books recommended by Bill Gates

Bill Gates is an American business magnate, software developer, investor, and philanthropist. He is best known as the co-founder of Microsoft Corporation.

Bill Gates is an American business magnate, software developer, investor, and philanthropist. He is best known as the co-founder of Microsoft Corporation.

venture capitalist

books recommended by Bill Gates

Sapiens

Sapiens

Yuval Noah Harari

Principles

Principles

Ray Dalio

Thinking, Fast and Slow

Thinking, Fast and Slow

Daniel Kahneman

Shoe Dog

Shoe Dog

Phil Knight

Mindset

Mindset

Carol S. Dweck

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs

Walter Isaacson

"Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!"

"Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!"

Richard P. Feynman

The Black Swan

The Black Swan

Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Poor Charlie's Almanack

Poor Charlie's Almanack

Charlie Munger

Outliers

Outliers

Malcolm Gladwell

Range

Range

David Epstein

How to Change Your Mind

How to Change Your Mind

Michael Pollan

The Three-Body Problem

The Three-Body Problem

Cixin Liu

Loonshots

Loonshots

Safi Bahcall

The Ride of a Lifetime

The Ride of a Lifetime

Robert Iger

The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye

J.D. Salinger

Guns, Germs, and Steel

Guns, Germs, and Steel

Jared Diamond

The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald

When Breath Becomes Air

When Breath Becomes Air

Paul Kalanithi

The Checklist Manifesto

The Checklist Manifesto

Atul Gawande

Why We Sleep

Why We Sleep

Matthew Walker

Project Hail Mary

Project Hail Mary

Andy Weir

Homo Deus

Homo Deus

Yuval Noah Harari

The Better Angels of Our Nature

The Better Angels of Our Nature

Steven Pinker

Einstein

Einstein

Walter Isaacson

Factfulness

Factfulness

Hans Rosling

The Martian

The Martian

Andy Weir

Blitzscaling

Blitzscaling

Reid Hoffman

Measure What Matters

Measure What Matters

John Doerr

Moonwalking with Einstein

Moonwalking with Einstein

Joshua Foer

The Rational Optimist

The Rational Optimist

Matt Ridley

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci

Walter Isaacson

Becoming Steve Jobs

Becoming Steve Jobs

Brent Schlender

Enlightenment Now

Enlightenment Now

Steven Pinker

Evicted

Evicted

Matthew Desmond

21 Lessons for the 21st Century

21 Lessons for the 21st Century

Yuval Noah Harari

Bad Blood

Bad Blood

John Carreyrou

Behave

Behave

Robert M. Sapolsky

Open

Open

Andre Agassi

Educated

Educated

Tara Westover

Billion Dollar Whale

Billion Dollar Whale

Tom Wright & Bradley Hope

The Inner Game of Tennis

The Inner Game of Tennis

W. Timothy Gallwey

Buffett

Buffett

Roger Lowenstein

Cloud Atlas

Cloud Atlas

David Mitchell

The Gene

The Gene

Siddhartha Mukherjee

Team of Rivals

Team of Rivals

Doris Kearns Goodwin

How to Lie with Statistics

How to Lie with Statistics

Darrell Huff

The Moment of Lift

The Moment of Lift

Melinda Gates

Born a Crime

Born a Crime

Trevor Noah

Stranger in a Strange Land

Stranger in a Strange Land

Robert A. Heinlein

Seveneves

Seveneves

Neal Stephenson

The Emperor of All Maladies

The Emperor of All Maladies

Siddhartha Mukherjee

Hillbilly Elegy

Hillbilly Elegy

J.D. Vance

The World Is Flat

The World Is Flat

Thomas L. Friedman

Tools and Weapons

Tools and Weapons

Brad Smith

Where Good Ideas Come From

Where Good Ideas Come From

Steven Johnson

Abundance

Abundance

Peter Diamandis

Mountains Beyond Mountains

Mountains Beyond Mountains

Tracy Kidder

The New Jim Crow

The New Jim Crow

Michelle Alexander

Capital in the Twenty-First Century

Capital in the Twenty-First Century

Thomas Piketty

Leadership

Leadership

Doris Kearns Goodwin

How Not to Be Wrong

How Not to Be Wrong

Jordan Ellenberg

The Prize

The Prize

Daniel Yergin

A Gentleman in Moscow

A Gentleman in Moscow

Amor Towles

Why We're Polarized

Why We're Polarized

Ezra Klein

Too Big to Fail

Too Big to Fail

Andrew Ross Sorkin

Life 3.0

Life 3.0

Max Tegmark

The Book of Why

The Book of Why

Judea Pearl & Dana Mackenzie

Business Adventures

Business Adventures

John Brooks

The Road to Character

The Road to Character

David Brooks

The Code Breaker

The Code Breaker

Walter Isaacson

Why Nations Fail

Why Nations Fail

Daron Acemoğlu & James A. Robinson

The Bully Pulpit

The Bully Pulpit

Doris Kearns Goodwin

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins

The Spy and the Traitor

The Spy and the Traitor

Ben Macintyre

The Sixth Extinction

The Sixth Extinction

Elizabeth Kolbert

Stress Test

Stress Test

Timothy F. Geithner

The Box

The Box

Marc Levinson

The Rise and Fall of American Growth

The Rise and Fall of American Growth

Robert J. Gordon

The Signal and the Noise

The Signal and the Noise

Nate Silver

Stuff Matters

Stuff Matters

Mark Miodownik

The Diary of a Young Girl

The Diary of a Young Girl

Anne Frank

Thing Explainer

