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#walter isaacson
jacobwren · 2 months
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“When, occasionally, genuinely significant things happen to Musk, Isaacson largely ignores them. In May 2002, Elon’s first wife Justine gave birth to their first child, a son. They named him Nevada, because he’d been conceived at Burning Man. When Nevada was ten weeks old, he suddenly stopped breathing in his sleep. Paramedics managed to resuscitate him, but his brain had been starved of oxygen. Three days later, his parents decided to turn off his life support and let him die. You could write an entire novel about this one incident. This brash, thoughtless millionaire, with all his abstract ambitions, suddenly encountering the frailty of human life. And that was only the beginning. Elon had invited his father to visit from South Africa and meet his grandson; Errol only found out that the grandson was dead once he landed. Elon, in deep anguish, decided he wanted his violent, abusive father to stick around. He bought a house in Malibu for Errol and his new family. But things swiftly got weird. Errol’s second wife, nineteen years his junior, started to develop some sort of untoward relationship with her stepson. (Errol commented: “She saw Elon now as the provider in her life and not me.”) Meanwhile, Errol was beginning to develop some sort of untoward relationship with his own fifteen-year-old stepdaughter, Jana. (They currently have two children together.) This seedy drama, guilt and money and sex, all swirling around the death of a child. It’s a Harold Pinter play. It’s a Greek tragedy. Walter Isaacson dispenses with the whole thing in less than three pages. He ends the chapter with his grand conclusion, his final word on this intense human experience. It’s this: “Personal networks are more complex than digital ones.” The next chapter is about building rockets. So is the next one. So is the one after that.” - Sam Kriss, Very Ordinary Men: Elon Musk and the court biographer
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maaarine · 6 months
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if you thought Elon Musk couldn't get any worse
think again:
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Elon Musk (Walter Isaacson, 2023)
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kafkasapartment · 1 year
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The people who invented the twenty-first century were pot-smoking, sandal-wearing hippies from the West Coast like Steve, because they saw differently,” he said. "The hierarchical systems of the East Coast, England, Germany, and Japan do not encourage this different thinking. The sixties produced an anarchic mind-set that is great for imagining a world not yet in existence
― “Steve Jobs” biography by Walter Isaacson.
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deadpresidents · 1 year
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Tangentially presidential, but do you have recommendations for biographies of Clarence Thomas and/or Henry Kissinger?
I don't have any suggestions for books about Thomas, but I can recommend a bunch on Kissinger. I think it's especially important to read different books about Kissinger to get a more balanced viewpoint because many books about him tend to be slanted in one direction or the other -- more so than most historical figures, in my opinion. He just tends to inspire particularly strong opinions, so here are a few books on him that I've found interesting:
•The Inevitability of Tragedy: Henry Kissinger and His World (BOOK | KINDLE) by Barry Gewen •Kissinger (BOOK | KINDLE) by Walter Isaacson •Kissinger: 1923-1968: The Idealist (BOOK | KINDLE) by Niall Ferguson •Master of the Game: Henry Kissinger and the Art of Middle East Diplomacy (BOOK | KINDLE) by Martin Indyk •Kissinger's Shadow: The Long Reach of America's Most Controversial Statesman (BOOK | KINDLE) by Greg Grandin
There are also some really good dual biographies about Kissinger and Nixon and their foreign policy: •Nixon and Kissinger: Partners in Power (BOOK | KINDLE) by Robert Dallek •The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide (BOOK | KINDLE) by Gary J. Bass •The Price of Power: Kissinger in the Nixon White House (BOOK | KINDLE) by Seymour M. Hersh •Sideshow: Kissinger, Nixon, and the Destruction of Cambodia by William Shawcross
And I want to also mention these two books, which are heavier reads but really important studies about the international impact of the Nixon/Kissinger foreign policy (and a helpful reminder about American complicity in the overthrow and death of democratically-elected Chilean President Salvador Allende) : •Nixon, Kissinger, and Allende: U.S. Involvement in the 1973 Coup in Chile (BOOK | KINDLE) by Lubna Z. Qureshi •Nixon, Kissinger, and the Shah: The United States and Iran in the Cold War (BOOK | KINDLE) by Roham Alvandi
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capsulas · 6 months
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Leyendo Leonardo Da Vinci, la biografía de Walter Isaacson.
