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Bill Gates shares his favourite books of 2016

"Never before have I felt so empowered to learn as I do today. When I was young, there were few o...
Newstalk
Newstalk

13.38 7 Dec 2016


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Bill Gates shares his favourit...

Bill Gates shares his favourite books of 2016

Newstalk
Newstalk

13.38 7 Dec 2016


Share this article


"Never before have I felt so empowered to learn as I do today. When I was young, there were few options to learn on my own," Microsoft-founder Bill Gates begins his blog post announcing his favourite books of the year.

His picks feature a bit of everything - from tennis to tennis shoes and leadership strategies.

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The former-CEO has been issuing seasonal reading lists since 2012.

String Theory - David Foster Wallace

Mr Gates highlights this collection of essays about tennis as a friendly entry point to the work of David Foster Wallace.

"You don’t have to play or even watch tennis to love this book. The late author wielded a pen as skillfully as Roger Federer wields a tennis racket. Here, as in his other brilliant works, Wallace found mind-blowing ways of bending language like a metal spoon."

Shoe Dog - Phil Knight

He says that this memoir from Nike co-founder Phil Knight offers a, "refreshingly honest reminder of what the path to business success really looks like: messy, precarious, and riddled with mistakes."

Mr Gates adds that the book's selling-point is its openness - rather than any attempt to offer lofty business (or life) lessons.

The Gene - Siddhartha Mukherjee

"In his latest book, Mukherjee guides us through the past, present, and future of genome science, with a special focus on huge ethical questions that the latest and greatest genome technologies provoke," writes Gates.

He adds that the volume is written in a way that can be digested by the lay-reader.

The Myth of the Strong Leader - Archie Brown

The Microsoft boss looks back to this 2014 volume and says the author could not have guessed "how resonant his book would become in 2016" following Trump's rise.

The book argues that leaders who seek council and collaboration, rather than a 'Strong leader' model are the most successful.

The Grid - Gretchen Bakke

Gates believes that, "Even if you have never given a moment’s thought to how electricity reaches your outlets, I think this book would convince you that the electrical grid is one of the greatest engineering wonders of the modern world. I think you would also come to see why modernising the grid is so complex and so critical for building our clean-energy future."


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