Bill Gates (Up Close)
*Starred Review* For young people who wonder how Bill Gates became so wealthy so quickly, this biography opens chapters with (sometimes-wry) entrepreneurial principles, such as “Pick the Right Parents (or If You Can’t, Learn to Be Intensely Competitive).” However, the book offers far more than business tips. It takes readers back in time, not just to Bill’s childhood years in the Gates household, where intense competition was a way of life, but also to the period when personal computers were so new that a cocky teen who knew his stuff could bluff his way into important contracts as long as he had the know-how and determination to follow through. Though often critical of Gates’ business practices, Aronson acknowledges that the man’s most unsympathetic traits may have made his achievements possible. One of the most astute sections of the book analyzes Gates’ recent turn toward philanthropy and compares him with nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century monopolists turned philanthropists. Black-and-white photos illustrate the text. An author’s note, source notes, and lists of books, articles, and Web sites are appended. Well researched, thought-provoking, and up-to-date, this biography from the Up Close series offers insights into Gates’ character as well as an engaging account of his life. Grades 6-10. --Carolyn Phelan