How To Be A Genius With Biographer Walter Isaacson

Here's a genius move. Immerse yourself in a few more interests and watch yourself grow intellectually.

That's the advice from biographer Walter Isaacson. And he should know as he's often considered the genius biographer.

Isaacson is a bestselling author. He's written biographies about people including Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs and Jennifer Doudna.

He's a former editor of Time Magazine and served as the CEO of the Aspen Institute in addition to teaching at Tulane University.

His latest book may be his most controversial due to his subject, Elon Musk.

Isaacson spent two years with Musk with what he describes as unfiltered total access.

He thought the book would primarily focus on electric cars and space travel. Then came the Twitter sale in the middle of his writing project.

Now, Isaacson's Elon Musk is out and he's facing criticism from some in the tech world for taking hit too easy on a controversial leader. Isaacson says his job is to be a storyteller and it's a reader's job to reach conclusions on his subjects.

On this Dying to Ask:

• The unusual deal Walter Isaacson struck with musk before writing the book
• How Isaacson found out Musk had accepted his offer to do the book
• How the Twitter sale impacted his research and book
• Why broadening your interests helps you think bigger