Thing Explainer

Randall Munroe

Destined for War

Destined for War

Graham Allison

The Splendid and the Vile

The Splendid and the Vile

Erik Larson

Behind the Beautiful Forevers

Behind the Beautiful Forevers

Katherine Boo

Numbers Don't Lie

Numbers Don't Lie

Vaclav Smil

Reinventing Fire

Reinventing Fire

Amory Lovins

Hamnet

Hamnet

Maggie O'Farrell

Life Is What You Make It

Life Is What You Make It

Peter Buffett

These Truths

These Truths

Jill Lepore

Collapse

Jared Diamond

The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Vol. II

The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Vol. II

Richard P. Feynman

Hit Refresh

Hit Refresh

Satya Nadella

This Time Is Different

This Time Is Different

Carmen M. Reinhart & Kenneth S. Rogoff

Hacking Darwin

Hacking Darwin

Jamie Metzl

Klara and the Sun

Klara and the Sun

Kazuo Ishiguro

Hot, Flat, and Crowded

Hot, Flat, and Crowded

Thomas L. Friedman

The Sympathizer

The Sympathizer

Viet Thanh Nguyen

Awakening Joy

Awakening Joy

James Baraz

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On Immunity

On Immunity

Eula Biss

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The Great Escape

The Great Escape

Angus Deaton

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Plagues and the Paradox of Progress

Plagues and the Paradox of Progress

Thomas J. Bollyky

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Brain Rules

Brain Rules

John Medina

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String Theory

String Theory

David Foster Wallace

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The Rosie Project

The Rosie Project

Graeme Simsion

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Energy and Civilization

Energy and Civilization

Vaclav Smil

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The Future of Capitalism

The Future of Capitalism

Paul Collier

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Big History

Big History

Cynthia Stokes Brown

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The Most Powerful Idea in the World

The Most Powerful Idea in the World

William Rosen

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What If?

What If?

Randall Munroe

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The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Vol. I

The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Vol. I

Richard P. Feynman

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A Full Life

A Full Life

Jimmy Carter

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The Great Influenza

The Great Influenza

John M. Barry

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The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Vol. III

The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Vol. III

Richard P. Feynman

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Reinventing American Health Care

Reinventing American Health Care

Ezekiel J. Emanuel

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From the Ground Up

From the Ground Up

Howard Schultz

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Blueprint

Blueprint

Nicholas A. Christakis

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How Asia Works

How Asia Works

Joe Studwell

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SuperFreakonomics

SuperFreakonomics

Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner

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Interventions

Interventions

Kofi Annan

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Energy

Energy

Vaclav Smil

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Lincoln in the Bardo

Lincoln in the Bardo

George Saunders

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The Ministry for the Future

The Ministry for the Future

Kim Stanley Robinson

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The Earth's Biosphere

The Earth's Biosphere

Vaclav Smil

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World on the Edge

World on the Edge

Lester R. Brown

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Energy Transitions

Energy Transitions

Vaclav Smil

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Titan II

Titan II

David Stumpf

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Parenting With Love and Logic

Parenting With Love and Logic

Foster Cline

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Beyond Smoke and Mirrors

Beyond Smoke and Mirrors

Douglas S. Massey

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The Post-American World

The Post-American World

Fareed Zakaria

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Tropical Infectious Diseases

Tropical Infectious Diseases

Richard L. Guerrant

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Origin Story

Origin Story

David Christian

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Showing Up for Life

Showing Up for Life

Bill Gates Sr.

