Libraries of Leaders: ‘Sapiens’ is on Bill Gates’ and Mark Zuckerberg’s List

The answer to the question on why successful people are successful may be subjective, and usually impossible to answer definitively. However, a peek into what they read will offer some insight into what goes on in the minds of business tycoons. That’s what we will attempt to do in our weekly series ‘Libraries of Leaders’.

Every year, Bill Gates puts out a recommended reading list on his blog, Gates Notes. This year, his eclectic list is peppered with books that have science and math at their core.

These are five books he has recommended, and a quick take on why he likes them.

1. Seveneves by Neal Stephenson

This is the novel Gates spent the most time on. The science fiction book starts with the moon blowing up, and the world being thrown into chaos. What follows is an informative and intriguing story of how the world comes together to launch as many spacecrafts as possible in order to keep humanity going.

2. How Not to be Wrong by Jordan Ellenberg

Gates says this book is about how math ‘is at the center of our daily lives’, even though we may not be aware of it.

3.The Vital Question by Nick Lane

This informative read highlights how energy works, and the role it plays in all living things.

4.The Power to Compete by Ryoichi Mikitani and Hiroshi Mikitani

The economic history of Japan is detailed in this non-fiction work. The book also has some interesting clues about the future of Japan.

5.Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, by Noah Yuval Harari

This book, according to Gates, ‘makes for interesting dinner table conversation,’ since it maps the entire history of the human race in 400 pages, and provides some astonishing facts.

While we’ve paraphrased what Bill Gates said about the books on his reading list, watch this video to hear it straight from him.

Last year, Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, started a Facebook-hosted book club, ‘A Year of Books,’ and vowed to make a book recommendation every two weeks. Here are five picks from his list:

1.Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James A Robinson

While reviewing the book on the book club’s Facebook page, Zuckerberg says he chose it because he wanted to ‘better understand the origins of global poverty.’

2.Dealing with China by Henry M Paulson, Jr

Commenting on the book, Zuckerberg says, he wanted to understand Paulson’s perspective on what China’s rise means for the world. The Facebook founder is fascinated with China, especially since it does not allow its citizens access to the social network.

3.Creativity Inc by Ed Catmull

One of Pixar’s founders tracks the company’s creation and growth in this book. Zuckerberg says he ‘loves reading first-hand accounts about how people build great companies like Pixar and nurture innovation and creativity.’

4. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

This book also features in Gates’ list. Zuckerberg says he especially enjoyed reading the part about the ‘evolution of the role of religion in human life.’

5. World Order by Henry Kissinger.

The book is about “how we can build peaceful relationships throughout the world,” Zuckerberg says as part of his review.

The Reliance CFO’s leisure reading often includes books in the crime and thriller genre. Here are two books he recommends to BloombergQuint.

1. The Pelican Brief by John Grisham

This was one of the first legal and political thrillers in the 90s, and follows the story of the murder of two Supreme Court Justices.

2. The Affair by Lee Child

Jack Reacher is charged with investigating a murder in a small Mississippi town, which houses an army base. And Reacher’s answer isn’t the same as the army’s.