December 14, 2020

Holiday Reading List...by Bill Gates

I have been following GatesNotes: The Blog of Bill Gates for years espcially his book review section.  Some books are too dense and too complicated for my brain.  But most books are truly excellent especially if you are a non-fiction reader.  Here are some of the best books I read this year. Please note these are Bill Gates' notes except for Melinda Gates' review.  

Breath from Salt: A Deadly Genetic Disease, a New Era in Science, and the Patients and Families Who Changed Medicine, by Bijal P. Trivedi. This book is truly uplifting. It documents a story of remarkable scientific innovation and how it has improved the lives of almost all cystic fibrosis patients and their families. This story is especially meaningful to me because I know families who’ve benefited from the new medicines described in this book. I suspect we’ll see many more books like this in the coming years, as biomedical miracles emerge from labs at an ever-greater pace.

Good Economics for Hard Times, by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo.  Two economists who are honest about the limits of economics and don’t oversimplify are the husband-and-wife team of Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo. These two brilliant economists explain hot-button issues. Good Economics for Hard Times was written about a pre-COVID world, but it’s still relevant today.  
The Ride of a Lifetime, by former Disney CEO Robert Iger.  A business book I’d actually recommend.  Unlike most books on leadership, this one is worth your time.
The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World, by Melinda Gates...do I need to say more (this is Min writing. Not Bill.  But I think he might say the same.)