a chemist and also explains the science and the politics behind the industry.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"508\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-11-900x508.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-739825\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Structures: Or Why Things Don\u2019t Fall Down by J.E. Gordon <\/p>\n<p>Another book Elon read to familiarize himself with rocketry and structural engineering.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"508\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-12-900x508.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-739826\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s probably unsurprising that Musk cited the book <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B000PC0S0K\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B000PC0S0K&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=gfrobot-20\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Einstein: His Life and Universe<\/a> as a formative read. Like Musk, Einstein overcame some difficult personal circumstances to become one of the most renowned scientists of all time. Isaacson\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Benjamin-Franklin-American-Walter-Isaacson-ebook\/dp\/B000FBJG4U\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1412690145&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=isaacson+franklin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">biography of Benjamin Franklin<\/a> was also formative for Musk, not just because Franklin was a scientist, but because he was an entrepreneur. He calls Franklin \u201cone of his heroes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"508\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-13-900x508.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-739827\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies by. Nick Bostrom<\/p>\n<p>Worth reading Superintelligence by Bostrom. We need to be super careful with AI. Potentially more dangerous than nukes.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/495759307346952192\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">August 3, 2014<\/a><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m happy to see Nick Bostrom\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00LOOCGB2\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B00LOOCGB2&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=gfrobot-20\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies<\/a> on the list. The book influenced Musk\u2019s thinking about the dangers of AI, which is something all scientists and engineers need to keep in mind.<\/p>\n<p>Elon Musk\u2019s Favorite Fiction<\/p>\n<p>Musk reportedly had a rough early childhood in South Africa. He was runty and too smart for his own good, and kids called him \u201cMuskrat.\u201d So he\u2019d do what a lot of people with rough childhoods (and adulthoods) do: he escaped into fantasy and science fiction. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"508\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-14-900x508.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-739828\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Foundation by Isaac Asimov<\/p>\n<p>Musk is a big Asimov fan and calls <a href=\"https:\/\/www.giantfreakinrobot.com\/topic\/foundation\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Foundation<\/a> \u201cone of the all-time best.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"508\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-15-900x508.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-739829\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>The Lord Of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien<\/p>\n<p>The Lord of the Rings was one of the books Musk sought refuge in during childhood. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"508\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-16-900x508.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-739830\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>The Hitchhiker\u2019s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams<\/p>\n<p>Musk infamously loves <a href=\"https:\/\/www.giantfreakinrobot.com\/topic\/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Hitchhiker\u2019s Guide to the Galaxy<\/a>, which helped him cope with what he calls an \u201cexistential crisis\u201d during his early teenage years. Where Nietzsche and Schopenhauer failed to guide Musk through that time, Adams\u2019 ridiculous romp succeeded.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"508\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-17-900x508.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-739831\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein<\/p>\n<p>Lastly, Musk was a huge fan of Robert Heinlein, specifically <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0312863551\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0312863551&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=gfrobot-20\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0441788386\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0441788386&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=gfrobot-20\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Stranger in a Strange Land<\/a>, even though according to Musk, the latter \u201ckind of goes off the rails at the end.\u201d True. However, he named his AI Grok after a term used by Heinlein in Stranger in a Strange Land.<\/p>\n<p>\t<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Joelle Renstrom | Published 1 hour ago Elon Musk is now one of the most famous and&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":52881,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[123],"tags":[1789,202,32440,32441,228,32442,9261],"class_list":{"0":"post-52880","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-peter-thiel","8":"tag-books","9":"tag-elon-musk","10":"tag-isaac-asimov","11":"tag-j-r-r-tolkien","12":"tag-peter-thiel","13":"tag-robert-a-heinlein","14":"tag-science-fiction"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@people\/116500900365588410","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52880\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}