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Tribune News Service

In need of summer reading? Bill Gates has some recommendations for you.
In what’s become an annual tradition, the Microsoft co-founder, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and avid reader has released a list of books he is recently enjoyed. And he admits on his blog that they’re not exactly light reads.
If you want something more traditionally summery, Gates suggests Graeme Simsion’s lighthearted novel The Rosie Result.
And he also makes an obvious suggestion: The Moment of Lift, by his wife, Melinda Gates. (“I know I’m biased, but it’s one of the best books I’ve read so far this year.”)

1. Nine Pints: A Journey Through the Money, Medicine, and Mysteries of Blood, by Rose George
Gates, who’s long been interested in blood and diagnostic tools involving blood, was immediately drawn to this book by British author George – its title refers to the amount of blood in the average adult.
George travelled the world researching the topic, packing the book with “super-interesting facts that I had to work very hard not to share with unsuspecting friends and colleagues during social occasions.”
Though some of its anecdotes are deeply upsetting (such as an African slum in which young women turn to prostitution to afford sanitary pads), it’s also informative and uplifting. “I think everyone wants to know at least a little more about this topic,” writes Gates. “After all, there is nothing that more people have in common than blood.”

2. Presidents of War: The Epic Story, From 1807 to Modern Times, by Michael Beschloss
“It is hard to read about today’s conflicts without thinking about how they might connect to the past and what impact they might have on the future,” writes Gates.
His interest in the Vietnam war led him to this book, in which the author examines how presidents have handled eight major conflicts: the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean war and Vietnam.
Good Omens: all the signs point to this being an enjoyable TV series
“Looking at each president and each conflict with a similar lens is what makes the book a worthwhile read,” Gates writes, recommending it “whether you are one of the nation’s leaders or just an armchair historian.”

3. Upheaval, by Jared Diamond A fan of Diamond’s book Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, Gates describes the author’s latest as a “discipline-bending book that uses key principals of crisis therapy to understand what happens to nations in crisis”.
Though some of Diamond’s previous books have been less than optimistic, Gates writes on his blog that this one is more positive, with the author reminding us that some countries have creatively solved big problems.
“In Upheaval, though, he reminds us that some countries have creatively solved their biggest problems. Jared doesn’t go so far as to predict that we’ll successfully address our most serious challenges, but he shows that there’s a path through crisis and that we can choose to take it.”

4. A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles 
The only work of fiction on this list, Towles’ 2016 novel was a long-time bestseller, just now out in paperback. The book is, writes Gates, “a fun, clever, and surprisingly upbeat look at Russian history through the eyes of one man” – a count, sentenced in 1922 to house arrest in an elegant Moscow hotel.
Though Gates has a special interest in Russian history, he thinks the book provides something for everyone.
A forgotten side of the Korean war: POW interrogations
“There’s fantastical romance, politics, espionage, parenthood and poetry. The book is technically historical fiction, but you’d be just as accurate calling it a thriller or a love story.”

5. The Future of Capitalism: Facing the New Anxieties, by Paul Collier
Collier, an Oxford economist, spent his career trying to understand and alleviate global poverty, so Gates was surprised that his latest book was about a different topic: economic polarisation.
Gates writes, “Although I don’t agree with him about everything – I think his analysis of the problem is better than his proposed solutions – his background as a development economist gives him a smart perspective on where capitalism is headed.”


Meet Neville Sarony, the Hong Kong barrister who also writes, acts and sings

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2026 public domain movies, cartoons, comics and books include Betty Boop, Nancy Drew

US poet laureate Arthur Sze on slowing down to translate poetry across cultures

Books and literature

Five books billionaire Bill Gates thinks you should read this summer: Microsoft co-founder’s choices are not ‘light reads’

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has given his top five book recommendations for the summer. Photo: GatesNotes.com.

Presidents of War

9 Pints

Upheaval cover

Future of Capitalism

Gentleman in Moscow

The best books for the beach this summer, from Jaws to Crazy Rich Asians

A beach holiday needs a book. Photo: Shutterstock

Sapiens cover

Gone Girl cover

Bossypants cover

Dune cover

Crazy Rich Asians cover

Summer is coming, and we’ve 19 great books to suggest for a holiday read. Photo: Shutterstock

The Korean war – an intriguing new angle in book about POW interrogations and the captives’ fate after armistice

North Korean prisoners of war smoke cigarettes at a POW camp in South Korea. Photo: Robert H. Mosier, US Marine Corps

Interrogation Rooms cover

A Chinese prisoner of war (POW) (left), captured on the night of 13-14 September 1952 is questioned by two Korean translators who are also taking notes. The 1st Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR) had been on patrol in the Songgok area, east of the Samichon River. The patrol encountered 20 Chinese near the bank of a creek. During the fighting two Australians were killed and five wounded. This Chinese soldier was captured, the first to be taken by 1RAR. The prisoner and interpreters are sitting on benches at a table in a dugout. Note the torn trousers the prisoner is wearing. Photographer Douglas Lee. [AWM LEEJ0598]CREDIT: Anzac Portal / Douglas Lee

A U.S. Marine tank follows a line of prisoners of war down a village street. September 26, 1950. S. Sgt. John Babyak, Jr. (Marine Corps) NARA FILE #: 127-N-A3810 WAR & CONFLICT BOOK #: 1488

A US marine with North Korean prisoners of war in Korea in 1953. Photo: Alamy

Jack the Ripper victims’ reputations largely restored in book about their lives, not their deaths

An illustration of Mary Jane Kelly (circa 1888), one of the women murdered by Jack the Ripper. Illustration: Alamy

Ripper headline

PDN222 Annie Chapman 1869.

Sketch of Ripper crime

C8XRC7 Memorial marker to Catherine Eddowes, a Jack the Ripper victim, in the City of London Cemetery, London, UK.

C8XR9K Memorial marker to Mary Ann Nichols, a Jack the Ripper victim, in the City of London Cemetery, London, UK.

Good Omens: will gods smile on TV adaptation of famous book? All the early signs look like they will

David Tennant (left) and Michael Sheen star in the new Amazon/BBC TV series Good Omens.

Adria Arjona, from left, Jon Hamm, Michael Sheen, David Tennant and Nick Offerman attend the premiere of Amazon Prime Video's "Good Omens" at the Whitby Hotel on Thursday, May 23, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)

Adria Arjona attends the premiere of Amazon Prime Video's "Good Omens" at the Whitby Hotel on Thursday, May 23, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)

Michael Sheen, left, and David Tennant, right, attend the premiere of Amazon Prime Video's "Good Omens" at the Whitby Hotel on Thursday, May 23, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)

Jon Hamm attends the premiere of Amazon Prime Video's "Good Omens" at the Whitby Hotel on Thursday, May 23, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)

Neil Gaiman attends the premiere of Amazon Prime Video's "Good Omens" at the Whitby Hotel on Thursday, May 23, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)

Lifestyle

Arts

Entertainment

All five focus on the theme of upheaval, either in our current political climate or at some point in history. Only one of his selections is fiction
They range from facts about human blood to US presidents during wartime to the future of capitalism


All five focus on the theme of upheaval, either in our current political climate or at some point in history. Only one of his selections is fiction. They range from facts about human blood to US presidents during wartime to the future of capitalism.


Fame and celebrity

Tech CEOs

Bill Gates