Una de las características más sobresalientes de Leonardo da Vinci como pintor fue su capacidad para contar una historia a través de sus composiciones. Sus cuadros no son meras representaciones estáticas, sino que muestran el movimiento y las emociones de los personajes.
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Otro aspecto que llama la atención en la pintura de Leonardo es el uso de la luz y la sombra para crear efectos de profundidad y realismo. Leonardo empleó una técnica llamada sfumato, que consiste en difuminar los contornos y graduar los tonos para crear una atmósfera nebulosa y misteriosa.
Además de ser un gran artista, Leonardo fue un hombre curioso e inquieto, que siempre estaba buscando nuevos conocimientos y proyectos. Sin embargo, esto también le llevó a ser disperso y a dejar muchas obras inconclusas o perdidas.
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hayleylovesjessica · 7 months
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Just read the NY Times review of Walter Isaacson's new biography of Elon Musk. If you're a fan of that insane egomaniac and you're a follower of mine, please unfollow. I'd rather have nothing but pornbots as followers.
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mitchipedia · 6 months
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While Isaacson manages to detail what makes Musk awful, he seems unaware of what made Musk an inspiring figure for so long. Musk is a fantasist, the kind of person who conceives of civilizations on Mars. That’s what people liked all this time: dreaming big, thinking about new possible worlds. It’s also why Musk’s shifting political stance undercuts him. The fantasy of the conservative movement is small and sad, a limited world with nothing new to explore. Musk has gone from dreaming very, very big to seeming very, very small. In the hands of a talented biographer, this kind of tragic story would provide rich material.
— Elizabeth Lopatto
via
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nhungcuonsachhay · 2 years
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CÂU CHUYỆN ĐẰNG SAU ÁNH MẮT ĐƯỢM BUỒN NỔI TIẾNG CỦA EINSTEIN
Năm 1947, hai năm sau khi Thế chiến II kết thúc, nhiếp ảnh gia nổi tiếng Philippe Halsman đã đến hỏi Einstein rằng ông có nghĩ hòa bình sẽ lâu dài hay không. Einstein trả lời: “Không, chừng nào vẫn còn con người thì chừng đó sẽ vẫn còn chiến tranh.” 
Đúng lúc đó Halsman bấm máy và bắt được ánh nhìn buồn bã thông suốt mọi sự trong mắt Einstein, ánh nhìn làm bức chân dung trở nên nổi tiếng.
Đó cũng là khoảng thời gian Einstein rơi vào dằn vặt sau khi chứng kiến kết quả thảm khốc của Thế chiến II. Dù không phải là người trực tiếp tham gia vào dự án chế tạo bom nguyên tử của Mỹ, nhưng bức thư mà ông gửi cho tổng thống Rooservelt nhằm cảnh báo về một loại chất nổ cực mạnh được hầu hết mọi người xem là khởi đầu của dự án này. 
Einstein nhận ra rằng, trước đây Alfred Nobel đã tạo ra giải thưởng để chuộc lỗi vì phát minh loại chất nổ mạnh nhất ở thời đó, thì giờ ông cũng rơi vào tình cảnh tương tự. Ông nói: “Ngày hôm nay, những nhà vật lý tham gia vào việc chế tạo loại vũ khí đáng sợ nhất mọi thời đại cũng đang bị ám ảnh bởi cảm giác về trách nhiệm tương tự, nếu không muốn nói là cảm giác tội lỗi.”
Và như để chuộc lỗi, trong suốt 10 năm cuối của cuộc đời mình, Einstein không ngừng vận động cho các biện pháp kiểm soát vũ khí, đặc biệt là vũ khí hạt nhân. 
