This book is about entrepreneurs and how wonderful the world would be if we would all just realize we live in abundance, not scarcity, and that we have enormous opportunity for creativity in the urgent problems of our times. The word “entrepreneur” is used very loosely here, and deliberately so, because it’s a huge buzz word today for thinking big in developing and promoting ideas, getting rich, selling rockets or other techie products (or books) to realize your dream.

The dictionary goes virtually no further in defining “entrepreneur” than to say something about finance and business and I’ve always thought of an entrepreneur as someone who gets loans or takes financial risks for his business, his little enterprise(s). So, when the word is strewn about from the Introduction through the Table of Contents and the Forward before we get to the narrative it’s a clue. Imo, “Moonshots” is a book about business and motivation written for salesmen looking for something extraordinarily great to promote. I think Jain is selling enthusiasm for the future. He’s definitely a motivational writer/speaker in addition to being an entrepreneur himself.

*******
Moonshots: Creating a World of Abundance
by Naveen Jain
2018 / 292 pages
read by Scott R. Pollak
rating: 3.5 / business and money
*******

Anyway, Moonshots is a motivational pitch for thinking big. It’s in the “Business & Money/Business Culture/ Motivation & Self-Improvement” category at Amazon and “Business/Leadership” at Audible. I’d say the category is right on.

Jain could have used the word “evangelists” or “promoters” or “sales crew” but they don’t have the same cachet these days, at least now with the purveyors of ideas rather than products anyway. Jain wants to attract business dreamers to his book – not necessarily Christians – lol. (Although the wanna-be pastors of mega-churches might get quite a lot out of it. )

There are some a few interesting ideas in the book, Helium 3 fusion in Chapter 9 is one, but the subject is treated only to a bare gloss and way beyond the scope of the general reader. I’m not sure how this section is meaningful except to show some actual science in a business, motivational and self-improvement book .

I think it’s probably a good book but I’m just not at all the right reader.