Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates loves to read so much that he is known to read about 50 books a year, the equivalent of one a week. Every year, on his Gates Notes blog, he shares some of the best books he’s read in the past 12 months. This year, he decided to list the five best books he’s ever read. He notes that this is not a complete list of his favorite books, but he recommends them to friends and family.
The first book on the list is Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein. Gates described the book as the best introduction to adult sci-fi, explaining why he loves it by saying, “Paul Allen and I fell in love with Heinlein when we were kids. This book is still one of my favorite sci-fi books. It tells the story of a young man who grows up on Mars and returns to Earth to start a new faith. I think the best sci-fi pushes you to think about what the future might be Reflecting on what happened, Heinlein managed to predict the rise of hippie culture years before it emerged.”
The next book is U2 frontman Bono’s new book Surrender. The book, which he describes as the best memoir of a rock star, is one of the newer titles on the list. Gates wrote: “This book came out this month, so it’s one of the last reads on my list. If you’re a U2 fan, there’s a good chance you’re already planning to check it out. Even if You’re not, it’s also a super interesting book about how a boy from the suburbs of Dublin grew up to be a world-famous rock star and philanthropist. Luckily I’m friends with Bono, but a lot of the stories he tells in “Surrender” It’s new to me.”
Next came Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Lincoln and Team of Rivals,” described by Gates as the best guide to leading the country. He said: “I can’t read enough about Abraham Lincoln, and this is one of the best books on the subject. It feels like a time when our nation is once again facing violent insurrection, hard questions about race and deep ideological divisions. This book is especially meaningful. Goodwin is one of the best biographers in America, and Lincoln and His Rival Staff is arguably her magnum opus.”
The fourth book on the list is the best book Gates has ever read about getting out of his own way. It’s called “The Inner Game of Tennis” by Robert Gale. Victoria (Robert Gallwey). Explaining why he liked the book, Gates wrote: “This 1974 book is a must-read for anyone who plays tennis, but I think even people who have never played tennis will find it helpful.” Get something. Gallwey believes that your mind is as important as your physical fitness, maybe even more important. He gives great advice on how to move on constructively from your mistakes, something I have worked on over the years on and off the field Follow these recommendations.”
The last book on the list is the best book on the periodic table, according to Gates. Gates describes Mendeleyev’s Dream by Paul Strathern as follows: “The history of chemistry is full of men like Dimitri Mendeleyev. Oddities like Dimitri Mendeleyev, the Russian scientist who first came up with the periodic table, is said to have seen it in a dream. Strathern’s book traces this history all the way back to its origins in ancient Greece. A fascinating look at how it developed and how human curiosity has evolved over millennia.”
