Here are the 5 books Bill Gates recommends: the reviews and why he chose them

Whether it’s climate change, the pandemic, or even an issue with his recent millionaire divorce, Bill Gates is generating interest or is still on the agenda. And it is not only part of it, but also conforms to its statements and postulates which appeal to public opinion in general. In this case, it is recommendations to read.

As if it was a literary influencer, the founder of Microsoft and the world’s largest philanthropist in global health, just created a list of five books to read, a question that is already customary and that usually arises when summer arrives in the United States and Europe. This year it has a central theme: “The complicated relationship between humanity and nature”. This was announced in a blog post where he details the reason for each of them.

“When I finish a book and decide what to read next, there is usually not always a rhyme or reason for what I choose. Sometimes I read a good book and I am inspired to read several others on the same subject. Other times, I’m eager to follow the recommendation of someone I respect, ”writes Gates.

“Lately, however, I find myself looking for books on the complicated relationship between humanity and nature. Maybe it’s because everyone’s life has been altered by a virus. Or maybe it’s because I’ve spent a lot of time this year talking about what we need to do to prevent a climate catastrophe, ”adds the philanthropist. Here are the five books:

Under a White Sky: Nature of the Future, by Elizabeth Kolbert

The first book on the list comes from author Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer for The New Yorker. In “Under a White Sky”, Kolbert examines the problems facing coral reefs, gene editing and geoengineering, and possible steps that can be taken to address them.

Kolbert has become one of the most influential writers on the environment. Now he investigates the immense challenges facing humanity as we struggle to reverse, within decades, the effects we have had on the atmosphere, oceans, forests, rivers and the very topography of the globe. .

“I’m glad smart writers like Elizabeth remind us of the risks of trying to interfere in nature. “Gates wrote. “But I wish he had also explored whether the risks are worth taking or what the alternatives might be.”

“A Promised Land”, by Barack Obama

The Microsoft co-founder is a big fan of books on American presidents, but he admits that Barack Obama’s memoirs were of particular interest to him.

The former president’s 2020 memoir chronicles his life from his early days to the 2011 military operation during his presidency that killed Osama bin Laden. “You have to be someone self-aware enough to write an honest autobiography, which politicians aren’t exactly known for. Fortunately, President Obama is not like most politicians, ”Gates wrote.

He adds: “A Promised Land is a refreshingly honest book. He’s not trying to sell himself to you or pretend he didn’t make any mistakes. It’s a great read, whatever your policy. ”

“Lights Out: Pride, Illusion, and the Fall of General Electric”, by Thomas Gryta and Ted Mann

“Lights Out” examines General Electric from its inception to the present day, and the issues it has encountered along the way.

“It turns out that the cultivation of numbers at all costs gave birth to the ‘theater of success’ and the ‘pursuit of profit’,” Gates wrote. “In the words of Gryta and Mann, ‘Problems were hidden to preserve performance, allowing small problems to become big problems before they were detected.'”

“The story”, by Richard Pouvoirs

Gates admits that this book is one of the most unusual novels he has ever read. The Overstory makes a defense on the importance of protecting forests, a goal achieved through the connection of nine people and their connection with trees.

Winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, “The Overstory” presents these nine stories in which the lives of the characters mingle with the trees.

“The book made me want to know more about trees”Gates said. “You don’t need any special knowledge to follow the story, but it left me very curious about it. There is a certain elegance in the way trees fit into their ecosystems. It’s amazing that they live so long, the oldest tree in the world is over 4,800 years old! Although being stopped “.

“An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System, A Four Life Story” by Matt Richtel

The final option in your pick explores a hot topic related to the human immune system. Despite the difficulties that may arise from the subject, Gates assures us that it is a most accessible book which “focuses on the stories of four patients who have to deal with their own illnesses ”.

Written and published ahead of the global coronavirus pandemic, in “An Elegeant Defense,” New York Times Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Matt Richtel relates the stories of four people and their strained relationships with health and the human immune system.

“In telling the story of your friend Jason Greenstein’s cancer, Richtel Describes Effective New Treatments That Help Our Immune System Attack Our Own Rogue CellsGates wrote.

Through the stories of lupus patient Merredith Branscombe and rheumatoid arthritis patient Linda Segre, Richtel helps us understand new drugs that weaken the immune system of people with debilitating autoimmune disorders», He concludes.

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