Inbetweenrunningoneoftheworld’slargestcharitableagenciesandactingasMicrosoft’stechnologyadvisorBillGatesmanagestofindtimetoreadbooksbothlongandshort. NowGates—whohasbeenlabeleda“greedy”reader—hasreleasedalistofhisfavoritebooksoftheyear.Allofthebooksarestandoutreadsaccordingtothebillionairemostofwhicharefocusedonbusinessandeconomy.
HereareBill’stopfourpicksfortheyear(withpartsofhisfullreviewofeachbook).
BusinessAdventuresbyJohnBrooks
Brooks’collectionwaspublishedin1969andremainsoneofGates’favorites.Here-readitagainthisyearlabelingitthe“bestbusinessbookI’veeverread.”
“ShortlyafterwemetWarrenBuffettlentmethiscollectionofNewYorkerbusinessarticlesfromthe1950sand1960s.Ilovedthemasmuchashedid.Brooks’insights（洞察力）aboutbusinesshaveagedbeautifullyandtheyareastruetodayasever.”
CapitalintheTwenty-FirstCenturybyThomasPiketty
Piketty’snovelhittheshelvesinAugust2013andsparkedmuchdiscussionconcerningincomeinequalitythroughoutthisyear.GatesalsogottositdownwithPikettyhimselfafterreadingthenon-fictionworktodiscussthetopic.
“AsItoldhimalthoughIhaveconcernsaboutsomeofhissecondarypointsandpolicyprescriptionsIagreewithhismostimportantconclusions:inequalityisagrowingproblemandthatgovernmentsshouldplayaroleinreducingit.”
HowAsiaWorksbyJoeStudwell
Studwell’sworkwhichwaspublishedinMaythisyearaddresseshowcountriessuchasJapanSouthKoreaandChinahavecontinuedtoachievehighgrowthandwhyothercountrieshavefailedtodothesame.
“Theagriculturesectionofthebookwasparticularlyinsightful.ItprovidedamplefoodforthoughtformeaswellasthewholeAgricultureteamatourfoundation.AnditleftusthinkingaboutwhetherpartsoftheAsianmodelcanapplyinAfrica.”
MakingtheModernWorld:MaterialsandDematerializationbyVaclavSmil
Smil’sbooksareaconstantfavoriteoftheMicrosoftfounder—oneofhisbooksmakesGates’listalmosteveryyear.“MakingtheModernWorld”cameoutlatelastyearandexplorestheglobaluseofmaterialsfromsilicontowoodandplastic.
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