One of the richest men in the world recommends novels and a couple books on business. Here is his book list.

"My Years with General Motors" by Alfred Sloan

- Bill Gates "My Years with General Motors" was published in 1963 and straight after that it became a bestseller and one of the books to read for every businessman. Not only this is the story of one of the world´s leading company in the automobile industry, but also it can be used as a manual for future business tycoons as it contains the unique experience of a leader who led the company to the prosperity.

“Better Angels of Our Nature” by Steven Pinker

"favorite book of the last decade". He added that "it is long but profound look at the reduction in violence and discrimination over time" - Bill Gates on reddit's AMA During reddit's AMA Bill Gates said that “Better Angels of Our Nature” is his. He added that "it is long but profound look at the reduction in violence and discrimination over time" Pinker is a Pulitzer finalist and a professor of psychology at Harvard, so when he writes about the decline of violence, it matters. He cites Biblical references, Grimm's fairy tales, and historical true stories about actual whipping boys meant to take lashes on behalf of royal princes. Full of statistics, and references to history and psychology, Pinker makes an argument against common sense: that our generations are more anti-violent on a moral basis than prior generations. Named a global thinker by Foreign Policy, and a top influencer by Time Magazine, his best books come highly recommended to those who need to wrestle with large concepts.

"Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger

- from interview to Achievment.org Woody Allen recommends what to read next Also mentioned in Haruki Murakami recommends 5 good books to read Catcher in the Rye is undoubtfully a classical work of the American literature and is very popular in "Top 10 books" lists. This novel was the peak of J.D. Salinger's career, as after it was published, he decided to live a life of a hermit. The main character being an expelled student named Holden Caulfield, the book is a first-person story written in the accordingly stylized language. Though he is just 16, he encounters many events that tend to preclude adults. Catcher in the Rye is about a youth of 1960-s,but it is still actual today.

"A Separate Peace" by John Knowles

- from interview to Achievment.org The story about two friends, Gene and Phineas, by John Knowles is an undisputed American classic. It tells us about the life of two boys studying in a boarding school in the early 1940-s. They face a number of obstacles, even have something like the WWII itself between them, making for the life of adults. It is not a very popular book to read, but quite respectable.

"SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance" by Steven D. Levitt

- from Bill Gates's website Also recommended by Malcolm Gladwell After publishing Freakonomics in 2005, Stephen D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner didn't stop. Having worked a lot, unrevealling new sides of current situation in the world, they present SuperFreakonomics, a book that will twist our way of thinking once again! Can television rise crime levels? What do prostitutes and department store Santas have in common? These and many other at first sight looney questions that can arise in the head of everybody are answered by the authors. It's not an analysis, it is a freakalysis!

"That Used to be Us" by Thomas Friedman

- from Bill Gates's website This book written by Thomas L. Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum, two quite famous sholars and thinkers, discusses the modern problems that are faced by the USA and the whole world itself. Those are globalization, information revolution, deficits and consumption patterns. The authors come up with several solutions so that the American nation continue to be the Force N1 in the world: collaboration and interchange. The problem is not only in the system itself, but in the minds of the Americans.

"For the Love of Physics" by Walter Lewin

- from Bill Gates's website Probably, many of you have had a problem with physics in school. It was complicated, uninteresting, contained many formulas, one is similar to the other. It is time to change this situation. This marvellous book, written by MIT professor Walter Lewin, is made for your convenience. No need to bone up on formulas, everything is written in such way that you will be surprised about how could you even dislike the science. Simply thrilling.