Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson
Another home run biography by Isaacson. This bio will sit proudly on my bookshelf next to Jobs, Franklin, Einstein, and da Vinci. Hardcore mode should be the default mode for most companies that want to accomplish anything. I work at a very lean small/medium company that operates in hardcore, get-it-done mode most of the time and it was refreshing to see it highlighted and potentially normalized. My favorite story was the twitter server move story where Musk basically said "Yeah that's way to expensive. Go rent trucks and we will do it ourselves." At the company I work for this mentality is the rule not the exception. My co-workers and I talked fondly of "the twitter move" story on a work trip in Jan (2024) over some well earned texas pours from Texas Roadhouse after what we call a "hardware day."
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird, Martin J. Sherwin
A detailed account of Oppenheimer's life, from his upbringing to his foundational years with his Communist associations, and then on to the Manhattan Project and the fallout from his pre-war associations during the McCarthy era. I enjoyed the MP portion and the descriptions of physics involved - I didn't know that the fusion type thermo-nuclear bomb was theoretically in the works prior to even the first detonation of a fission type nuclear bomb at Trinity, which was cool - as well as the philosophical debates in regards to atomic weapons. One description that stuck out referring to the "why" in "why should we stockpile nuclear weapons" was the defensive strategy known as "defense by genocide." Overall, I'd say skip this read and hopefully the movie does his life justice.
Update Feb. 2024 - I saw the movie and after explained some things I learned in the book to my girlfriend that was not covered in the movie that filled in some important aspects. So I would say read it! It makes the movie that much better!