The 4 books Bill Gates read this year to make 'sense of the world'

Gates called himself a “huge fan” of books by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, and said he was in the midst of writing his first autobiography when he read hers. The author’s memoir focuses on her life with her late husband, Richard “Dick” Goodwin, who was a policy expert and speechwriter in the 1960s for Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson.

Before her husband’s death in 2018, the couple started a project going through 300 boxes of collected papers and memorabilia that led to debates between Goodwin and her husband over the accomplishments of both presidents, Gates noted.

“On one hand, reading a book as thoughtful and well written as An Unfinished Love Story inspired me to push myself even more as an author,” Gates said. “On the other hand, Goodwin sets a daunting example. Trying to write as well as she does is like trying to singalong with Lady Gaga.”

Jonathan Haidt’s book made Gates wonder if he would’ve developed his habit of turning “idle time into deep thinking and learning” growing up with today’s technology, he said.

The Anxious Generation, which focuses on how modern day childhood and adolescence have been shaped by smart phones and social media, “is scary but convincing,” Gates said. He noted that his eldest daughter, Jennifer Gates, a pediatrician, recommended the book to him.

“What makes The Anxious Generation different from other books on similar topics is Haidt’s insight that we’re actually facing two distinct crises: digital under-parenting (giving kids unlimited and unsupervised access to devices and social media) and real-world over-parenting (protecting kids from every possible harm in the real world),” Gates said.

Before becoming a software engineer, Gates said he “thought like a civil engineer,” looking around his neighborhood as a child and wondering how things such as power lines and water pipes worked.

Gates said he wishes he’d had Engineering in Plain Sight by civil engineer-turned-YouTuber Grady Hillhouse to explain those structures to him.

“One of the coolest aspects of Engineering in Plain Sight is how it ties everyday observations to larger engineering principles,” Gates said.

Gates said he recommends Microsoft (MSFT) AI chief executive Mustafa Suleyman’s book “more than any other on AI” when people, including heads of state and business leaders, ask him about AI.

Suleyman’s roles at DeepMind (GOOGL) (which was acquired by Google), Inflection, and Microsoft don’t only make the book “special,” Gates said, “it’s his deep understanding of scientific history and how technological revolutions unfold.”

“I’ve always been an optimist, and reading The Coming Wave hasn’t changed that,” Gates said. “I firmly believe that advances in AI and biotech could help make breakthrough treatments for deadly diseases, innovative solutions for climate change, and high-quality education for everyone a reality. But true optimism isn’t about blind faith. It’s about seeing both the upsides and the risks, then working to shape the outcomes for the better.”