On the surface it’s about math, but it’s really about how much math plays into our daily lives without our even knowing it.

From https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/How-Not-to-be-Wrong

Educated is even better than you’ve heard. Melinda and I loved Tara Westover’s journey from the mountains of Idaho to the halls of Cambridge. ... Educated is an amazing story, and I get why it’s spent so much time on the top of the New York Times bestseller list. ... Tara is never cruel, even when she’s writing about some of her father’s most fringe beliefs. ... I found it fascinating how it took studying philosophy and history in school for Tara to trust her own perception of the world. ... Although it’s not a political book, Educated touches on a number of the divides in our country: red states versus blue states, rural versus urban, college-educated versus not. ... Tara’s process of self-discovery is beautifully captured in Educated. It’s the kind of book that I think everyone will enjoy, no matter what genre you usually pick up. She’s a talented writer, and I suspect this book isn’t the last we’ll hear from her.

From https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/Educated

I couldn’t put down this thriller with a tragic ending. The inside story of the Theranos scandal is almost too wild to believe. ... The public didn’t know about Theranos’ deception until Carreyrou broke the story as a reporter at the Wall Street Journal. Because he was so integral to the company’s demise, Bad Blood offers a remarkable inside look. Some of the details he shares are—for lack of a better word—insane. ... Bad Blood is also a cautionary tale about the virtues of celebrity. On the surface, Holmes was everything Silicon Valley loves in a CEO: charismatic and convincing with a memorable personal story made for magazine profiles. ... Bad Blood tackles some serious ethical questions, but it is ultimately a thriller with a tragic ending. It’s a fun read full of bizarre details that will make you gasp out loud. The story almost feels too ridiculous to be real at points (no wonder Hollywood is already planning to turn it into a movie). I think it’s the perfect book to read by the fire this winter.

From https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/Bad-Blood

I never thought much about whether I could improve my memory across a wider set of domains, but now I think I could, after reading this book.

From https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/Moonwalking-with-Einstein

Lost and found with “the most wondrous map ever produced”. A talented writer and doctor guides us through the past, present, and future of genome science. ... The ethical questions around genome editing are enormous. That is why I am so glad I read The Gene by Columbia University cancer doctor and researcher Siddhartha Mukherjee. I loved Mukherjee’s 2015 TED Talk and his brilliant book about cancer, The Emperor of All Maladies, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2011. It must really tick off full-time writers that a doctor can win a Pulitzer in his spare time! ... In The Gene, Mukherjee once again shows his gift for making hard science easily accessible. He wrote this book for general audiences, because he knows that it’s not good enough for scientists alone to debate the huge ethical questions that their discoveries provoke. ... My favorite part of the book was the final section, “Post-Genome: The Genetics of Fate and Future.” It does a great job bringing into sharp focus the difficult ethical questions that will become increasingly intense.

From https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/The-Gene

I would say this even if I weren’t married to the author: The Moment of Lift is a terrific read. It is a wise, honest, and beautifully written book about how empowering women lifts up everyone. (None of that will be surprising to anyone who knows Melinda.) Although it took her about a year to write, in a way she has been working on it her whole life. The Moment of Lift is about the women who have inspired Melinda, starting with her own mother, through her colleagues at Microsoft, and continuing today with the amazing scientists, farmers, educators, and leaders she meets through her work with our foundation. ... But to me, what is really impressive about the book is the way Melinda combines her mastery of data with her ability to tell powerful stories about individual women she has met.

From https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/The-Moment-of-Lift

What if people run out of things to do? A provocative new book raises big questions about the future. What gives our lives meaning? And what if one day, whatever gives us meaning went away—what would we do then? I’m still thinking about those weighty questions after finishing Homo Deus, the provocative new book by Yuval Noah Harari. ... Harari’s new book is as challenging and readable as Sapiens. Rather than looking back, as Sapiens does, it looks to the future. ... Here is Harari’s most provocative idea: As good as it sounds, achieving the dream of bliss, immortality, and divinity could be bad news for the human race. ... Harari does the best job I have seen of explaining the purpose problem. And he deserves credit for venturing an answer to it. He suggests that finding a new purpose requires us to develop new religion. ... I wasn’t satisfied by his answer to the purpose question. But don’t let a dissatisfying conclusion dissuade you from reading Homo Deus. It is a deeply engaging book with lots of stimulating ideas and not a lot of jargon. It makes you think about the future, which is another way of saying it makes you think about the present.

From https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/Homo-Deus