[1]Your summer reading list, provided by Bill Gates:

[1]Your summer reading list, provided by Bill Gates:

Bill Gates Summer Books 2019

Americans are gearing up for summer vacation, which for Microsoft
cofounder and famous bookworm Bill Gates means loading up the
suitcase with books. The philanthropist and ardent reader has issued
his annual [2]summer reading list. This year his recommendations for
beach reads touch on some of Gates' favorite themes. They include
two popular history books, a meditative novel on mortality, and a
techno-utopian book about logic.

Here's this year's list, along with annotations from Gates's site:

[3]Leonardo da Vinci, by Walter Isaacson (2017)

In this book from last year about the Renaissance artist and
inventor, the bestselling biographer of Steve Jobs and Albert
Einstein delved deeply into da Vinci's contributions beyond art,
highlighting the breadth of his scientific, technological, and
creative output. Writes Gates:

More than any other Leonardo book I've read, this one helps you see
him as a complete human being and understand just how special he
was. He came close to understanding almost all of what was known on
the planet at the time. That's partly because scientific knowledge
was relatively limited back then, partly because he had a high IQ,
but mostly because he was insatiably curious about pretty much every
area of natural science and the human experience.

[4]Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies I've Loved, by
Kate Bowler (2018)

A scholar of Christianity recounts in this memoir her philosophical
questions and emotional reactions after being unexpectedly diagnosed
with stage IV colon cancer. Says Gates:

The central questions in this book really resonated with me. On one
hand, it's nihilistic to think that every outcome is simply random.
I have to believe that the world is better when we act morally, and
that people who do good things deserve a somewhat better fate on
average than those who don't. But if you take it to extremes, that
cause-and-effect view can be hurtful.

[5]Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders (2018)

Saunders, a long-time short story writer, received widespread
acclaim for his first novel. The book, told from multiple points of
view, imagines the ghosts that haunt the crypt of Willie Lincoln,
Abraham Lincoln's son, who died at age 11 in real life. Writes
Gates:

Losing a child is unbearable for any parent, but Lincoln is also
burdened by timing. Willie died less than a year after the Civil War
started. The president has a new understanding of the grief he's
creating in other families by sending their sons off to die in
battle. He must make a choice. Should the war go on?

[6]Origin Story: A Big History of Everything, by David Christian
(2018)

This new book, which will come out May 22, is by the creator of Big
History, [7]a free, online social studies course that he co-founded
with Gates. The book traces history in wide, sweeping movements,
starting with the Big Bang. Writes Gates:

The book ends with a chapter on where humanity-and the universe-is
headed. David is more pessimistic about the future than I am. He
gets a little stuck on the current economic and political malaise
happening in the West, and I wish he talked more about the role
innovation will play in preventing the worst effects of climate
change.

[8]Factfulness, by Hans Rosling, with Ola Rosling and Anna Rosling
Rönnlund (2018)

Rosling, the popular academic known for his quirky stats talks, died
last year. Gates reviewed his book, cowritten by his son and
daughter-in-law, which lays out ten instincts that lead us to
distorted views about global trends based on bias instead of fact.
In April Gates called it "one of the most educational books I've
ever read." Gates says:

[Rosling] refuses to judge anyone for their misconceptions. Most
writers would beat people up for their ignorance, but he doesn't.
Hans even resists going after the media. Instead, he tells you about
the history of his own ignorance. He explains that these instincts
make us human, and that overcoming them isn't easy. That's classic
Hans. He was always kind, often patient, and never judgmental.
_______________________________________________________________

Read next: [9]Your summer 2017 reading list, provided by Bill Gates

Read next: [10]Bill Gates has just read his "favorite book of all
time"

(Via [11]Quartz » Technology)
Also on:

[12]Twitter
__________________________________________________________________

My original entry is here: [13]Your summer reading list, provided by
Bill Gates. It posted Fri, 25 May 2018 11:50:13 +0000.
Filed under: business, personal,

References

1. https://qz.com/1282604/your-summer-reading-list-provided-by-bill-gates-2/
2. https://www.gatesnotes.com/About-Bill-Gates/Summer-Books-2018?WT.mc_id=05_21_2018_08_SummerBooks2018_BG-media_&WT.tsrc=BGmedia
3. https://www.amazon.com/Leonardo-Vinci-Walter-Isaacson/dp/1501139150?tag=quartz07-20
4. https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Happens-Reason-Other-Loved/dp/0399592067/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1526912969&sr=1-1&keywords=Everything+Happens+for+a+Reason+and+Other+Lies+I’ve+Loved&tag=quartz07-20
5. https://www.amazon.com/Lincoln-Bardo-Novel-George-Saunders/dp/0812985400/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1526913009&sr=1-1&keywords=lincoln+in+the+bardo&tag=quartz07-20
6. https://www.amazon.com/Origin-Story-Big-History-Everything/dp/0241338379/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1526913037&sr=1-2&tag=quartz07-20
7. https://www.bighistoryproject.com/about
8. https://www.amazon.com/Factfulness-Reasons-World-Things-Better/dp/1250107814/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1526913098&sr=1-1&keywords=Factfulness&tag=quartz07-20
9. https://qz.com/988136/bill-gates-book-list-2017-recommended-books-for-summer-reading/
10. https://qz.com/1192746/bill-gates-book-recommendation-steven-pinkers-enlightenment-now/
11. https://qz.com/
12. https://twitter.com/TokyoGringo/status/999981885508890624
13. https://www.prjorgensen.com/?p=1132