[atleastoptimal]

Nicely written as his books usually are, but I have two issues with it:

1. It is simply at many points a recitation of events that happen. It tries to delve no deeper into Musk than "a guy with big dreams who pisses people off to make it happen, also had a bad childhood"

2. Many business leaders will use it as justification that the only way to get good results is to be punishing and ruthless. There are certainly aspects that benefit leaders (low agreeableness, highly detail oriented) but they aren't necessary.

[stevenwoo]

This review addresses your concerns. https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/1/23895069/walter-isaacson-... The book is more revealing about Isaacson than it is about Musk once one digs into the known facts of the events.