📚 What to Read Next (No. 224): Engineering Nature and Engineering the Internet
Happy Friday, readers!
The weather has been lovely here in Colorado as we’ve turned the calendar to May. Reading outside is soon to become part of my regular reading routine yet again, as it does every spring. This time of year, I actually tend to prefer paperbacks — they’re just so much easier to read one-handed in short spurts between keeping an eye on the kiddos while they run around the backyard or the park. Anyways…
Today, I’m featuring a handful of books about engineering — less in the technical sense and more in the broader definition of “the action of working artfully to bring something about.”
Let’s jump right in.
Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future by Elizabeth Kolbert
The Sixth Extinction, Kolbert’s first book (which won a Pulitzer, among other prizes) is one of those books that has stayed with me years later. At the time I read it, not only was I blown away by the conclusions of her research, but also by the quality of her writing. She communicated sciencey concepts in a readable way, which is so hard to do.
In Under a White Sky, she’s done it again, in a brisk, 206-page eye-opening guide to how humans are engineering nature to fight climate change.
Most climate books these days are basically doing one of two things: 1) trying to convince hesitant readers about the realities of climate change, or, 2) trying to lay out new solutions to combat the warming of our planet — which generally amounts to carbon emissions reduction.
Kolbert does something different: she writes with the assumption that a warmer earth is pretty much a done deal. So, what are humans doing about it? Throughout time, we’ve displayed incredible ingenuity in the face of extraordinarily long odds.
Our current climate crisis is no different. Humanity will come up with solutions (it already has, actually, as you’ll read), it’s just a matter of when and how they’ll be implemented. As Kolbert writes, implementation is often more about politics than science.
No matter the form it takes, the gist is that humanity will engineer nature to a degree never before seen. We might plant billions (trillions!) of trees, we might disperse sun-reflecting particles into the troposphere, me might divert entire riverways.
Kolbert details all of these efforts — and the result is unforgettable.
Under a White Sky is a must-read for anyone with a modicum of interest in the future of our planet.
Read About Elon & Twitter
Big Tech is one of the subjects that I’ll always read about. Many of you know this about me. I’ve read dozens of books about startups, founders, and how Big Tech is shaping the world. I can’t resist ‘em.
So when Elon up and bought Twitter last week, I nearly salivated at the prospect of the great books that’ll come out of it. (I also took the chance to quit Twitter. Here’s why, if you’re interested.)
It’s one of the biggest Big Tech stories we’ve ever seen.
I’ve seen it posited in a few places that Musk now has more power and influence than anyone else on the planet, which inevitably makes for a fascinating story. So here are a few books on my list to get the scoop about Elon’s and Twitter’s backstory (neither of which I’ve read about yet):
Hatching Twitter: A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship, and Betrayal by Nick Bilton
I really enjoy Nick Bilton, and I’m a little surprised I haven’t read this one yet. It was published almost 10 years ago, but still serves as a great intro to Twitter’s early years.
From the publisher description:
“In this rousing history that reads like a novel, Hatching Twitter takes readers behind the scenes of Twitter's early exponential growth, following the four hackers — Ev Williams, Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone, and Noah Glass, who created the cultural juggernaut practically by accident. It's a drama of betrayed friendships and high-stakes power struggles over money, influence, and control over a company that was growing faster than they could ever imagine.”
I put a library hold on this one last week, so hopefully I’ll be able to read it soon.
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance
Though this book was also written a handful of years ago, it’s a very well-regarded look at Elon’s early years as well as his business philosophy.
From the publisher description:
“In the spirit of Steve Jobs and Moneyball, Elon Musk is both an illuminating and authorized look at the extraordinary life of one of Silicon Valley's most exciting, unpredictable, and ambitious entrepreneurs — a real-life Tony Stark — and a fascinating exploration of the renewal of American invention and its new ‘makers.’”
High on my list.
Below are two more, both published last year, that get more specifically into Tesla’s and SpaceX’s origins.
Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century by Tim Higgins
I don’t really know squat about Elon’s companies. I make of Tesla bros a lot and sometimes watch a SpaceX liftoff, but that’s it. I’m excited to read these.
From the publisher description:
“Tesla's success was far from guaranteed. Founded in the 2000s, the company was built on an audacious vision. Musk and a small band of Silicon Valley engineers set out to make a car that was quicker, sexier, smoother, and cleaner than any gas-guzzler on the road. Tesla would undergo a hellish fifteen years, beset by rivals--pressured by investors, hobbled by whistleblowers. Musk often found himself in the public's crosshairs, threatening to bring down the company he had helped build.”
Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX by Eric Berger
From the publisher description:
SpaceX has enjoyed a miraculous decade. Less than 20 years after its founding, it boasts the largest constellation of commercial satellites in orbit, has pioneered reusable rockets, and in 2020 became the first private company to launch human beings into orbit. . . . But before it became one of the most powerful players in the aerospace industry, SpaceX was a fledgling startup, scrambling to develop a single workable rocket before the money ran dry.
That’s all for this week. Thanks so much for the time and inbox space! I sure appreciate it.
-Jeremy
I grabbed a copy of Under the White Sky last week! Glad to know you enjoyed it because I’ve never read her before! (I also am definitely considering pulling the plug on Twitter...)