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Source Code: My Beginnings
The origin story of one of the most influential and transformative business leaders and philanthropists of the modern age.
The business triumphs of Bill Gates are widely known: the twenty-year-old who dropped out of Harvard to start a software company that became an industry giant and changed the way the world works and lives; the billionaire many times over who turned his attention to philanthropic pursuits to address climate change, global health, and U.S. education.
Source Code is not about Microsoft or the Gates Foundation or the future of technology. It’s the human, personal story of how Bill Gates became who he is today: his childhood, his early passions and pursuits. It’s the story of his principled grandmother and ambitious parents, his first deep friendships and the sudden death of his best friend; of his struggles to fit in and his discovery of a world of coding and computers in the dawn of a new era; of embarking in his early teens on a path that took him from midnight escapades at a nearby computer center to his college dorm room, where he sparked a revolution that would change the world.
Bill Gates tells this, his own story, for the first time: wise, warm, revealing, it’s a fascinating portrait of an American life.
The business triumphs of Bill Gates are widely known: the twenty-year-old who dropped out of Harvard to start a software company that became an industry giant and changed the way the world works and lives; the billionaire many times over who turned his attention to philanthropic pursuits to address climate change, global health, and U.S. education.
Source Code is not about Microsoft or the Gates Foundation or the future of technology. It’s the human, personal story of how Bill Gates became who he is today: his childhood, his early passions and pursuits. It’s the story of his principled grandmother and ambitious parents, his first deep friendships and the sudden death of his best friend; of his struggles to fit in and his discovery of a world of coding and computers in the dawn of a new era; of embarking in his early teens on a path that took him from midnight escapades at a nearby computer center to his college dorm room, where he sparked a revolution that would change the world.
Bill Gates tells this, his own story, for the first time: wise, warm, revealing, it’s a fascinating portrait of an American life.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published February 4, 2025
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18.5k people want to read
About the author
Bill Gates
13 books534k followersMy new memoir Source Code: My Beginnings tells the story of my childhood and the early days of Microsoft. It's available now.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 276 reviews
July 20, 2024
I don't think this story is worth reading. Whether Bill Gates was bullied or brought up in a "perfect" childhood home doesn't matter. It's all a narrative fallacy.
He worked incredibly hard but he also he amazing amounts of luck. IBM could have demanded ownership of the operating system, and if so, we would not have Microsoft.
Had he been born just a decade later, he would not have been able to capitalize on the nascent industry.
So I don't have a lot of compassion or empathy for this story. And the fact that this guy gets to have this much money is obscene in a world where we have people starving and don't have access to education or clean drinking water.
He worked incredibly hard but he also he amazing amounts of luck. IBM could have demanded ownership of the operating system, and if so, we would not have Microsoft.
Had he been born just a decade later, he would not have been able to capitalize on the nascent industry.
So I don't have a lot of compassion or empathy for this story. And the fact that this guy gets to have this much money is obscene in a world where we have people starving and don't have access to education or clean drinking water.
February 28, 2025
I love reading about the people who have shaped the world. Source Code is an incredible autobiography by Bill Gates, starting with his childhood and covering the founding of Microsoft. The book is not only insightful but also features some emotional and humorous moments. It’s a quick, engaging read, and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys biographies.
February 9, 2025
I saw Bill interviewed recently on the release of his new book, I knew I wanted to read it so through Libby I snagged a copy of it for these last seven days. Bill recounts the first 20 years of his life, a lot of his experiences have shaped what we have today. So many interesting antidotes, actually brings back a lot of memories for me as I started to learn computers in 1984. He will write more of his memoirs moving through his years at Microsoft and then his philanthropy endeavours.
February 2, 2025
He never brought up his quirky adventures on Epstein's island. I wonder why?
February 12, 2025
I am one year younger than Bill Gates, and I am a retired IT professional who made a living using Microsoft programming and productivity tools. I therefore can relate to many of the stories and experiences shared by Gates in this book: growing up in the 1960's, going off to college (no Harvard for me) in the 1970's, becoming interested in this new technology called a personal computer (Commodore 128 for me) and catching the programming bug, etc.
I always thought of Bill Gates as a computer geek who became super rich, and that was pretty much it. But Gates shows in this memoir that he is much deeper than that and there is much more to his story. I appreciate the transparency and honesty he displays.
This was an enlightening and enjoyable read.
I always thought of Bill Gates as a computer geek who became super rich, and that was pretty much it. But Gates shows in this memoir that he is much deeper than that and there is much more to his story. I appreciate the transparency and honesty he displays.
This was an enlightening and enjoyable read.
February 8, 2025
In his deeply personal memoir "Source Code: My Beginnings," Bill Gates takes readers on an intimate journey through his early years, offering unprecedented insight into the experiences, relationships, and circumstances that shaped one of the most transformative figures in modern history. Unlike his previous books that focused on technology and philanthropy ("The Road Ahead," "Business @ the Speed of Thought," "How to Avoid a Climate Disaster," and "How to Prevent the Next Pandemic"), this memoir delves into the human story behind the tech titan.
The Making of a Tech Pioneer
Family Foundations
Gates masterfully weaves together the influences of his upstanding and ambitious parents - Bill Sr., a respected Seattle attorney, and Mary, a civic leader who broke glass ceilings in banking and philanthropy. The portrait he paints of his grandmother "Gami" is particularly touching, showing how her mathematical mind and principled nature helped shape his own intellectual development through countless card games and life lessons.
Early Signs of an Exceptional Mind
The memoir excels at illustrating Gates's unique cognitive makeup from an early age. His intense focus, ability to process vast amounts of information, and tendency to rock while thinking deeply - traits that might today be associated with neurodivergence - are portrayed with refreshing candor. Gates acknowledges both the challenges and advantages of his distinctive mental wiring, offering valuable perspective on neurodiversity in leadership.
