The four billionaires featured in this book—Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, and Paul Allen—all run multiple companies and have huge demands on their time. So, I’m grateful that all of them graciously agreed to sit down with me and share their stories and insights. I’m thankful also that they approved many of my requests to speak with executives from their companies or associates, all of which made the narrative immeasurably better.
As it turns out, one of the subjects of this book, Jeff Bezos, is also the owner of my employer, The Washington Post. Let me address that head on. It is, I admit, somewhat awkward writing a book about someone who could have you fired. But under the leadership of Executive Editor Marty Baron, the Post has made it clear that it covers Jeff’s companies as it would any other. Jeff receives the same treatment in these pages—fair and unflinching, without fear or favor.
I was first hired at the Post as a news aide when I was twenty years old—and have worked there for the majority of my adult life, enough time to have its values imprinted on my DNA, and to meet some of the most remarkable journalists practicing the craft today. Marty was gracious in allowing me leave to write this book. So were Cameron Barr, Emilio Garcia-Ruiz, Tracy Grant, and David Cho.
Three of my editors, Lynda Robinson, Dan Beyers, and Kelly Johnson, read various drafts of the manuscript, and helped shaped the book as much as anyone. Their support was gracious and overwhelming, and I owe each of them a huge debt of gratitude. I’m also grateful to Del Quentin Wilber for his counsel, passion, and keen eye.
The companies profiled here have dedicated staffs of immensely patient communications professions, who withstood my queries with grace. Thank you to John Taylor, James Gleeson, and Sean Pitt at SpaceX; to Drew Herdener at Amazon; to Caitlin Dietrich at Blue Origin; to Christine Choi and Will Pommerantz at Virgin Galactic; to Steve Lombardi and Jim Jeffries at Vulcan. Thank you also to Tabatha Thompson and Mike Curie at NASA.
Eric Stallmer and Tommy Sanford at the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, both faithful advocates for the industry, helped open doors and were generous with their time and expertise. Many people in the space community also helped educate me about matters of policy, politics, and space. I’m grateful to James Muncy, Lori Garver, David Weaver, George Whitesides, Bretton Alexander, Tim Hughes, Phil Larson, Mike French, Stu Witt, Brendan Curry, and Rich Leshner.
The research for this book began while I was at the Post, as I chronicled the daily tumult of the beginnings of a new industry. But I relied greatly on the excellent reporting of many colleagues in the space press corps, including Jeff Foust, Joel Achenbach, Eric Berger, Irene Klotz, Frank Mooring Jr., Loren Grush, Alan Boyle, Stephen Clark, Kenneth Chang, Miriam Kramer, and James Dean.
In addition to the dozens of interviews I conducted for this book, my research depended on many texts, a few of which merit specific mention: Ashlee Vance’s Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, Brad Stone’s The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon, and Julian Guthrie’s How to Make a Spaceship: A Band of Renegades, an Epic Race, and the Birth of Private Spaceflight.
While I was on leave from the Post, I was fortunate to find another home—the Wilson International Center for Scholars—which provided a much-needed space to write and reflect. I’m thankful for the support of Jane Harman and Robert Litwak, who made the experience possible.
Rafe Sagalyn, my agent, was a relentless and enthusiastic advocate for the project. At PublicAffairs I owe thanks to my editor, John Mahaney, who shepherded the book from conception to print. Thank you also to Iris Bass and Sandra Beris for their careful copyedits.
Throughout the sometimes grueling process of this endeavor, I was lucky to have the love and support of my parents and extended family. My amazing children, Annie, Harrison, and Piper, were constant sources of joy, and reminders of what was really important. I’m grateful, above all, to my wife, Heather, a steadfast supporter and insightful reader, who inspires me daily. Love you and love you.