Introduction
by Walter Isaacson
I AM OFTEN ASKED who, of the people living today, I would consider to be in the same league as those I have written about as a biographer: Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, Ada Lovelace, Steve Jobs, and Albert Einstein. All were very smart. But that’s not what made them special. Smart people are a dime a dozen and often don’t amount to much. What counts is being creative and imaginative. That’s what makes someone a true innovator. And that’s why my answer to the question is Jeff Bezos.
So, what are the ingredients of creativity and imagination, and what makes me think that Bezos belongs in the same league as my other subjects?
The first is to be curious, passionately curious. Take Leonardo. In his delight-filled ...
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