11 favorite science books by Bill Gates

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Bill Gates believes that everyone should read these scientific books.

1. "Difficult Things in Simple Words" by Randall Monroe

Randall Monroe, programmer, artist and author of the popular xkcd web comic, wrote this book in 2015. In it, he talks about modern technology in an accessible way, using only 1,000 of the most common English words.

Gates says: “This is a brilliant idea. If you cannot explain something in simple words, then you do not really understand it."

2. "Genes", Siddhartha Mukherjee

Siddhartha Mukherjee is a Pulitzer Prize-winning scientist, physician and writer. Gates believes that Mukherjee in his book managed to talk about genetics in an interesting and non-trivial way. The author tries to answer questions about human nature and find out what makes us us.

"Mukherjee wrote a book for the lay audience because he knows that modern genetic engineering is on the cusp of great discoveries that will affect our lives," says Bill Gates.

3. "The Network", Gretchen Bakke

“This book about the obsolescence of the electrical grid is written in one of my favorite genres: books about mundane but impressive things,” says Gates. His first job was writing software for a power grid company in the Pacific Northwest.

Gates believes The Grid will convince everyone that the grid is the greatest miracle of engineering. “I think everyone will understand the complexity of network upgrades and how important it is for clean energy in the future.”

4. "Seven Eves" by Neil Stevenson

The book of the famous science fiction writer begins with the explosion of the moon. Humanity learns that in two years a meteor shower will destroy all life on Earth. People decide to send as many spaceships as possible into orbit in the hope of saving themselves from the apocalypse.

Gates puts it this way about the book: "Someone may not have the patience to read a detailed description of space flight, but I love the technical details."

5. "Fever: How Malaria Rule Humanity for 500,000 Years", Sonia Shah

For several years, Bill Gates has been paying a lot of attention to the problem of treating malaria. The disease kills about 430,000 lives a year, and 220 million people worldwide are carriers of malaria.

Gates considers the book by journalist Sonia Shah to be the best choice to thoroughly understand this topic: "The book was published in 2010, but it contains a detailed description of malaria, its history and how to fight the disease."

6. “Sapiens. A Brief History of Humanity ", Yuval Noah Harari

About 100,000 years ago, there were six human species on Earth. But why exactly did Homo sapiens survive? It is this question that Yuval Noah Harari, a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, tries to answer in his book. However, he does not dwell on the past. On the contrary, he looks to the future, where genetic engineering and artificial intelligence will change the way we think about humans.

“My wife and I read the book and discussed this topic for a long time. Harari undertook to solve a very difficult problem: to tell the history of the human race in just 400 pages. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the history and future of our species,”says Gates.

7. “Homo Deus. A Brief History of Tomorrow ", Yuval Noah Harari

This is Harari's next book on human history. In it, he discusses what can happen to society in the future.

“Until now, people have been influenced by religious precepts of the right life and more mundane desires to avoid boredom, hunger and war,” says Gates. "And what would become of humanity if these desires were really fulfilled?"

8. Infection and Inequality by Paul Farmer

One of the world's leading epidemiologists, Paul Farmer, was involved in the design of the health care system in Haiti. Gates named him one of the most impressive people he has had the honor to meet.

Although the book appeared more than 15 years ago, it remains relevant. Learn how important medicines and proper treatment are in overcoming deadly diseases such as AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

“In his book, Paul Farmer shows a huge gap between the health of the rich and the poor,” says Gates.

9. "House on Fire" by William Foidge

In the 70s, epidemiologist William Foidge tried to eradicate smallpox. Gates mentioned that Foidge was his mentor and mentor to his wife Melinda at the beginning of their charity work.

The book describes Foig's personal and professional life, as well as the stories of people with smallpox.

10. "Materials: With Two Eyes Open" by Julian Allwood and Jonathan Cullen

After the 2015 Paris Climate Conference, Gates said the piece impressed him.

The book answers a very important question: How can we meet the growing demand for materials without destroying the environment? According to the authors, the use of recyclable materials can be used to prolong the use of household items.

“We cannot continue to use the materials as we did 150 years ago. Fortunately, we don't have to do this,”says Gates.

11. "The Vital Question" by Nick Lane

In this book, British biochemist and writer Nick Lane seeks answers to pressing questions about how life appeared on Earth and how to defeat disease.

Bill Gates believes that everyone should know about Lane: “He is trying to convince people how important energy plays in all living things. Even if one of his writings turns out to be wrong, I believe he will make a great contribution to our understanding of the emergence of life."