Strengths and Notable Elements
Rich Historical Context
The book expertly situates Gates's personal story within the broader technological revolution of the 1960s and '70s. His descriptions of early computing environments, from the PDP-10 mainframe to the groundbreaking Altair 8800, provide fascinating historical context for today's digital world.
Complex Relationships
Gates doesn't shy away from exploring complicated dynamics, particularly with his mother Mary, whose high expectations both drove and challenged him. The friendship with Paul Allen is portrayed with nuance, acknowledging both their creative synergy and occasional tensions.
Technical Detail with Human Interest
While the book contains plenty of technical detail about early programming and computer architecture, Gates maintains accessibility by grounding these elements in human stories and relatable analogies.
Areas for Improvement
Pacing Inconsistencies
The narrative occasionally becomes bogged down in technical minutiae, particularly during discussions of early programming projects. While these details will fascinate tech enthusiasts, general readers might find some sections overly dense.
Limited Perspective on Privilege
While Gates acknowledges his privileged background, some readers might wish for deeper reflection on how his socioeconomic advantages contributed to his success. The book could have explored more thoroughly how access to rare computing resources in his youth shaped his trajectory.
Emotional Distance
At times, Gates maintains a somewhat clinical distance from emotional subjects, including the tragic death of his close friend Kent Evans. While this may reflect his personality, it occasionally leaves readers wanting more emotional depth.
Writing Style and Structure
Gates adopts a clear, methodical writing style that mirrors his analytical mindset. The chronological structure is punctuated by thoughtful reflections that connect his early experiences to later achievements. His voice comes through authentically - precise, occasionally self-deprecating, and quietly passionate about technology and learning.
Impact and Relevance
Historical Significance
The memoir provides valuable documentation of a pivotal period in computing history, offering firsthand accounts of the transition from mainframes to personal computers. Gates's perspective on this evolution is both personal and historically significant.
Contemporary Resonance
Many themes in the book remain relevant today:
- The importance of early access to technology
- The role of mentorship and education
- The balance between competition and collaboration
- The challenges of neurodivergent individuals in traditional educational settings
Critical Analysis
Strengths
- Detailed portrayal of early tech industry development
- Rich family dynamics and personal relationships
- Valuable insights into entrepreneurial mindset
- Strong historical context and documentation
Weaknesses
- Some technical sections may overwhelm general readers
- Occasional emotional detachment
- Could explore privilege more deeply
- Some pacing issues in later chapters
Final Thoughts
"Source Code" is more than just another tech memoir - it's a thoughtful exploration of how a unique mind, supportive environment, and revolutionary technology combined to shape both an individual and an industry. While not without its flaws, the book provides valuable insights into both personal development and technological history. Gates has produced a work that will inform and inspire future generations of innovators while helping us understand the origins of our digital age.
The memoir ends with Gates's departure from Harvard and Microsoft's early days, leaving readers anticipating future volumes that will detail his business success and philanthropic endeavors. This first installment succeeds in humanizing a figure often viewed through the lens of his achievements, revealing the complex interplay of factors that shaped one of the most influential people of our time.
The Making of a Tech Pioneer
Family Foundations
Gates masterfully weaves together the influences of his upstanding and ambitious parents - Bill Sr., a respected Seattle attorney, and Mary, a civic leader who broke glass ceilings in banking and philanthropy. The portrait he paints of his grandmother "Gami" is particularly touching, showing how her mathematical mind and principled nature helped shape his own intellectual development through countless card games and life lessons.
Early Signs of an Exceptional Mind
The memoir excels at illustrating Gates's unique cognitive makeup from an early age. His intense focus, ability to process vast amounts of information, and tendency to rock while thinking deeply - traits that might today be associated with neurodivergence - are portrayed with refreshing candor. Gates acknowledges both the challenges and advantages of his distinctive mental wiring, offering valuable perspective on neurodiversity in leadership.
Strengths and Notable Elements
Rich Historical Context
The book expertly situates Gates's personal story within the broader technological revolution of the 1960s and '70s. His descriptions of early computing environments, from the PDP-10 mainframe to the groundbreaking Altair 8800, provide fascinating historical context for today's digital world.
Complex Relationships
Gates doesn't shy away from exploring complicated dynamics, particularly with his mother Mary, whose high expectations both drove and challenged him. The friendship with Paul Allen is portrayed with nuance, acknowledging both their creative synergy and occasional tensions.
Technical Detail with Human Interest
While the book contains plenty of technical detail about early programming and computer architecture, Gates maintains accessibility by grounding these elements in human stories and relatable analogies.
Areas for Improvement
Pacing Inconsistencies
The narrative occasionally becomes bogged down in technical minutiae, particularly during discussions of early programming projects. While these details will fascinate tech enthusiasts, general readers might find some sections overly dense.
Limited Perspective on Privilege
While Gates acknowledges his privileged background, some readers might wish for deeper reflection on how his socioeconomic advantages contributed to his success. The book could have explored more thoroughly how access to rare computing resources in his youth shaped his trajectory.
Emotional Distance
At times, Gates maintains a somewhat clinical distance from emotional subjects, including the tragic death of his close friend Kent Evans. While this may reflect his personality, it occasionally leaves readers wanting more emotional depth.
Writing Style and Structure
Gates adopts a clear, methodical writing style that mirrors his analytical mindset. The chronological structure is punctuated by thoughtful reflections that connect his early experiences to later achievements. His voice comes through authentically - precise, occasionally self-deprecating, and quietly passionate about technology and learning.
Impact and Relevance
Historical Significance
The memoir provides valuable documentation of a pivotal period in computing history, offering firsthand accounts of the transition from mainframes to personal computers. Gates's perspective on this evolution is both personal and historically significant.
