Bill Gates shares his top five all-time favourite books

Billionaire-philanthropist Bill Gates is also an avid reader. Each year he shares his annual favourite reads with his followers on his official blog. But with 2022 coming to an end, this time he tried to do something different. Instead of sharing his holiday list, he recently shared a list of five books which are his all-time favourite reads. "This time, though, I decided to try something different. Rather than limit myself to things I’ve read over the previous twelve months, I instead picked books regardless of when I finished them," Gates wrote on his blog.

He further added, "This isn’t a complete list of my favorite books of all time—that list would include a lot more Vaclav Smil and Elizabeth Kolbert. But all five are books that I have recommended to my family and friends over the years." Checkout Bill Gates' top five all-time favorite books here.

Photo: Gatesnotes.com

As an introduction for grownups to sci-fi, Gates has recommended Robert Heinlein's novel 'Stranger in a Strange Land'. "Paul Allen and I fell in love with Heinlein when we were just kids, and this book is still one of my favorite sci-fi novels of all time...I think the best science fiction pushes your thinking about what’s possible in the future, and Heinlein managed to predict the rise of hippie culture years before it emerged," Gates said in praise of this book. The story is about a young man, who spends his initial years on Mars and returns to Earth where he starts a new religion.

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Calling it the "best memoir by a rock star", Gates recommended 'Surrender' by Bono. "If you’re a U2 fan, there is a good chance you already plan to check it out. Even if you’re not, it’s a super fun read about how a boy from the suburbs of Dublin grew up to become a world-famous rock star and philanthropist," Bill Gates said about the book. Bono's memoir 'Surrender' released in November 2022.

Photo: Hutchinson Heinemann

Recommended Doris Kearns Goodwin's 'Team of Rivals', Gates called it the author's "masterpiece". He said, "I can’t read enough about Abraham Lincoln, and this is one of the best books on the subject. It feels especially relevant now when our country is once again facing violent insurrection, difficult questions about race, and deep ideological divides."

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For those who need some dose of inspiration, Gates has recommended Robert Gallwey's book 'The Inner Game of Tennis'. "This book from 1974 is a must-read for anyone who plays tennis, but I think even people who have never played will get something out of it. Gallwey argues that your state of mind is just as important—if not more important—than your physical fitness. He gives excellent advice about how to move on constructively from mistakes, which I’ve tried to follow both on and off the court over the years," Gates said in praise of the book.

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And for science lovers, Gates has recommended Paul Strathern's 'Mendeleyev’s Dream'. Recommending the book, Gates wrote on his blog, "The history of chemistry is filled with quirky characters like Dimitri Mendeleyev, the Russian scientist who first proposed the periodic table after it allegedly came to him in a dream. Strathern’s book traces that history all the way back to its origins in ancient Greece. It’s a fascinating look at how science develops and how human curiosity has evolved over the millennia."

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