Page 37 - Fourways Gardens September 2023 Issue

Book Reviews

Elon Musk Rassie: Stories of Life and
BY WALTER ISAACSON Rugby
BY RASSIE ERASMUS AND DAVID O’SULLIVAN
From the author
of Steve Jobs and Rassie Erasmus has been called a
other bestselling genius. He’s been called reckless. All his
biographies, this is the life, he’s done things differently. Now,
astonishingly intimate with his trademark candour, Rassie
story of Elon Musk, the talks openly about his adventures and
most fascinating and misadventures. He reveals the turmoil
controversial innovator of living with an alcoholic father and
of our era – a rule- growing up in the conservative town of
breaking visionary Despatch.
who helped to lead the
world into the era of He looks back on an exemplary career as a player whose innate rugby
electric vehicles, private instincts, ability to read a game differently and appetite for hard work set him
space exploration and apart. While his teammates relaxed, he preferred to watch hours of videos to
artificial intelligence. Oh, and took over Twitter, renaming devise winning strategies. When given the opportunity to lead his country as
it X. Springbok captain, he refused this honour.

When Musk was a child in South Africa, he was beaten Rassie recalls how he became an important cog in Nick Mallett’s record-
regularly by bullies. One day, a group pushed him down breaking Springbok team of the late 1990s. He remembers the anguish of the
some concrete steps and kicked him until his face was a 1999 World Cup and the devastating injuries that cut short his playing career.
swollen ball of flesh. He was in the hospital for a week. But He discusses his revolutionary coaching methods, which were initially laughed
the physical scars were minor compared to the emotional off and then eagerly adopted, how he fought the rugby establishment at the
ones inflicted by his father, an engineer, rogue and Stormers and earned the grudging respect of Irish fans at Munster.
charismatic fantasist.
Rassie talks about his greatest contribution to South African rugby: appointing
His father’s impact on his psyche would linger. He its first black captain, Siya Kolisi, without much fanfare or controversy, as his
developed into a tough yet vulnerable man-child, prone to bold plans for effective racial transformation of the national team achieved
abrupt Jekyll-and-Hyde mood swings, with an exceedingly immediate success, culminating in triumph at the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
high tolerance for risk, a craving for drama, an epic sense
of mission, and a maniacal intensity that was callous and Readers will enjoy the behind-the-scenes information about interactions and
at times, destructive. controversies and previously untold stories from a truly maverick life.
At the beginning of 2022 – after a year marked by SpaceX Price R380.00
launching 31 rockets into orbit, Tesla selling a million cars,
and Musk becoming the richest man on earth – he spoke Abundance: The Inner
ruefully about his compulsion to stir up dramas. “I need to Path to Wealth
shift my mindset away from being in crisis mode, which it BY DEEPAK CHOPRA
has been for about 14 years now, or arguably most of my
life,” he said. Discover the keys to a life of success,
fulfilment, wholeness and plenty.
It was a wistful comment, not a New Year’s resolution. Even
as he said it, he was secretly buying up shares of Twitter, Many of us live in a mindset of lack
the world’s ultimate playground. and limitation, focusing on the
things we don’t have. Too often we
Over the years, whenever Musk was in a dark place, his allow our egos to drive our thoughts
mind went back to being bullied on the playground. Now and actions, preventing us from
he had the chance to own the playground. reaching something greater: a true
sense of inner peace, acceptance and
For two years, Isaacson shadowed Musk, attended his fulfilment.
meetings, walked his factories with him and spent hours
interviewing him, his family, friends, co-workers and In Abundance, international bestselling
adversaries. author Deepak Chopra offers a simple
seven-step plan to help you reset your focus, become the agent of your own
The result is the revealing inside story, filled with amazing life and strive for life’s unbounded possibilities. Demonstrating how to work
tales of triumphs and turmoil, that addresses this question: past self-generated feelings of limitation and providing meditations to help
Are the demons that drive Musk also what it takes to drive you focus your attention and intuition, this is your guide to a life of true power,
innovation and progress? prosperity and plenty.

Price: R605.00 Price: R420.00

Fourways Gardens • 35 • September 2023