Contemporary Resonance
Many themes in the book remain relevant today:
- The importance of early access to technology
- The role of mentorship and education
- The balance between competition and collaboration
- The challenges of neurodivergent individuals in traditional educational settings
Critical Analysis
Strengths
- Detailed portrayal of early tech industry development
- Rich family dynamics and personal relationships
- Valuable insights into entrepreneurial mindset
- Strong historical context and documentation
Weaknesses
- Some technical sections may overwhelm general readers
- Occasional emotional detachment
- Could explore privilege more deeply
- Some pacing issues in later chapters
Final Thoughts
"Source Code" is more than just another tech memoir - it's a thoughtful exploration of how a unique mind, supportive environment, and revolutionary technology combined to shape both an individual and an industry. While not without its flaws, the book provides valuable insights into both personal development and technological history. Gates has produced a work that will inform and inspire future generations of innovators while helping us understand the origins of our digital age.
The memoir ends with Gates's departure from Harvard and Microsoft's early days, leaving readers anticipating future volumes that will detail his business success and philanthropic endeavors. This first installment succeeds in humanizing a figure often viewed through the lens of his achievements, revealing the complex interplay of factors that shaped one of the most influential people of our time.
February 14, 2025
Surprisingly riveting. I would have thought that I knew enough about Bill Gates, to find this book interesting in any case, but not remarkably so. Like many, I first encountered much of his personal history in “Fire in the Valley” which came out 45 years ago! I look forward to his next two volumes, since this only takes us up to Microsoft’s move from Albuquerque to Seattle. Since Bill Gates is exactly 10 days older than me, found myself thinking about my childhood and schooling and how his parents dealt with family challenges versus mine.
August 5, 2024
Highly anticipated.
February 18, 2025
Source Code : My Beginnings (2025) by Bill Gates is an autobiographical account of Gates’ life up until Microsoft moved to Seattle.
The question of what makes someone able to create a trillion dollar company is interesting. Source Code has Gates write about his own youth. He is fully aware of how privileged his is and writes “It’s impossible to overstate the unearned privilege I enjoyed. To be born in the rich United States is a big part of of a winning birth lottery ticket, as is being born white and male”. The Gates family was also rich within the US as well. But there are millions of people with similar privilege and barely any found similar companies.
Gates grew up the son of lawyer, Bill Gates the second and his wife Mary Gates. His mother’s family were Christian Scientists. His father’s father owned a furniture store in Bremerton near Seattle. Both were clearly very bright. Gates’ father was a successful lawyer in Seattle. Mary was clearly very smart and after being on a number of charity boards also joined various large corporate boards.
Bill was a happy young kid and the family did a lot including going to summer camps with other families. His elder sister Kristi immediately did well in school but Bill didn’t. But he did do well in maths. Today Gates would have been diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum.
After the family moved he didn’t settle to well into a new school so his parents sent him to Lakeside Academy. This is a fancy private school that now charges more than forty thousand dollars a year for students. There Bill initially did poorly but soon picked up and did well. The school also gave him access to computers, something which was very rare at the time. Gates met Kent Evans, Ric Weiland and Paul Allen there. He also got really into hiking and did long hikes with the scouts.
Gates, Evans, Allen and Weiland all worked incredibly hard to learn programming. They taught themselves so much that there were able to sell their skills and make software in exchange for computing time and for money. Gates would sneak out of his parents house and work nights on his code. Gate’s worth ethic throughout the book is really remarkable.
Evans seems to have been Bill’s best friend. Evans took up mountain climbing and had a fatal accident. This must have been a truly shocking event for Gates.
Gates finished school extremely strongly and got a perfect score on the math SAT and got into Harvard. It’s well known that Gates dropped out of Harvard, but he did spend years there and managed to take and pass the extremely hard Math 55 course. While taking that course Gates realised that while he was very good at math there were people who were considerably better and he’d be unlikely to have a great future in math. Jeff Bezos had a similar experience at Princeton. Gates instead decided to work on his coding and look into business. Gates also met Steve Balmer there.
Gates’ friend from Lakeside Paul Allen was a few years older than Gates and already had a job coding. But he and Gates still wanted to work together and Allen came over to Boston so the two could work on various projects. Allen was aware that microprocessors were coming and believed it would be a huge deal when they did. The Intel 8080 arrived and MITS computers produced the Altair. Allen wrote an emulator for the machine and Gates wrote a BASIC interpreter using that. They then licenced that to MITS and together formed a company – Microsoft.
Microsoft was initially based in Albuquerque where MITS was. There Allen worked and Gates soon joined him. The company made enough money to start employing people and wrote BASIC for various other machines including Apple. When the company was getting more established they then moved it to Seattle which is where the book ends.
Source Code is an interesting book and does provide some insight into what makes Gates tick. He was very bright and on the spectrum. He had rich, hard working parents who had a vibrant social life and made sure Gates was part of that. He also hiked and became independent at a young age. Gates would work incredibly hard on his passions. He was also just the right age to ride the wave of the personal computer.
The question of what makes someone able to create a trillion dollar company is interesting. Source Code has Gates write about his own youth. He is fully aware of how privileged his is and writes “It’s impossible to overstate the unearned privilege I enjoyed. To be born in the rich United States is a big part of of a winning birth lottery ticket, as is being born white and male”. The Gates family was also rich within the US as well. But there are millions of people with similar privilege and barely any found similar companies.
Gates grew up the son of lawyer, Bill Gates the second and his wife Mary Gates. His mother’s family were Christian Scientists. His father’s father owned a furniture store in Bremerton near Seattle. Both were clearly very bright. Gates’ father was a successful lawyer in Seattle. Mary was clearly very smart and after being on a number of charity boards also joined various large corporate boards.
Bill was a happy young kid and the family did a lot including going to summer camps with other families. His elder sister Kristi immediately did well in school but Bill didn’t. But he did do well in maths. Today Gates would have been diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum.
After the family moved he didn’t settle to well into a new school so his parents sent him to Lakeside Academy. This is a fancy private school that now charges more than forty thousand dollars a year for students. There Bill initially did poorly but soon picked up and did well. The school also gave him access to computers, something which was very rare at the time. Gates met Kent Evans, Ric Weiland and Paul Allen there. He also got really into hiking and did long hikes with the scouts.
