10 Books For Your Summer Reading List Recommended By Bill Gates

“Shoe Dog” by Phil Knight Phil Knight tells the story of how to built the multi-billion dollar shoe and apparel company, Nike, into a worldwide business. “Hillbilly Elegy” by J.D. Vance This book tells the story of the author’s experience growing up poor in rural Ohio. He went into the Marines and then to Yale Law School. Today he is a venture capitalist with a unique outlook on how life is for the poor and how that explains the current political climate in the U.S. Gates wrote on his blog last year that the “A Full Life” by Jimmy Carter President Jimmy Carter’s latest memoir is about growing up in a small Georgia town. “Lincoln in the Bardo” by George Saunders This book caused Gates to rethink everything he knew about President Abraham Lincoln. The novel is set up as a conversation among ghosts, including Lincoln’s dead son. In May, Gates wrote on his blog: “Factfulness” by Hans Rosling In this book, doctor and statistician, Hans Rolling, puts forth the hypothesis that people are taking an overly emotional view of the world today. Gates wrote on his blog in May that he’s been recommending this book since “the day it came out.” Rosling passed away in 2017 and Gates said:  this book is “a fitting final word from a brilliant man, and one of the best books I’ve ever read.” “Leonardo Da Vinci” by Walter Isaacson Gates has called da Vinci “one of the most fascinating people ever,” which is probably why he recommends Walter Isaacson’s biography of the famous renaissance artist. “Origin Story: A Big History of Everything” by David Christian In May, Gates wrote that “Origin Story” will give you a “greater appreciation of humanity’s place in the universe.” “The Heart” by Maylis De Kerangal Gates mostly reads nonfiction but this novel grabbed him. The book tells the story of a heart transplant and the young man who was killed in an accident whose parents decided to donate his heart. “While you’ll find this book in the fiction section at your local bookstore, what de Kerangal has done here in this exploration of grief is closer to poetry than anything else.” Gates wrote on his blog last year. “The Myth of the Strong Leader” by Archie Brown This book is about the author’s 2014 study on the great leaders in history. In 2016, Gates wrote about this book: “The Grid” by Gretchen Bakke This book is about the electrical infrastructure, and Gates heaped praise on it: