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A review by histogrammarian
Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX by Eric Berger
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
3.0
This book details the development of Space X from its conception circa 2001 to its first successful test flights in 2008-09. If you're interested in this part of the Space X story, in the personal stories of the key participants in its earliest days, then this is the book for you. Berger ably relays the technical, financial, legal and cultural details of how Space X was able to rapidly disrupt the launch industry and perhaps initiate a new space age.
But the book also needs to be taken with a grain of salt. While the portrayal of Elon Musk is "warts and wall", with reference to the Space X founder's litigious nature and despotic character, Berger nevertheless veers into hagiography. This is Musk how he would like to be known and any tensions between him and his team are described in highly diplomatic terms.
This isn't the definitive history of Space X, but it'll do until one comes along.
But the book also needs to be taken with a grain of salt. While the portrayal of Elon Musk is "warts and wall", with reference to the Space X founder's litigious nature and despotic character, Berger nevertheless veers into hagiography. This is Musk how he would like to be known and any tensions between him and his team are described in highly diplomatic terms.
This isn't the definitive history of Space X, but it'll do until one comes along.