Gates, Evans, Allen and Weiland all worked incredibly hard to learn programming. They taught themselves so much that there were able to sell their skills and make software in exchange for computing time and for money. Gates would sneak out of his parents house and work nights on his code. Gate’s worth ethic throughout the book is really remarkable.
Evans seems to have been Bill’s best friend. Evans took up mountain climbing and had a fatal accident. This must have been a truly shocking event for Gates.
Gates finished school extremely strongly and got a perfect score on the math SAT and got into Harvard. It’s well known that Gates dropped out of Harvard, but he did spend years there and managed to take and pass the extremely hard Math 55 course. While taking that course Gates realised that while he was very good at math there were people who were considerably better and he’d be unlikely to have a great future in math. Jeff Bezos had a similar experience at Princeton. Gates instead decided to work on his coding and look into business. Gates also met Steve Balmer there.
Gates’ friend from Lakeside Paul Allen was a few years older than Gates and already had a job coding. But he and Gates still wanted to work together and Allen came over to Boston so the two could work on various projects. Allen was aware that microprocessors were coming and believed it would be a huge deal when they did. The Intel 8080 arrived and MITS computers produced the Altair. Allen wrote an emulator for the machine and Gates wrote a BASIC interpreter using that. They then licenced that to MITS and together formed a company – Microsoft.
Microsoft was initially based in Albuquerque where MITS was. There Allen worked and Gates soon joined him. The company made enough money to start employing people and wrote BASIC for various other machines including Apple. When the company was getting more established they then moved it to Seattle which is where the book ends.
Source Code is an interesting book and does provide some insight into what makes Gates tick. He was very bright and on the spectrum. He had rich, hard working parents who had a vibrant social life and made sure Gates was part of that. He also hiked and became independent at a young age. Gates would work incredibly hard on his passions. He was also just the right age to ride the wave of the personal computer.
March 9, 2025
if you’re wanting an inspirational book about how anyone can do anything if they set their mind to it, this book isn’t for you. Bill Gates was a genius from day 1. I enjoyed learning how his atypical mind works
February 20, 2025
I’m gobsmacked by what Bill Gates accomplished in junior high! He was well under way to be the Bill Gates of today. Three cheers for the neurodivergent!!
February 15, 2025
Bill Gates (aka Trey) is the only industry-founding tech genius and billionaire whose memoir I have read. His upbringing was boringly conventional in many ways --- completely familiar to a contemporary like me. But it was at the same time, through his own efforts and great talent, abnormally eventful and demanding.
His parents were devoted to family, career and "giving back." His mother, prime mover, insisted that her three children be competent socially with both adults and children. Bill was resistant to all authority figures who tried to slow him down and make him more conventional. Physically, he was small, with limited physical strength or athletic ability, and he had a squeaky, high voice into adulthood. He adopted a class clown attitude in school, and he got poor grades. He fought with his parents, especially his mother, the kind of person who sat down after Christmas to record in her planner what had gone well at Christmas and what needed to be improved next time.
His parents worried about his adjustment. Bill had decided he did not want to be what his parents were trying to make him, and went to war with them in a way that was quite cruel. Finally, he was convinced by a therapist to take a different view his environment. He began to understand that he would gain from being cooperative when he could, and his parents would learn to give him more leeway than they were comfortable with. They gradually came to understand one another and remained close.
Gates described his prodigious attention span, his tendency to obsess about a topic, his need for outlets like hiking in the mountains around Seattle, his desire to learn about just about everything, his numerous consequential lifelong friendships with adults and peers, and his tendency to cut corners to get what he needed. That tendency to cut corners, move too fast and play hardball in business led me to scorn Microsoft products as cheap and full of bugs. They were. But Gates was one of the first to comprehend that the software was ultimately more important than the hardware, and to demand payment for it. I don't think I could have liked him in 2000 (when I switched to Apple due to Microsoft's shoddy products and bullying of competitors), but he's come a long way since then, applying his megawatt brain to gain a better understanding of himself.. He is now able to recognize when he's been absurdly ungracious. He is able to apologize. He is still close to extended family and friends.
I was surprised to find that I like him more now than I did. He's planning to write two more books about his life, the next describing the creation of Microsoft and the evolution of his business methods. The third, he says, will be about his charitable foundation.
His parents were devoted to family, career and "giving back." His mother, prime mover, insisted that her three children be competent socially with both adults and children. Bill was resistant to all authority figures who tried to slow him down and make him more conventional. Physically, he was small, with limited physical strength or athletic ability, and he had a squeaky, high voice into adulthood. He adopted a class clown attitude in school, and he got poor grades. He fought with his parents, especially his mother, the kind of person who sat down after Christmas to record in her planner what had gone well at Christmas and what needed to be improved next time.
His parents worried about his adjustment. Bill had decided he did not want to be what his parents were trying to make him, and went to war with them in a way that was quite cruel. Finally, he was convinced by a therapist to take a different view his environment. He began to understand that he would gain from being cooperative when he could, and his parents would learn to give him more leeway than they were comfortable with. They gradually came to understand one another and remained close.
Gates described his prodigious attention span, his tendency to obsess about a topic, his need for outlets like hiking in the mountains around Seattle, his desire to learn about just about everything, his numerous consequential lifelong friendships with adults and peers, and his tendency to cut corners to get what he needed. That tendency to cut corners, move too fast and play hardball in business led me to scorn Microsoft products as cheap and full of bugs. They were. But Gates was one of the first to comprehend that the software was ultimately more important than the hardware, and to demand payment for it. I don't think I could have liked him in 2000 (when I switched to Apple due to Microsoft's shoddy products and bullying of competitors), but he's come a long way since then, applying his megawatt brain to gain a better understanding of himself.. He is now able to recognize when he's been absurdly ungracious. He is able to apologize. He is still close to extended family and friends.
I was surprised to find that I like him more now than I did. He's planning to write two more books about his life, the next describing the creation of Microsoft and the evolution of his business methods. The third, he says, will be about his charitable foundation.
