---
product_id: 374094938
title: "Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX"
price: "R$302"
currency: BRL
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reviews_count: 9
url: https://www.desertcart.com.br/products/374094938-liftoff-elon-musk-and-the-desperate-early-days-that-launched
store_origin: BR
region: Brazil
---

# Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX

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## Description

desertcart.com: Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX: 9780062979988: Berger, Eric: Books

Review: Unique stories and insight into the early days of SpaceX - Liftoff tells the story of the early days at SpaceX (founding through 2008), in the form of a narrative timeline of key events as described by those involved. The author had an unusual level of access to Musk and other key early players, which allowed him to collect the unique material for this book; to my knowledge most of this has never been published. Of course one can wonder, as with any eyewitness account, to what extent events have been sanitized. The story does include plenty of personality conflicts and hard life decisions (and burnout) so it doesn't read like corporate PR. Some reviewers here ding the book for not being more comprehensive. I take the book as intended, which is a set of stories from insiders, put into a readable format. It's not intended to be a comprehensive look at the space industry, or Elon Musk, or even necessarily SpaceX. Nor does the author try to frame these stories into broad lessons for why companies succeed, or what makes a great leader; it's up to the reader to draw their own conclusions. A few things that jumped out at me were: (1) how close SpaceX came to running out of money in 2008, and the pivotal role NASA played in extending them a lifeline at critical junctures (which underscores the positive role that NASA, DARPA, the Air Force, and other public agencies can play in stimulating private enterprise), and (2) the singular personality of Elon Musk, which the insiders interviewed here all credit for their success due to his vision, hands-on engineering approach, decisiveness, knack for hiring talent, and drive for results. Liftoff for me was a fun, exciting read--a ripping yarn as they say--and I learned a lot. Mission accomplished.
Review: A superbly written must know story of brilliance and determination against a world of adversity. - Even if you are not a rocket / space nerd, Liftoff is a must read. The odyssey of Elon Musk shows how one man can change the world in a profound way. SpaceX and its brilliant hard-working employees, inspired by a genius with a vision, took on the world’s aerospace giants and state-run corporations and won. Doing what everyone told Elon was impossible, in a landscape littered with bankrupt companies that came before, Elon recruited some of the world’s best engineers to work until they dropped inspired by a common dream of the future. Eric Berger presents this beautifully written saga where grit, engineering brilliance and youthful exuberance overcame the near impossible task of starting a rocket company and then competing with established giants like Lockheed and Boeing and the European Space Agency and Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities. This is the story of the early days of SpaceX where failure was all but assured. Industry, customers, and governments first ignored them until success was possible than actively tried to sabotage their success. NASA and DARPA fed SpaceX lifesaving seed money when it appeared to their ultimate advantage. It was a near thing the survival of SpaceX and eventually it not only disrupted the industry but the world. Everyone ought to know the story.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #53,335 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #15 in Astronautics & Space Flight #39 in Aeronautics & Astronautics (Books) #94 in Scientist Biographies |
| Customer Reviews | 4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars (3,620) |
| Dimensions  | 5.31 x 0.68 x 8 inches |
| ISBN-10  | 0062979981 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0062979988 |
| Item Weight  | 2.31 pounds |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 288 pages |
| Publication date  | January 3, 2023 |
| Publisher  | William Morrow Paperbacks |

## Images

![Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81Pcu+FIAtL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Unique stories and insight into the early days of SpaceX
*by J***E on May 26, 2021*

Liftoff tells the story of the early days at SpaceX (founding through 2008), in the form of a narrative timeline of key events as described by those involved. The author had an unusual level of access to Musk and other key early players, which allowed him to collect the unique material for this book; to my knowledge most of this has never been published. Of course one can wonder, as with any eyewitness account, to what extent events have been sanitized. The story does include plenty of personality conflicts and hard life decisions (and burnout) so it doesn't read like corporate PR. Some reviewers here ding the book for not being more comprehensive. I take the book as intended, which is a set of stories from insiders, put into a readable format. It's not intended to be a comprehensive look at the space industry, or Elon Musk, or even necessarily SpaceX. Nor does the author try to frame these stories into broad lessons for why companies succeed, or what makes a great leader; it's up to the reader to draw their own conclusions. A few things that jumped out at me were: (1) how close SpaceX came to running out of money in 2008, and the pivotal role NASA played in extending them a lifeline at critical junctures (which underscores the positive role that NASA, DARPA, the Air Force, and other public agencies can play in stimulating private enterprise), and (2) the singular personality of Elon Musk, which the insiders interviewed here all credit for their success due to his vision, hands-on engineering approach, decisiveness, knack for hiring talent, and drive for results. Liftoff for me was a fun, exciting read--a ripping yarn as they say--and I learned a lot. Mission accomplished.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A superbly written must know story of brilliance and determination against a world of adversity.
*by B***O on September 1, 2021*

Even if you are not a rocket / space nerd, Liftoff is a must read. The odyssey of Elon Musk shows how one man can change the world in a profound way. SpaceX and its brilliant hard-working employees, inspired by a genius with a vision, took on the world’s aerospace giants and state-run corporations and won. Doing what everyone told Elon was impossible, in a landscape littered with bankrupt companies that came before, Elon recruited some of the world’s best engineers to work until they dropped inspired by a common dream of the future. Eric Berger presents this beautifully written saga where grit, engineering brilliance and youthful exuberance overcame the near impossible task of starting a rocket company and then competing with established giants like Lockheed and Boeing and the European Space Agency and Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities. This is the story of the early days of SpaceX where failure was all but assured. Industry, customers, and governments first ignored them until success was possible than actively tried to sabotage their success. NASA and DARPA fed SpaceX lifesaving seed money when it appeared to their ultimate advantage. It was a near thing the survival of SpaceX and eventually it not only disrupted the industry but the world. Everyone ought to know the story.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great insight into how SpaceX came about
*by R***N on October 26, 2024*

Here it is well over 10 years since SpaceX became a household word. Many of us followed the several companies vying to become launch providers for NASA under the COTS program established by the George W. Bush administration to help "privatize" commercial spaceflight. There were a good handful of them. Only one would succeed. This book details the early years of SpaceX, the trials and tribulations they encountered as they tried to do what some said was impossible without having 4000 employees and the backing of billions from the U.S. government. Yet, SpaceX triumphed through all that to become our main "go to" launch provider for lowering costs. This book details the ins and outs of those early days, and how they nearly failed. It is a good read and provides a great background to how a company can be run to be successful despite the huge odds against them.

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*Product available on Desertcart Brazil*
*Store origin: BR*
*Last updated: 2026-01-27*