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The Man Who Fed the World

The Man Who Fed the World

Leon Hesser

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13 Things That Don't Make Sense

13 Things That Don't Make Sense

Michael Brooks

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The Power to Compete

The Power to Compete

Hiroshi Mikitani & Ryoichi Mikitani

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Everything Happens for a Reason

Everything Happens for a Reason

Kate Bowler

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Science Business

Science Business

Gary P. Pisano

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Global Warming

Global Warming

John Theodore Houghton

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For the Love of Physics

For the Love of Physics

Walter Lewin

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Harvesting the Biosphere

Harvesting the Biosphere

Vaclav Smil

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Energies

Energies

Vaclav Smil

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The Mosquito

The Mosquito

Timothy C. Winegard

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Jim Grant

Jim Grant

Peter Adamson

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Money Well Spent

Money Well Spent

Paul Brest & Hal Harvey

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Energy at the Crossroads

Energy at the Crossroads

Vaclav Smil

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The Perfect Weapon

The Perfect Weapon

David E. Sanger

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Health Care Will Not Reform Itself

Health Care Will Not Reform Itself

George C. Halvorson

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Outbreak Culture

Outbreak Culture

Pardis Sabeti

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How to Spend $50 Billion to Make the World a Better Place

How to Spend $50 Billion to Make the World a Better Place

Bjørn Lomborg

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The Myth of the Strong Leader

The Myth of the Strong Leader

Archie Brown

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The World Until Yesterday

The World Until Yesterday

Jared Diamond

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Eradication

Eradication

Nancy Leys Stepan

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Growth

Growth

Vaclav Smil

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Prime Movers of Globalization

Prime Movers of Globalization

Vaclav Smil

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Should We Eat Meat?

Should We Eat Meat?

Vaclav Smil

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Epic Measures

Epic Measures

Jeremy N. Smith

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Unlocking the Gates

Unlocking the Gates

Taylor Walsh

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Tomorrow's Table

Tomorrow's Table

Pamela C. Ronald

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Who's Teaching Your Children?

Who's Teaching Your Children?

Vivian Troen

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A Separate Peace

A Separate Peace

John Knowles

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The Rosie Effect

The Rosie Effect

Graeme Simsion

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Making the Modern World

Making the Modern World

Vaclav Smil

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The Vital Question

The Vital Question

Nick Lane

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Six Days of the Condor

Six Days of the Condor

James Grady

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Turtles All the Way Down

Turtles All the Way Down

John Green

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Good Economics for Hard Times

Good Economics for Hard Times

Abhijit V. Banerjee & Esther Duflo

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Global Catastrophes and Trends

Global Catastrophes and Trends

Vaclav Smil

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The Grid

The Grid

Phillip F. Schewe

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Sustainable Materials

Sustainable Materials

Julian M. Allwood

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Hyperbole and a Half

Hyperbole and a Half

Allie Brosh

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Liberating Learning

Liberating Learning

Terry M. Moe

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The Foundation

The Foundation

Joel L. Fleishman

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The Limits to Growth

The Limits to Growth

Donella H. Meadows et al.

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Creating the Twentieth Century

Creating the Twentieth Century

Vaclav Smil

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The Making of a Tropical Disease

The Making of a Tropical Disease

Randall M. Packard

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Unlocking Energy Innovation

Unlocking Energy Innovation

Richard K. Lester

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That Used to Be Us

That Used to Be Us

Thomas L. Friedman & Michael Mandelbaum

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The Friend

The Friend

Sigrid Nunez

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Give Smart

Give Smart

Thomas J. Tierney

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Dirt and Disease

Dirt and Disease

Naomi Rogers

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Frank Stewart's Bridge Club

Frank Stewart's Bridge Club

Frank Stewart

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xkcd

xkcd

Randall Munroe

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A Champion's Mind

A Champion's Mind

Pete Sampras

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Modernist Cuisine

Modernist Cuisine

Nathan Myhrvold

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Change.edu

Change.edu

Andrew S. Rosen

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Being Nixon

Being Nixon

Evan Thomas

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Energy Myths and Realities

Energy Myths and Realities

Vaclav Smil

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Poor Numbers

Poor Numbers

Morten Jerven

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Nine Pints

Nine Pints

Rose George

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I Contain Multitudes

I Contain Multitudes

Ed Yong

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The Cat's Table

The Cat's Table

Michael Ondaatje

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Educational Economics

Educational Economics

Marguerite Roza

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Late to the Ball

Late to the Ball

Gerald Marzorati

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Believe Me

Believe Me

Eddie Izzard

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The Fever

The Fever

Sonia Shah

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Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