March 8, 2025
I'm an Apple guy, not a Microsoft guy. Nevertheless, I've long been impressed by Bill Gates' career in technology. More recently, I've been a big fan of his philanthropic work.
I really enjoyed this book. He's remarkably open about his personality and relationships. Lots of detail in here I never knew about formative friendships and rivalries. The role his parents and grandmother played in shaping his worldview was really interesting.
The detailed story about how the early versions of Microsoft BASIC were developed was just fascinating. Gates was enrolled at Harvard, which got a decommissioned DEC PDP-10 from the US military, intended for research on government projects. Gates finagled access to that machine, and then brought in a couple of pals (one of whom was Paul Allen) to collaborate with him on writing a BASIC interpreter.
They targeted the Intel 8080, which was the CPU used by the MITS Altair. Getting an 8080 or an Altair was tough, so Allen wrote an 8080 simulator that ran on the PDP 10 and Gates wrote the BASIC interpreter code and tested it using the simulator. They got some help from their third collaborator on implementing math routines and other stuff.
I got to Berkeley four years after Gates and Allen did this project in the Harvard lab, but I can report that there were lots of us doing personal projects and playing around on the lab computers in California, too. The stories from Harvard reminded me very much of those days and all the interesting and cool stuff people were doing when they weren't doing the research they were meant to.
Just the story of Microsoft BASIC is way more interesting than what I've laid out above, but I don't want to drop any real spoilers into this review. Anybody interested in the early history of personal computing should read this book. Folks who grew up in that time will really enjoy it.
Highly recommended.
I really enjoyed this book. He's remarkably open about his personality and relationships. Lots of detail in here I never knew about formative friendships and rivalries. The role his parents and grandmother played in shaping his worldview was really interesting.
The detailed story about how the early versions of Microsoft BASIC were developed was just fascinating. Gates was enrolled at Harvard, which got a decommissioned DEC PDP-10 from the US military, intended for research on government projects. Gates finagled access to that machine, and then brought in a couple of pals (one of whom was Paul Allen) to collaborate with him on writing a BASIC interpreter.
They targeted the Intel 8080, which was the CPU used by the MITS Altair. Getting an 8080 or an Altair was tough, so Allen wrote an 8080 simulator that ran on the PDP 10 and Gates wrote the BASIC interpreter code and tested it using the simulator. They got some help from their third collaborator on implementing math routines and other stuff.
I got to Berkeley four years after Gates and Allen did this project in the Harvard lab, but I can report that there were lots of us doing personal projects and playing around on the lab computers in California, too. The stories from Harvard reminded me very much of those days and all the interesting and cool stuff people were doing when they weren't doing the research they were meant to.
Just the story of Microsoft BASIC is way more interesting than what I've laid out above, but I don't want to drop any real spoilers into this review. Anybody interested in the early history of personal computing should read this book. Folks who grew up in that time will really enjoy it.
Highly recommended.
March 3, 2025
Je pense que comme beaucoup de gens, j’ai une très vague idée de qui est Bill Gates, Microsoft, ses œuvres de charité et ça s’arrête globalement là. Pas d’intérêt spécifique pour la figure, pas d’avis sur lui, c’est une entité existante qui ne fait pas non plus énormément parler de lui, outre être richissime. Voilà tout ce que je savais de lui. Pourquoi lire son autobiographie alors, puisqu’aucun intérêt pour le bonhomme ? Parce que je le pouvais, voilà, c’est tout. Vraiment, ça trainait là, je me suis dit « allez, au pire je laisse tomber ». Puis peut-être aussi pour un petit côté voyeuriste, j’imagine ?
Et en vrai, j’ai passé un moment correct, voire bon, y a certes des longueurs mais je ne me suis pas ennuyée, c’est fluide dans l’écriture, pas besoin d’être ultra callé en informatique ou en ingénierie pour capter… Et, comme dit Gates, il y a certes une grande part de travail, d’intérêt et de détermination dans sa réussite, mais il est surtout privilégié (homme blanc né aux USA dans une famille riche et qui privilégiait la réussite et l’éducation) et a eu énormément de chance (d’être aidé, par beaucoup de monde, d’avoir eu des passe-droits, de l’argent, de sa famille, etc.). C’est un bon rappel qu’on a beau avoir toutes les compétences du monde, les véritables histoires de réussite sont très fortement poussées par l’entourage socio-économique de la personne et réussir à se hisser dans les plus hautes sphères implique autant de chance que de privilèges.
Et en vrai, j’ai passé un moment correct, voire bon, y a certes des longueurs mais je ne me suis pas ennuyée, c’est fluide dans l’écriture, pas besoin d’être ultra callé en informatique ou en ingénierie pour capter… Et, comme dit Gates, il y a certes une grande part de travail, d’intérêt et de détermination dans sa réussite, mais il est surtout privilégié (homme blanc né aux USA dans une famille riche et qui privilégiait la réussite et l’éducation) et a eu énormément de chance (d’être aidé, par beaucoup de monde, d’avoir eu des passe-droits, de l’argent, de sa famille, etc.). C’est un bon rappel qu’on a beau avoir toutes les compétences du monde, les véritables histoires de réussite sont très fortement poussées par l’entourage socio-économique de la personne et réussir à se hisser dans les plus hautes sphères implique autant de chance que de privilèges.
February 21, 2025
I kind of love Bill Gates so take this review with a grain of salt, but I thought the book was very good. It was interesting to learn what kind of childhood makes a billionaire and tbh it really made sense in this case. Bill Gates acknowledges it in the book but the resources he had access to growing up were some key factors in his success. Obviously hard work is a huge part of it but it was nice to see him acknowledge the luck.
I found his recounting of events as they happened to be pretty honest and he made it clear when he was applying life long insights to childhood events. I mention that last part because I've found that sometimes when people write a memoir, they'll hit you with something like "When I was 4 my mom hit me when I forgot to make my bed. I didn't hold it against her because I saw how my father treated her and realized that she wasn't mad at me but rather I was simply an outlet for her anger.". Like wtf no you didn't, you were 4! I'm sorry this has devolved into a rant about a very specific memoir I read but thank you Mr. Gates for not being like that.
I found his recounting of events as they happened to be pretty honest and he made it clear when he was applying life long insights to childhood events. I mention that last part because I've found that sometimes when people write a memoir, they'll hit you with something like "When I was 4 my mom hit me when I forgot to make my bed. I didn't hold it against her because I saw how my father treated her and realized that she wasn't mad at me but rather I was simply an outlet for her anger.". Like wtf no you didn't, you were 4! I'm sorry this has devolved into a rant about a very specific memoir I read but thank you Mr. Gates for not being like that.
March 13, 2025
This book was a page turner. I so enjoyed the timbre of this story right from the get go.
I was all in with both feet even before I knew Bill Gates started on DEC machines just like I did in college and in my first job. Bill wove a great story for us to follow beginning with his very early years then into the early days of Micro-Soft.
I just can't say anything that isn't an accolade. I highly recommend this as a good read.
How does someone like Bill Gates related his story in a manner that makes me use an adjective such as humble to describe him? There are definitely others too, but humble is a key word.
Recommend especially if you grew up in the early days of computing.
I was all in with both feet even before I knew Bill Gates started on DEC machines just like I did in college and in my first job. Bill wove a great story for us to follow beginning with his very early years then into the early days of Micro-Soft.
I just can't say anything that isn't an accolade. I highly recommend this as a good read.
How does someone like Bill Gates related his story in a manner that makes me use an adjective such as humble to describe him? There are definitely others too, but humble is a key word.
Recommend especially if you grew up in the early days of computing.
February 6, 2025
I enjoyed reading about Bill Gates and his background. I thought he was very lucky to have parents that allowed him to ‘soar and many people, teachers, businessmen, friends, & family, that didn’t squelch his curiosity.
Enjoy the Moments
Annie Quinn
Enjoy the Moments
Annie Quinn
February 28, 2025
Love the guy but man Bill is such a bot. Everything is an algorithm to him. Honestly I’m glad I audiobooked this because it was pretty boring :) but you already know that I’ll read the next 2 books once they come out
February 14, 2025
The actual content of this autobiography was thoroughly engaging, but it loses stars because it covered such a small portion of Gates life. It’s missing so much fundamental content that I was left scratching my head abit
March 8, 2025
Found this very interesting despite knowing nothing about the basics of computers and software
February 13, 2025
I love memoirs, especially when listened to as audiobooks. This was no exception! I have no understanding of computer programming or software and yet hearing the tales of his childhood and the start of Microsoft had me fascinated. He is vulnerable in the book, and you can see the very origins of the man we get glimpses of today-hardworking, generous, and spirited. Would highly recommend!
March 3, 2025
In the early 20th century, a culture's heroes were it's generals, in the early 21st century, our culture's heroes are our tech entrepreneurs. Like the story of any hero, their myths make their way into the zeitgeist and become the stuff of inspiration and aspiration. The figure of Bill Gates is no exception. From Netflix documentaries, to Malcolm Gladwell features, the work ethic and unbridled genius of Bill Gates is the high bar among a certain class of upwardly-mobile hopefuls. However, what becomes clear in 'Source Code' is that the kind of origin story of a tech giant like Microsoft doesn't fit into our self-made mantra to 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps.' The story of Bill Gates IV, known to his friends and family as Trey, is a story of remarkable genius, but also a story of mythic privilege.
To be sure, the effort and insight of Bill Gates from an early age is impressive. The story begins with a surprisingly sporty Bill Gates hiking a snow-covered mountain with his friends, writing the algorithm that would eventually become Microsoft while stumbling across the rugged terrain. It's a story of a boy genius who read voraciously and through charm and grit dedicated himself and his friends to unusually diligent work for a group of teenagers.
In an era in which computers were rare, expensive, and clunky, Bill's unique social and geographical standing put him in the right place, with the right connections to get a jump start on any competition before it formed. Few High School students had access to the resources to learn computer programing, let alone teachers with science PhDs from Yale to accelerate growth. Though Gate's family connections and wealth were essential to his later success, the elder Gates is refreshingly self-aware of this privilege throughout.
But, regardless of the incredible access to information, the young Bill Gates didn't want to be seen as a hoarder of it. One enlightening anecdote tells the story of a recently enlightened Bill Gates buying two copies of his high school textbooks - one to keep at school and one to keep at home - so that he would succeed in class, but would appear nonchalant to his peers. It was this drive to competition and winning, coupled with his insatiable appetite for learning that created one of the most successful businessmen of all time.
By the time Bill dropped out of Harvard to make Microsoft the inkling of the juggernaut it would eventually become, I looked at my own successes as a 30-something and began to bemoan the fact that I would never measure up to the early-20-something Bill. And, it's there that our modern myths begin to fail. Where the mythic heroes of culture's past just needed a hill to climb, or an enemy to fight, admittedly, for tech CEOs like Bill, there are also the right people to know and resources to have. In some strange way, it was precisely because of this that 'Source Code' was even more inspiring to me, in this book a 21st century myth was turned back into a man and back into a myth again, one who's genius is unmistakable, but who's meteoric rise is for the rest of us, also unrepeatable.
To be sure, the effort and insight of Bill Gates from an early age is impressive. The story begins with a surprisingly sporty Bill Gates hiking a snow-covered mountain with his friends, writing the algorithm that would eventually become Microsoft while stumbling across the rugged terrain. It's a story of a boy genius who read voraciously and through charm and grit dedicated himself and his friends to unusually diligent work for a group of teenagers.
In an era in which computers were rare, expensive, and clunky, Bill's unique social and geographical standing put him in the right place, with the right connections to get a jump start on any competition before it formed. Few High School students had access to the resources to learn computer programing, let alone teachers with science PhDs from Yale to accelerate growth. Though Gate's family connections and wealth were essential to his later success, the elder Gates is refreshingly self-aware of this privilege throughout.
But, regardless of the incredible access to information, the young Bill Gates didn't want to be seen as a hoarder of it. One enlightening anecdote tells the story of a recently enlightened Bill Gates buying two copies of his high school textbooks - one to keep at school and one to keep at home - so that he would succeed in class, but would appear nonchalant to his peers. It was this drive to competition and winning, coupled with his insatiable appetite for learning that created one of the most successful businessmen of all time.
By the time Bill dropped out of Harvard to make Microsoft the inkling of the juggernaut it would eventually become, I looked at my own successes as a 30-something and began to bemoan the fact that I would never measure up to the early-20-something Bill. And, it's there that our modern myths begin to fail. Where the mythic heroes of culture's past just needed a hill to climb, or an enemy to fight, admittedly, for tech CEOs like Bill, there are also the right people to know and resources to have. In some strange way, it was precisely because of this that 'Source Code' was even more inspiring to me, in this book a 21st century myth was turned back into a man and back into a myth again, one who's genius is unmistakable, but who's meteoric rise is for the rest of us, also unrepeatable.
March 10, 2025
I think this book -an autobiography- “Source Code: My Beginnings” was one of the most awaited books of the year. The book is about the course of the journey that Bill Gates went through before establishing the company MicroSoft. All the relevant details that led up to his and the company’s making are well written in the autobiography. It’s because of the opportunities that he got and made most of that he is what he is.
I was flabbergasted to learn that he was offered to work hands on real life projects in the school life such as the Payroll system and computerized Bonville Power Generation’s power generation with TRW as a PDP -10 expert. He along with his friends formed a computer enthusiast group at school that laid the foundations of his venture into and building a software conglomerate.
He also scored a perfect 800 hundred in his SATs and was accepted at Harvard University, and due to his involvement heavily in setting up and building MicroSoft from scratch he was not unable to finish his studies. This is often overlooked by students - who are struggling at their studies- when they cite his example of dropping out from school/college that Bill Gates was already busy with something as important as his studies, if not more.
My only companion with this well written and inspiring book is that it’s too short. I hope he comes out with more volumes covering his entire life soon. I give the book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I was flabbergasted to learn that he was offered to work hands on real life projects in the school life such as the Payroll system and computerized Bonville Power Generation’s power generation with TRW as a PDP -10 expert. He along with his friends formed a computer enthusiast group at school that laid the foundations of his venture into and building a software conglomerate.
He also scored a perfect 800 hundred in his SATs and was accepted at Harvard University, and due to his involvement heavily in setting up and building MicroSoft from scratch he was not unable to finish his studies. This is often overlooked by students - who are struggling at their studies- when they cite his example of dropping out from school/college that Bill Gates was already busy with something as important as his studies, if not more.
My only companion with this well written and inspiring book is that it’s too short. I hope he comes out with more volumes covering his entire life soon. I give the book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
March 1, 2025
Very engaging book, however, the middle/end got a little boring to me as he talked about computer chips; however, my husband loved it being an EE and having great knowledge of the chips/computer languages. Bill is a character and you have to marvel at how in the world can someone be so brilliant. I enjoyed reading about his antics (and yes there are doozies) of when he was a bratty kid. I liked reading about his time at Harvard. It was cool that my son had classes in the very buildings that were later named after Bill's professors. What stuck with me the most was the 'dumb luck' of privilege. Bill acknowledges he grew up in a privileged household (shoutout to his great grandfather who left NEBRASKA for Seattle). I am just a few months older than Bill but the only thing our childhood had in common was we both loved watching the Jetsons. He grew up realizing that technology was the future, "you couldn't be a kid back then (1962) and not feel the excitement of this....there was limitless potential." My world in 1962 rural Nebraska was embedded in cows, ranching, etc. I don't think technology was even a consideration or even worse, known. I was certainly never exposed to it at home or school. Bill said he will be writing 2 more books about his life and I will definitely read. Again, if you read this book be prepared for chip talk.
March 6, 2025
Bill Gates: Source Code is the first of the 3 projected memories chronicling Bill Gates's life. It tells the tale of his early upbringing to when he and Paul Allen created Microsoft in 1975.
This is the first time I'm reading a memoir in phases. Usually, all the upbringing and early childhood stories get condensed to the first 50 pages of the book. Here it's very well-detailed and you can see why Gates went on to become who he is. If you are someone who's been following Gates for a while there's nothing of interest in this book, but for those who are curious to read his early stories all in one place, this book is worth it.
I found the memoir to be a fairly honest assessment of his life. He acknowledges that a million things had to go right for him to reach the place where he is. He was born into a wealthy affluent white American family in the 1950s, he had a knack for mathematics and could shut things off and hyperfocus when he needed to and most importantly he was at the right place at the right time. The introduction of the personal computer and his idea of looking at software when the entire world was looking at hardware is described here.
And for all the people who keep saying Bill Gates dropped out of College, so can I, this book would serve as a reality check. He dropped out of Harvard, not some tier 3 college and he was doing well at college, he left cause he couldn't manage a fully-fledged start-up and his studies, not cause he was weak at them. You can draw tangents from what you were doing at a particular age and what Gates was doing and see why all these successful people are wired differently.
This is the first time I'm reading a memoir in phases. Usually, all the upbringing and early childhood stories get condensed to the first 50 pages of the book. Here it's very well-detailed and you can see why Gates went on to become who he is. If you are someone who's been following Gates for a while there's nothing of interest in this book, but for those who are curious to read his early stories all in one place, this book is worth it.
I found the memoir to be a fairly honest assessment of his life. He acknowledges that a million things had to go right for him to reach the place where he is. He was born into a wealthy affluent white American family in the 1950s, he had a knack for mathematics and could shut things off and hyperfocus when he needed to and most importantly he was at the right place at the right time. The introduction of the personal computer and his idea of looking at software when the entire world was looking at hardware is described here.
