I am completely satisfied to give Snelson credit for what he has brought to our attention.
The reviewer, Pradeep Niroula, concluded:
Buckminster Fuller’s life is a reminder of two truths: to succeed in America, it really helps to come from a well-connected family; and, with the right marketing, anyone can become an icon. His illustrious life is testament to the influence a single con artist can have over a zeitgeist.
The Dymaxion has a bad rep but for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with the car or its design, and bringing that into the discussion is a bit weird: the safety of the Dymaxion has no bearing on whether or not Buckminster Fuller came up with the Tensegrity concept. What it does do though is to establish him as someone capable of independent thought.
And as the edit above mentions, if we're going to assign credit properly for the Tensegrity concept it should go to Karlis Johansons instead of either Fuller or Snelson, and Fuller should be credited for naming it so.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dome_Jena_UnderConst...
I think this philosophy of an individual's ability to make a big difference in the long term was his major contribution. From applying this, he identified and popularized many obscure concepts in geometry (e.g. geodesics, tensegrity) as potential avenues to building a sustainable future- where we could live better with less resources in the distant future. He wasn't the first person to think of these things, but he was the first to explain to people how these types of unusual ideas could be a key to building a better future for humanity. This is visionary leadership- a rare and valuable skill that isn't just self promotion. I would say it's still unclear as to if his ideas will eventually pan out, but if not, I think his type of thinking will inspire others to come up with ideas that will.
Also, the Dymaxion car wasn't a flop at all in my view, it was a prototype that caused a massive shift in how people thought about vehicle design. the VW Bus/Transporter for example was heavily inspired by the Dymaxion car, which was one of the most successful vehicles in history, and further influenced all modern passenger vans. The combination of being aerodynamic, and forward control enabling usable interior space for the entire length of the vehicle with no hood meant you could move a lot of people, or carry a lot of stuff in a small vehicle with far less fuel than previously possible. Forward control is also really useful for safety and visibility in tight maneuvering, and offroad. Most purpose built offroad vehicles use forward control (pinzgauer, SHERP, unimog, etc.)
I think there is a lot of desire to 'cancel' historical tech visionaries like Fuller nowadays, because we are all burned out, depressed, and disengaged- feeling that our efforts have no real effect, and are pointless. It's easier to say people like Fuller didn't really do much, than to admit that we are capable of so much more.
Instead of thinking of him as a con-artist and self promoter, realize that his actions also fit someone that - well into his late 80s, still felt the joy, open mindedness, and limited possibilities that young kids feel, and is usually burned out of us. He was so excited about what was possible!