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Tham khảo: Einstein - Cuộc đời và vũ trụ | tác giả: Walter Isaacson
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hillyreviews · 18 hours
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Steve Jobs: The Visionary Who Revolutionized Our Tech World @ Hilly Reviews
In Walter Isaacson's "Steve Jobs," readers embark on a journey through the intricate life of one of the foremost technological visionaries and business moguls of the 21st century. Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Inc., reshaped the contemporary technological sphere and revolutionized our interaction with everyday gadgets. His influence permeates from personal computing to the realm of music, and from smartphones to tablets, leaving an indelible mark everywhere. Isaacson, a masterful biographer, skillfully captures Jobs's enigmatic persona, presenting readers with a nuanced portrayal. "Steve Jobs" by Walter Isaacson delves deep into his life and enduring legacy, illustrating the intricate blend of his brilliance and imperfections against the backdrop of his professional triumphs.
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zblmarguerite · 6 days
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Benjamin Franklin
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Traversing through the cosmic expanse of Benjamin Franklin's life, as narrated by Walter Isaacson, one cannot help but marvel at the whimsical yet profoundly impactful journey of this 18th-century polymath. Here's a galactic tour of Franklin's universe, where science, politics, and letters intersect in a delightful nebula of genius.
A Young Star Emerges: In the cosmic dawn of his life, young Franklin demonstrated a penchant for rebellion and ingenuity, quite literally making waves by inventing swimming paddles. It's the kind of innovation that suggests, had he been born several centuries later, Franklin might have been tinkering with rocket propulsion instead of aquatic locomotion.
The Escape Velocity of Apprenticeship: Not content to orbit around the family's candle-making business or the ecclesiastical sphere his parents envisioned, Franklin jettisoned himself from these predetermined trajectories. With a propulsion fueled by curiosity and a bit of cheekiness (like suggesting a one-time, bulk grace over a barrel of salted meat), he embarked on a trajectory that would alter the course of his life and, indeed, human history.
The London Episode: A brief sojourn to London, initially under the guise of securing printing equipment, turned into an intellectual expansion phase. Here, Franklin absorbed the currents of Enlightenment thought, debated with the likes of Samuel Keimer, and refined his persuasive prowess, skills that would later prove instrumental in his political voyages.
A Literary Comet: Despite his ventures into various business orbits, Franklin's heart remained tethered to the written word. Under the pseudonym Mrs. Silence Dogood, he displayed an early knack for satire and social commentary, suggesting that if Twitter had existed in the 18th century, Franklin would undoubtedly have been a master of the art.
The Junto Cluster: Franklin's formation of the Junto, a group of like-minded individuals dedicated to mutual improvement and civic engagement, acted as a gravitational pull for many of his subsequent ventures, including the establishment of a public library and the University of Pennsylvania. It was a sort of intellectual think tank, or as we might call it today, a hackathon for colonial improvement.
Electric Interstellar Overdrive: Franklin's experiments with electricity, culminating in the kite experiment, not only debunked the mystical aura around lightning but also introduced the lightning rod, safeguarding countless lives. His scientific endeavors earned him the title of a "new Prometheus," a nod to his ability to harness the powers of nature for humanity's benefit.
The Diplomatic Voyager: Franklin's diplomatic missions, especially his role in securing French support during the American Revolution, showcased his adeptness in navigating the turbulent political ether. His ability to charm and negotiate across the Atlantic underscored the indispensable role soft power plays in the geopolitical arena.
The Constitutional Architect: In the twilight of his career, Franklin's influence permeated the drafting of the U.S. Constitution. Advocating for a balance of power that would keep the young nation from imploding into a black hole of tyranny or chaos, he helped forge a document that remains a cornerstone of American democracy.
The Abolitionist's Light: Even as his life's journey neared its event horizon, Franklin turned his attention to the blight of slavery, advocating for its abolition. His actions remind us that the quest for liberty and justice is an endless pursuit, requiring the vigilance and courage of every generation.
A Legacy as Vast as the Cosmos: Franklin's death marked the end of an era, but his legacy endures, as vibrant as the Northern Lights, a testament to the power of curiosity, intellect, and empathy to transcend the bounds of time and space.
Thus, through the lens of Walter Isaacson, Benjamin Franklin's life reads not just as a biography but as a guidebook for navigating the vast, often intimidating expanse of human potential, urging us to explore, to question, and to innovate, for it's in these pursuits that we touch the stars.
