Bill Gates shared his annual list of holiday book recommendations on his blog, Gates Notes.
The philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder gave his endorsement to three books, “each of them deeply informative and well-written.”
Gates recommended Siddhartha Mukherjee’s 2022 book, The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human, a look at the significance of the discovery of cells. “The world of medicine moves very quickly, and The Song of the Cell will help you appreciate just how far we’ve come to achieve each breakthrough,” Gates wrote.
He also had praise for Hannah Ritchie’s Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation To Build a Sustainable Planet, which argues that it’s not too late to combat the climate crisis. Gates wrote of the book, which is scheduled for publication in January, “I was surprised by how much Ritchie’s book…managed to surprise me. I think everyone who reads it will feel the same, even those who consider themselves tuned in to environmental issues.”
Gates turned to a familiar name for his third recommendation: Vaclav Smil, the Canadian scientist whom Gates has written about frequently. He recommended Smil’s Invention and Innovation: A Brief History of Hype and Failure, published earlier this year. “Even when I disagree with him, I learn a lot from him,” Gates wrote. “Smil is not the sunniest person I know, but he always strengthens my thinking.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
