{"title":"Books by Ashlee Vance","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780753555644","title":"Elon Musk","description":"\u003cp\u003eSouth African born Elon Musk is the renowned entrepreneur and innovator behind PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity. Musk wants to save our planet; he wants to send citizens into space, to form a colony on Mars; he wants to make money while doing these things; and he wants us all to know about it. He is the real-life inspiration for the \u003ci\u003eIron Man\u003c\/i\u003e series of films starring Robert Downey Junior.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe personal tale of Musk’s life comes with all the trappings one associates with a great, drama-filled story. He was a freakishly bright kid who was bullied brutally at school, and abused by his father. In the midst of these rough conditions, and the violence of apartheid South Africa, Musk still thrived academically and attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he paid his own way through school by turning his house into a club and throwing massive parties.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe started a pair of huge dot-com successes, including PayPal, which eBay acquired for $1.5 billion in 2002. Musk was forced out as CEO and so began his lost years in which he decided to go it alone and baffled friends by investing his fortune in rockets and electric cars. Meanwhile Musk’s marriage disintegrated as his technological obsessions took over his life ...\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eElon Musk is the Steve Jobs of the present and the future, and for the past twelve months, he has been shadowed by tech reporter, Ashlee Vance. \u003ci\u003eElon Musk: How the Billionaire CEO of Spacex and Tesla is Shaping our Future \u003c\/i\u003eis an important, exciting and intelligent account of the real-life Iron Man.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43204113105074,"sku":"9780753555644","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780753555644_52ba0a98-6d8a-4c77-894a-b542401ff76f.jpg?v=1786016281"},{"product_id":"9780753557761","title":"When The Heavens Went On Sale","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e*An instant \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Bestseller*\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'One of the most exciting tales of our time... It's the next tech frontier, and Vance turns it into a thriller' Walter Isaacson, author of \u003ci\u003eSteve Jobs\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Eloquent, expertly reported' Brad Stone, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Everything Store\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA momentous look at the private companies driving the revolutionary new space race, from the 3-million copy, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eauthor of \u003ci\u003eElon Musk\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 2008, Elon Musk's SpaceX became the first private company to build a low-cost rocket that could reach orbit. Suddenly Silicon Valley, not NASA, was the epicentre of the new Space Age.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAshlee Vance follows four pioneering companies - Astra, Firefly, Planet Labs and Rocket Lab - as they race to control access to outer space. While the space tourism ambitions of billionaires such as Bezos and Branson make headlines, these under-the-radar companies are striving to monetise Earth's lower orbit; to connect, analyse and monitor everything on Earth.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith unprecedented access to private company headquarters, labs and top-secret launch locations - from the US to New Zealand, Ukraine to India - Vance presents a gripping account of private jets, communes, gun-toting bodyguards, drugs, espionage investigations and multimillionaires guzzling booze as their fortunes disappear.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis is the most pressing and controversial technology story of our time. Welcome to the new Wild West above the clouds.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44581473386674,"sku":"9780753557761","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780753557761_9f1a7986-50c5-45e2-87b4-d784fd5d231e.jpg?v=1786016308"},{"product_id":"9780241430903","title":"Penguin Readers Level 3: Elon Musk (ELT Graded Reader)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePenguin Readers\u003c\/b\u003e is an \u003cb\u003eELT graded reader\u003c\/b\u003e series for learners of English as a foreign language. With carefully adapted text, new illustrations and \u003cb\u003elanguage learning exercises\u003c\/b\u003e, the print edition also includes instructions to access supporting material online.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTitles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction, introducing language learners to \u003cb\u003ebestselling authors and compelling content\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe eight levels of Penguin Readers follow the Common European Framework of Reference for language learning (\u003cb\u003eCEFR\u003c\/b\u003e). Exercises at the back of each Reader help language learners to practise grammar, vocabulary, and key exam skills. Before, during and after-reading questions test readers' story comprehension and develop vocabulary.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eVisit the Penguin Readers website\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eExclusively with the print edition, readers can unlock online resources including a digital book, audio edition, lesson plans and answer keys.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThis book tells the story of Elon Musk, American businessman and multi-billionaire. Learn about his early years in South Africa and Canada, move to Silicon valley and his plans to travel to Mars.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56228757963125,"sku":"9780241430903","price":7.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780241430903_d3322c31-7883-4823-a419-4a7e7fb13fa2.jpg?v=1786012755"},{"product_id":"9780753545102","title":"Elon Musk Young Readers’ Edition","description":"\u003cp\u003eElon Musk is an inspirational role model for young entrepreneurs, breaking boundaries and revolutionising the tech-world. He is also the real-life inspiration for the \u003ci\u003eIron Man\u003c\/i\u003e series of films, starring Robert Downey Junior. From his humble beginnings in apartheid South Africa, he showed himself to be an exceptionally bright child, and overcame brutal bullying to become the world’s most exciting entrepreneur, founding PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla and Solar City.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe has emerged as something of a superhero-like figure for today’s generation of children. He’s not only seen as an entrepreneur in the spirit of a Steve Jobs but as an inventor and bold thinker. He’s the guy offering children the possibility of a brighter, more exciting future and has come to symbolize innovation and optimism.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56311912202613,"sku":"9780753545102","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780753545102_1e3f22a7-61a1-4199-a100-f0c688f9e8fd.jpg?v=1786016196"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-ashlee-vance.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}