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neworange · 2 months
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The book I read every year😌
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jacobwren · 2 months
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“Walter Isaacson is the perfect writer for the biographies of our times because he appears to be a born sycophant, and fate decreed that he would be in the right position, at the right moment, to spread as much propagandistic bullshit as possible. After stints at Harvard, Oxford, the Sunday Times and Time magazine—Christopher Hitchens called him “one of the best magazine journalists in America”—Isaacson was appointed CEO at CNN in July 2001. During the first phase of the war in Afghanistan, he sent his staff a memo, warning them not “to focus too much on the casualties or hardship in Afghanistan.” Every mention of people being vaporized in their homes by U.S. bombers had to be “balanced” with reminders that these were the people responsible for 9/11. “You want to make sure people understand that when they see civilian suffering there, it’s in the context of a terrorist attack that caused enormous suffering in the United States.” Later, he told PBS that he wasn’t really so jingoistic: CNN initially tried reporting on the casualties in Afghanistan, but then they received some pushback. “You would get phone calls,” he said. “Big people in corporations were calling up and saying, you’re being anti-American here.” So he caved. What else was he supposed to do? Follow the demands of human dignity even in the face of mild, non-life-threatening opposition? Don’t be ridiculous.” - Sam Kriss, Very Ordinary Men: Elon Musk and the court biographer
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maaarine · 6 months
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Elon Musk (Walter Isaacson, 2023)
"Even though they were in a rough patch in their relationship, Grimes and Musk were having such a great time being co-parents of X that they had decided to have another baby.
“I really wanted him to have a daughter so bad,” she says.
Because she had had a rough first pregnancy and her very slender body made her prone to complications, they decided to use a surrogate.
That led to an improbably weird and potentially awkward situation worthy of a new-age French farce.
When Zilis was in the Austin hospital with complications from her pregnancy, so too was the surrogate mother carrying the baby girl that Musk and Grimes had secretly conceived in vitro.
Because the surrogate mother was having a troubled pregnancy, Grimes was staying with her.
She was unaware that Zilis was in a nearby room, or that she was pregnant by Musk.
Perhaps it is no surprise that Musk decided to fly west that Thanksgiving weekend to deal with the simpler issues of rocket engineering.
When their daughter was born in December, just a few weeks after her twin half-siblings, Musk and Grimes began their drawn-out process of settling on names.
At first they called her Sailor Mars, after one of the heroines in the Sailor Moon manga, which features female warriors who protect the solar system from evil.
It seemed a fitting though not exactly conventional name for a child who might be destined to go to Mars.
By April, they decided they needed to give her a less serious name (yes), because “she’s all sparkly and a lot goofier troll,” Grimes said.
They settled on Exa Dark Sideræl, but then in early 2023 toyed with changing her name to Andromeda Synthesis Story Musk.
For simplicity’s sake, they mainly just called her Y, or sometimes Why?, with a question mark as part of her name.
“Elon always says we need to figure out what the question is before we can know the answers to the universe,” Grimes explains, referring to what he learned from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
When Musk and Grimes brought Y home from the hospital, they introduced her to X."
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audiobookfree78 · 3 months
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(via Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson)
Get this Audiobook for FREE NOW! 🎁 30-Day Free Trial → Click Here: www.bestaudiobookshop.online
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nonesuchrecords · 3 months
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"Rhiannon Giddens is currently carving out her own impressive legacy," Christiane Amanpour says on PBS's Amanpour and Company. "She's the singer, songwriter, banjo player, fiddler, and actress who keeps adding strings to her bow." Giddens is on the show to talk with Walter Isaacson about her Grammy-nominated new album, You're the One, and what Amanpour calls "her unstoppable career."
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varunjain · 3 months
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#62 On Scenius
I completed the Walter Isaacson biography of Elon Musk sometime back and have been reflecting on the idea of the ‘lone geniuses’ versus what the musician Brian Eno calls ‘scenius’. While Eno is referring to artistic and creative disciplines when he highlights the power of community and the pyramid like structure he borrows from the formation of an orchestra, the idea that science and technology…
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