David Foster Wallace

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Polio

Polio

David M. Oshinsky

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The New Science of Strong Materials

The New Science of Strong Materials

J.E. Gordon

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Poor Economics

Poor Economics

Abhijit V. Banerjee & Esther Duflo

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A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence

A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence

Jeff Hawkins

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The Best We Could Do

The Best We Could Do

Thi Bui

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Identity

Identity

Francis Fukuyama

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Enriching the Earth

Enriching the Earth

Vaclav Smil

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The Choice

The Choice

Dr. Edith Eva Eger

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The Magic of Reality

The Magic of Reality

Richard Dawkins

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Broken Genius

Broken Genius

Joel N. Shurkin

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The Cost of Hope

The Cost of Hope

Amanda Bennett

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A World-Class Education

A World-Class Education

Vivien Stewart

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Army of None

Army of None

Paul Scharre

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Work Hard. Be Nice.

Work Hard. Be Nice.

Jay Mathews

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Priorities in Health

Priorities in Health

Dean T. Jamison

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House on Fire

House on Fire

William H. Foege

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The Bet

The Bet

Paul Sabin

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Vaccine

Vaccine

Arthur Allen

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Class Warfare

Class Warfare

Steven Brill

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The Path Between the Seas

The Path Between the Seas

David McCullough

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The Quest

The Quest

Daniel Yergin

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The Man Who Stayed Behind

The Man Who Stayed Behind

Sidney Rittenberg

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In FED We Trust

In FED We Trust

David Wessel

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The City That Became Safe

The City That Became Safe

Franklin E. Zimring

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The End of Poverty

The End of Poverty

Jeffrey D. Sachs

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Breath from Salt

Breath from Salt

Bijal P. Trivedi

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Smallpox

Smallpox

D.A. Henderson

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Why America Is Not a New Rome

Why America Is Not a New Rome

Vaclav Smil

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Stretching the School Dollar

Stretching the School Dollar

Frederick M. Hess

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Perception and Misperception in International Politics

Perception and Misperception in International Politics

Robert Jervis

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Value-Added Measures in Education

Value-Added Measures in Education

Douglas N. Harris

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The Headspace Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness

The Headspace Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness

Andy Puddicombe

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One Billion Hungry

One Billion Hungry

Gordon Conway

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The Idealist

The Idealist

Nina Munk

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Upheaval

Upheaval

Jared Diamond

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Dad Is Fat

Dad Is Fat

Jim Gaffigan

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How To

How To

Randall Munroe

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Capitalism Without Capital

Capitalism Without Capital

Jonathan Haskel

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Sustainable Energy

Sustainable Energy

David J.C. Mackay

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Why Does College Cost So Much?

Why Does College Cost So Much?

Robert B. Archibald

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Prepared

Prepared

Diane Tavenner

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Presidents of War

Presidents of War

Michael Beschloss

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The Art of Being Unreasonable

The Art of Being Unreasonable

Eli Broad

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Academically Adrift

Academically Adrift

Richard Arum

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Global Health

Global Health

Ann Lindstrand

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Railroader

Railroader

Howard Green

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Getting Better

Getting Better

Charles Kenny

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The Heart

The Heart

Maylis de Kerangal

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The Hair of the Dog

The Hair of the Dog

Karl Sabbagh

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Beyond the Crash

Beyond the Crash

Gordon Brown

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Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China

Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China

Ezra F. Vogel

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Tap Dancing to Work

Tap Dancing to Work

Carol J. Loomis

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Why Don't Students Like School?

Why Don't Students Like School?

Daniel T. Willingham

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The Power

The Power

Naomi Alderman

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The Lincoln Highway

The Lincoln Highway

Amor Towles

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How the World Really Works

How the World Really Works

Vaclav Smil

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Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story

Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story

Bono

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Mendeleyev's Dream: The Quest for the Elements

Mendeleyev's Dream: The Quest for the Elements

Paul Strathern

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Books written by Bill Gates

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How to Avoid a Climate Disaster

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster

Bill Gates

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Reading is still the main way that I both learn new things and test my understanding.

Bill Gates

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Did Bill Gates recommend all these books?

This book list has Bill Gates's must-read recommendations, it can also be comprised of mentions, suggestions or social media posts.

How do you know Bill Gates mentioned these books?

Every suggestion made by Bill Gates is validated by our editors either via reaching out to the featured person, their social media or mentions from interviews.

Did Bill Gates actually create this list?

A few of our lists have been created by the featured person. The rest are either crowdsourced or created by the Good Books staff.

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Bill Gates's book recommendations

Sapiens

Principles

Thinking, Fast and Slow

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