- Stories like The Lord of the Rings and Foundation taught him heroes feel duty to save the world and inspired grand ambitions.
- The Foundation Trilogy specifically inspired Musk to pursue a business career focused on space exploration.
- Books about artificial intelligence like Superintelligence and Our Final Invention warn that AI could become dangerous to mankind.
- Zero to One influenced his startup thinking, showing how to build breakthrough companies from unique insights and bold ideas.
- Ignition is recommended as a practical, informal history and technical guide for anyone interested in rockets and propellants.
Apart from being an engineer and a tech entrepreneur, Elon Musk is also known for a whole lot of things, including reading books. According to his mother, he’s fond of going around with books on almost all occasions. Little wonder he credits most of his success to books he had read. Since our goal at Insider Paper is to deliver you the best content, we have made a thorough research and compiled a list of some of these books. In this article, we’ll be showing you the top 10 books recommended by Elon Musk. Hopefully, one or more of them might be of help to you.
Top 10 Books Recommended By Elon Musk
10- The Lord of The Rings
In between all the books read by Elon Musk, we’ve come across this epic high-fantasy novel. The Lord of The Rings, written by J.R.R Tolkien, is one of our top 10 books recommended by Elon Musk. According to what the Tesla owner said, The heroes of the books I read, ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and the ‘Foundation’ series, always felt a duty to save the world.”
9- Einstein: His Life and Universe
Also on our top 10 books recommended by Elon Musk is “Einstein: His Life and Universe.” The non-fiction book, written by Walker Isaacson focuses on the biographical analysis of Albert Einstein.
8- Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, another novel by Walker Isaacson, is a non-fiction book that focuses on the biographical work of the US statesman, Benjamin Franklin. In an interview, Musk said: “He was an entrepreneur. He further added that “Franklin started from nothing and he was just a runaway kid”
7- Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies
Another book on our list of top 10 books recommended by Elon Musk is Superintelligence. The book, written by the Swedish philosopher Nick Bostrom, argues about the machine and human brain. According to Musk, artificial intelligence (AI) can be dangerous to mankind.
6- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy By Douglas Adams
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a book written by Douglas Adams. The Sci-Fi comedy book was originally broadcasted on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, before being converted to a novel format. According to Musk, he read the book when he was growing up. He also added that the book is quite positive. Here’s what he said about it in an interview: “It highlighted an important point, which is that a lot of times the question is harder than the answer. And 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.”
5- The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov
The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov is one of the books that inspired Ellon Musk to pursue a business career in space exploration.
4- Our Final Invention by James Barrat
“Our Final Invention by James Barrat” is also one of the few books on our list of top 10 books recommended by Elon Musk. In the novel, James Barrat discussed how Artificial Intelligent could become mankind’s competitor.
3- Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
According to Musk, this book by Peter Thiel has built several breakthrough companies. If you want to know about them, try and get the book.
2- Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Lord of the Flies by William Golding centers on a group of school children who were stranded on an island. All they needed is to create a working civilization, for them to survive. According to Musk, Lord of the Flies is a must-read for everyone.
1- Ignition: An informal history of liquid rocket propellants
In an interview, Musk mentioned that Ignition is a good book on rocket stuff. So, if you’re interested in anything related to rockets, you might want to get the book.