And for all the people who keep saying Bill Gates dropped out of College, so can I, this book would serve as a reality check. He dropped out of Harvard, not some tier 3 college and he was doing well at college, he left cause he couldn't manage a fully-fledged start-up and his studies, not cause he was weak at them. You can draw tangents from what you were doing at a particular age and what Gates was doing and see why all these successful people are wired differently.
February 19, 2025
B.G. the Third is not the most effortlessly relatable person at first glance - a well-off whiz wise-ass who withdrew from Harvard and worked software to wonderful wopulence. His childhood was extremely nice: sitting in on conversations with lawyers, corporates, future senators, entrepreneurs, and a whole worldly cast; books galore; a (loving) tiger mom; a light attitude toward his apparently-spectrum-induced antics; and access to a computer in the late 1960s.
Bill is the combination of nature and nurture most of us mortals wish we had. And yet, he's (effortfully?) very self-aware, and does come across as relatable. At least, relatable to any nerdy kid who liked math, learning how things work, and not being told what to do.
The book ends when Gates is ~20 and moving Microsoft to Seattle from Albuquerque. He gets to his software experience around the halfway mark; it's enough time to show off how intense he was when young. Much of the content in this autobiography is well-known, like emulating the 8080 and writing the BASIC interpreter. Kent Evans' part in the story is probably the most emotional one could picture Bill - it is heartbreaking to have lost such a promising mind so early.
The proceeds are going to United Way - not malaria nets or polio vaccines (those are well accounted for by the Foundation), but work more relatable to Americans. Apposite choice for the volume.
Bill is the combination of nature and nurture most of us mortals wish we had. And yet, he's (effortfully?) very self-aware, and does come across as relatable. At least, relatable to any nerdy kid who liked math, learning how things work, and not being told what to do.
The book ends when Gates is ~20 and moving Microsoft to Seattle from Albuquerque. He gets to his software experience around the halfway mark; it's enough time to show off how intense he was when young. Much of the content in this autobiography is well-known, like emulating the 8080 and writing the BASIC interpreter. Kent Evans' part in the story is probably the most emotional one could picture Bill - it is heartbreaking to have lost such a promising mind so early.
The proceeds are going to United Way - not malaria nets or polio vaccines (those are well accounted for by the Foundation), but work more relatable to Americans. Apposite choice for the volume.
Read
March 9, 2025Just finished reading several memoirs and biographies of tech industry leaders—Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, and more. But Bill Gates’ early years stood the most out of place.
Unlike many others, Gates was intensely focused on becoming the best programmer, not just a business leader. His obsession with coding and deep dive into mathematics truly set him apart—he was, in every sense, one of the ultimate ‘nerds.’
The final chapter of the book was incredible, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone interested in the practice behind his success!
I didn't realize how successful his family careers were. I would read 'Blink' before you read this book. I did, and it made the book more enjoyable. Bill Gates even comments on it.
Unlike many others, Gates was intensely focused on becoming the best programmer, not just a business leader. His obsession with coding and deep dive into mathematics truly set him apart—he was, in every sense, one of the ultimate ‘nerds.’
The final chapter of the book was incredible, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone interested in the practice behind his success!
I didn't realize how successful his family careers were. I would read 'Blink' before you read this book. I did, and it made the book more enjoyable. Bill Gates even comments on it.
February 28, 2025
Dans « Code Source », Bill Gates offre un récit introspectif de ses premières années, dévoilant les influences familiales et éducatives qui ont façonné son parcours. Il partage des anecdotes sur son enfance à Seattle, mettant en lumière sa relation avec sa grand-mère passionnée de jeux de cartes et ses parents exigeants mais bienveillants. Gates évoque également ses premières amitiés profondes, notamment avec Paul Allen, et la perte tragique de son meilleur ami, Kent Evans. Son récit détaille sa découverte précoce du codage et des ordinateurs, ainsi que les escapades nocturnes dans les centres informatiques qui ont alimenté sa passion naissante. Ce premier volume d'une trilogie autobiographique s'achève à la fin des années 1970, alors que Microsoft, encore une petite entreprise, signe son premier contrat majeur avec Apple. Un témoignage sincère et éclairant sur les débuts d'un visionnaire de la technologie.
February 19, 2025
I was always of the opinion that Bill Gates is not the most likeable person in the world, but the older he gets, the more likeable he becomes. This book reads like a cookbook with a few stories about each ingredient. Take a smart grandma who has enough time and wit to instill some core values to guide your life by, add a father and a mother who both can serve as role models in different areas, give it a bit of time and freedom to stew, provide the necessary cooking environment (US in the 70's and the advent of personal/micro computers), a bit of luck and there you have it: Bill Gates!
It's a good memoir, providing some insights into the decisions that led to founding Microsoft and what the computer world looked like at the time.
It's a good memoir, providing some insights into the decisions that led to founding Microsoft and what the computer world looked like at the time.
February 23, 2025
Review of Source Code by Bill Gates
What an enlightening memoir of Bill’s life and the way he thinks! Being born in the same month and year as him, I found many of his childhood thoughts and experiences incredibly relatable and even comforting. His drive and energy were remarkable—he accomplished so much at such a young age, and in many ways, he was a true genius. Learning about his supportive parents was particularly interesting, as they played a crucial role in shaping his path. Unlike most kids his age, he was laser-focused on success, which set him apart. Source Code offers a fascinating glimpse into the mind of one of the most influential figures in technology.
What an enlightening memoir of Bill’s life and the way he thinks! Being born in the same month and year as him, I found many of his childhood thoughts and experiences incredibly relatable and even comforting. His drive and energy were remarkable—he accomplished so much at such a young age, and in many ways, he was a true genius. Learning about his supportive parents was particularly interesting, as they played a crucial role in shaping his path. Unlike most kids his age, he was laser-focused on success, which set him apart. Source Code offers a fascinating glimpse into the mind of one of the most influential figures in technology.
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