Sabah Fatima here, as a woman who pursued an MPH because of the impact the Gates Foundation specifically both Bill and Melinda have done tremendous work for Global Health and I was super excited to finish this book. Bill Gates’ Source Code is more than a memoir—it’s a rare intellectual blueprint of one of the most influential minds of our time. With a level of candor that is both unexpected and refreshing, Gates dissects the forces that shaped his thinking, from his early curiosity to the defining moments that propelled him to revolutionize technology and philanthropy. What sets this book apart is its profound self-awareness. Gates doesn’t just recount events; he analyzes them, extracting lessons on innovation, resilience, and the complexity of human ambition. His reflections on success, failure, and reinvention are not just personal—they’re universally instructive, offering insights that extend far beyond the tech world. For those who seek more than just inspiration—for those who crave understanding of how visionaries are made—Source Code is essential reading. It’s a compelling reminder that intelligence is not just about knowledge, but about how we apply curiosity, adaptability, and self-reflection to the world around us.

To those of us who have followed Microsoft and Bill Gates since the dawn of the personal computer age (and unto its death) most of this story is already known. Still, its nice to get the story from the "source". Mr. Gates writes in a simple forthright style that makes for pleasant listening, and I found myself enjoying the entire tale. For those of us born in the fifties, it is also a nostalgic glance at a world that has largely disappeared. A few of the reviews have criticized the detailed accounts of the card games with his family (especially his grandmother) but if you are looking for clues to the secret of his success, the keen competitive spirit that was instilled in him at an early age explains a lot. I appreciated Gate's acknowledging the fortuitous time (post WWII) , place (the United States) and genes (white male) that played into his life, but while many others (including myself) had the same advantages, the results were hardly the same. I give this book 5 stars because it has been some time since I have had such a pleasant read. The narrator also did a nice job, and it was easy to lapse into believing I was listening to Gate's himself (he did narrate the prologue and epilogue, which made nice bookends).

Describes the best of the human spirit with a few forgiveable detours along the way. My best read in awhile.

I liked its focus on personal stories from his childhood, from his experiences growing up with his family in Seattle to how he discovered coding and computers to his early college years. Well-written and engaging.

I stayed up until 4 a m. to read this book on my Amazon Kindle. It's interesting and very well written and edited. Tells about Bill Gates's early years. His childhood, his upbringing, his grandparents, his friends and their hiking adventures, how his parents met, competitive family card games led by his maternal grandmother, trouble adjusting to school, conflicts with his parents, especially his mother, and even being sent to therapy. Then there is learning about and doing computer programming from private Lakeside School in Seattle to Harvard, followed by starting Microsoft. There is a little too much detail about the small stuff and starting the business. But overall it's a very personable story. I started reading it as soon as I got the download. I liked it immediately and didn't stop for six or seven hours. Not a book I expected from a computer geek. This book is about Gates's early years and has a lot of human interest. Gates even writes that today he might have been diagnosed as autistic. And he notes that sometimes he made obnoxious and inappropriate comments, had little social interactions and was most comfortable in his own mind. His parents tried to control him to no avail, causing him to rebel. As a reporter for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in the late 1980s, I covered Gates and Microsoft, as well as Boeing, in the early days. Gates seemed like a self-absorbed jerk and geek in those days. But mostly I recall his predicting there would be a computer in every office and eventually in every home. No one believed him. At that time people were just trying to figure out what a computer could do. Gates would eventually build a giant company and an industry, followed by fighting diseases around the world with his foundation. But the story of that will have to wait for two sequel books he is planning. Meanwhile, I recommend reading this interesting book about his early beginnings. An argument could be made to put it all into one large book. Hopefully he will do the sequels he plans on running Microsoft and on tackling world problems of climate, diseases and education with his foundation.

Fun and interesting read for anyone that grew up a nerdy underdog. Very real and not braggadocios. I wish I got a signed copy though!

So beautifully written very easy to read and very easy to relate to! You really get to know this genius and his family and how he became who is and one of the greatest philanthropic humans that ever lived on this earth

I grew up in View Ridge and enjoyed your portrait of the 50s and 60s there I was on the View Ridge field on the NE when the tornado barreled through from the SW. Our View Ridge Ramjet midget football team hid. behind the baseball backstop as it roared past. It lifted the Wallace's carport and went through the part of View Ridge north of the upper play field. Loved the story of your childhood and early adulthood. It's been a good ride.

I am hoping to become a writer myself and I learned so much about writing just from the first several pages of the book. I imagine my learning notes from reading the book will be longer than the actual book I bought. Bill Gates is super smart! I hope he decides to write more books that I can read.

This book is really good it tells his story really well it. Every time I put down the book I wanted to pick it back up to read another page highly recommended this book

I received this book today and have been looking forward to reading it. I’ve started reading the first few chapters and it’s really interesting. Customers looking to read more about Bill Gates and his beginnings in the tech industry will not be disappointed.

Fascinating book very well written and enjoyable to read

What a great source of inspiration for both young and old! Continues to lead the way in technology but also in giving back.