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Interview with Ashlee Vance: Author of the new biography on Elon Musk

The life of Elon Musk is nothing short of inspiring. At only 43 years of age, Musk has tackled some of the biggest technological challenges facing humanity including: Electric Cars, Space Flight, and Solar Energy. Ashlee Vance, experienced Silicon Valley historian, recently wrote a biography of Elon which follows Musk's life through a rough childhood in South Africa, his early career at Zip2 and PayPal, and ends at present day with his involvement’s in SpaceX, Solar City, and Tesla Motors. We chatted with Vance to get a little insight into his biography and life in general.

Tell us a little bit about why you decided to write about Elon Musk.

I love factories, and he has the coolest factories going. When I visited SpaceX and saw he was mass producing rockets in the middle of Los Angeles, I decided to write as much as possible about the company and guy behind it.

What was your first impression of Elon Musk? Was he as you anticipated?

He can be intimidating in that he's physically imposing with very broad shoulders and doesn't suffer fools.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

So many people but one professor and author - Rubén Martinez - had a particularly large influence in pushing me to become a journalist. He was an inspirational teacher and his stories were so vivid and full of life.

Where is your favorite spot in Silicon Valley?

The Dish - it's this open area near Stanford where you can see all of Silicon Valley and walk in a nature reserve among massive satellites dishes.

What is your current obsession?

The education system and how messed up it is.

Which publications are on your daily reading list?

I don't really have a set list. I tend to hop around the Web to different spots every day but often find myself on the longform sites.

What's on your writing desk?

I tend to write in bed, which is a horrible idea, so a pillow.

If you're as interested in the forefront of technology as we are, be sure to grab Elon Musk today and let us know what you think!

Be sure to connect with Ashlee on his website, on Twitter, and on Facebook!

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Giveaway: Win This Week's Book Releases

I don't know if you've noticed, but this week's new book releases are fantastic. Really fantastic. So fantastic that we decided to pick some of the books that our readers are buzzing about and give them away.

Want to win six brand new new books by bestselling authors like Stephen King, Meg Cabot, and Judy Blume? Instructions are below. Best of luck, and happy reading!
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Can't wait to see if you win? Get the books below!

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Splendid New Literary Fiction and Women's Novels | Week of 6/2

Judy Blume fans, rejoice! The celebrated bestselling author of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret released her eagerly awaited novel In the Unlikely Event today. In addition, two debut novels to keep your eye on are I'd Walk with My Friends If I Could Find Them and Eight Hundred Grapes, which both premiered today.

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Fall in Love with the Latest Romance Reads | Week of 6/2

Meg Cabot's new book, Royal Wedding, is perfect for all of the girls who wanted to be princesses when Princess Diaries came out... and now are adults ready to find their quirky, chivalrous prince charming! New York Times Bestselling Romance authors Denise Grover Swank, Julie James, and Jessica Claire also have new releases this week, masterfully mingling sexy with suspense in contemporary romances.

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New 50 Shades of Grey Book by EL James (coming soon)

Romance readers, get excited (not like that, come on). EL James just announced that she is writing a new 50 Shades of Grey book, from the perspective of Christian Grey. The book will be called GREY, and will be released on June 18th (Christian's birthday).

https://instagram.com/p/3YsFpwykRD/

To celebrate the release of the new 50 Shades of Grey book, we pulled together some of our readers' favorite quotes from Christian Grey himself.

[h3]About Grey[/h3]

Publication Date: June 18, 2015

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See the world of Fifty Shades of Grey anew through the eyes of Christian Grey.

In Christian's own words, and through his thoughts, reflections, and dreams, E L James offers a fresh perspective on the love story that has enthralled millions of readers around the world.

Christian Grey exercises control in all things; his world is neat, disciplined, and utterly empty—until the day that Anastasia Steele falls into his office, in a tangle of shapely limbs and tumbling brown hair. He tries to forget her, but instead is swept up in a storm of emotion he cannot comprehend and cannot resist. Unlike any woman he has known before, shy, unworldly Ana seems to see right through him—past the business prodigy and the penthouse lifestyle to Christian’s cold, wounded heart.

Will being with Ana dispel the horrors of his childhood that haunt Christian every night? Or will his dark sexual desires, his compulsion to control, and the self-loathing that fills his soul drive this girl away and destroy the fragile hope she offers him?

This book is intended for mature audiences.

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A Review of Elon Musk's New Biography

Emotions: Inspiration, Awe, Intrigue
Locales: South Africa, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles
Also Mentioned: Larry Page, Steve Jobs, Kimbal Musk
Publication Date: May 19, 2015

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The life of Elon Musk is nothing short of inspiring. At only 43 years of age Musk has tackled some of the biggest technological challenges facing humanity including: Electric Cars, Space Flight, and Solar Energy. This is an approved biography – meaning that Musk himself was interviewed and cooperated with the Author, experienced Silicon Valley historian Ashlee Vance.

The book follows Musk through a rough childhood in South Africa, continues through his early career at Zip2 and PayPal, and ends at present day with his involvement’s in SpaceX, Solar City, and Tesla Motors.

Comparing Musk to Steve Jobs is now a common comparison, and I couldn't help but compare the biographies as well. Jobs’ biography by Walter Isaacson, is longer, more complete and much more dense. It also spends a good amount of time dwelling on Jobs’ flaws as a person, perhaps due to the publication date being after Jobs’ death, or perhaps due to the author's bias.

In contrast, the biography of Musk is much shorter, coming in at 400 pages, compared to 656 pages for the Jobs biography. This can be expected given that Musk is only 43, still in the brightest part of his innovative career. Elon Musk also reads more like a fan-boy story. Ashlee Vance and Musk have a shared South African heritage, and it shows throughout the book. Vance is clearly a Musk fan (full disclosure, so am I). Despite the favorable angle, the book has integrity, describes some of Musk’s flaws, and accurately portrays his failures as well as his achievements.

If you like science, technology, business, or just reading about incredible people, this book is a must read. While there’s plenty of strife, and conflict through Musk’s life, the takeaway feeling from this book is positive, inspiring, and optimistic.

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Brand New Releases in Biographies and Memoirs | Week of 6/2

From the curious Primates of Park Avenue, to natural musings on the little things in The Fly Trap, this week's Biographies and Memoirs feature personalities from pop culture (Wednesday Martin and Karrine Steffans) and sometimes painful, at others funny, musings on family, friends, and life's curve balls, in After Perfect and After a While You Just Get Used to It.

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The Freshest YA Books | Week of 6/2

Sara Shepard, author of Pretty Little Liars, brings us the latest, and final, installment in The Perfectionists series: The Good Girls. Don't miss out on the fantastic, flirty, and all too real new releases in YA on June 2nd.

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New Mystery and Thriller Releases | Week of 6/2

If you haven't been as lucky as our marketing manager who got a chance to see Stephen King's house, don't fret. Stephen King just released his latest read Finders Keepers . And if you're dying for new episodes of "House of Cards" and "Scandal" available, try The Governer's Wife and Collision. Or, if you're waiting on pins and needles for Go Set A Watchman, you can bide the time with Let Me Die in His Footsteps.

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Au Courant Business Reads | Week of 6/2

Pick up Alvin E. Roth, Nobel Prize winner for economics', new book, Who Gets What- And Why, while it's still hot from the presses! Mixing psychology with statistics, improve your business acumen with these buzzy reads.