比尔·盖茨：2018年我喜爱的5本书
我想每个人都可以将更多书里的内容应用到自己的生活中。还有，如果你像我一样，你也会喜欢在年底抓紧读几本可能已经错过的书。在整理年底书单时，我通常不会考虑这会不会成为一份不错的礼物，但今年我挑选的这几本非常值得分享。
我今年列出的书可谓五花八门。从冥想的入门指南到自主武器的深入研究，再到讲述一家公司从红极一时逐渐衰落的惊险故事，这其中总有让每个人都感到有兴趣的内容。如果你正在为自己或朋友家人寻找一本有意思、吸引人的好书，选这些中的一本不会有错。
《教育改变人生》（中文名暂译）
作者：塔拉·韦斯特沃
在塔拉17岁离开家之前，她从没上过学或看过医生。我没想到自己会对这样一个故事产生共鸣——一个在摩门教家庭中的成长故事。但塔拉实在写得太好，以至于让我在阅读她极端的童年故事时，也开始反思起自己的生活。我和梅琳达都很喜欢这位年轻女性的回忆录，她渴望学习的心是如此强烈，这让她最终获得了剑桥大学的博士学位。
《无人军团》（中文名暂译）
作者：保罗·沙雷
大多数人都不会在假期去想自主武器这个话题，但你很难放下这样一本书，它从发人深省的视角看待人工智能在战争中的应用。这是一个极为复杂的问题，但沙雷为我们提供了清晰的解释，并且展示了在自主武器驱动下的未来战争的利与弊。他理所应当精通这一领域：他是一名退伍军人，曾帮助美国政府起草关于自主武器的政策。
《坏血》（中文名暂译）
作者：约翰·凯瑞鲁
好几个朋友向我推荐了这本书。凯瑞鲁带给你的是Theranos公司腾飞和衰落的确切内部消息。故事比我想象的还要疯狂，我发现自己从开始阅读的那一刻起就无法停下来。这本书包含一切应该有的：精心设计的骗局、公司的阴谋、杂志的封面故事、破裂的家庭关系，以及一个曾估值近100亿美元的公司的消亡。
《今日简史》
作者：尤瓦尔·诺亚·赫拉利
我是赫拉利所有作品的忠实读者，当然也包括他最新的著作《今日简史》。《人类简史》和《未来简史》分别讲述了过去和未来，而这一本讲的全都是现在。如果2018年使你对世界的局势感到不知所措，那么《今日简史》给你提供了一个有用的思维框架，帮助你处理新闻及思考我们面临的挑战。
《冥想和正念入门指南》（中文名暂译）
作者：安迪·普迪科姆
25岁的我一定会对此非常不屑，但梅琳达和我最近都非常喜欢冥想。这本书一开始讲述了普迪科姆从大学生到佛教僧人的个人历程，接着便成了教你如何冥想的有趣指南。如果你正想尝试正念训练，这会是一本完美的入门手册。
比尔·盖茨为五本书撰写的书评已授权国内顶尖阅读平台 有书 在中文社交平台独家发布
5 books I loved in 2018
By Bill Gates
I think everyone could use a few more books in their lives. Plus, if you’re like me, you love spending time at the end of the year catching up on books you may have missed. I usually don’t consider whether something would make a good gift when I’m putting together my end of year book list—but this year’s selections are highly sharable.
My list is pretty eclectic this year. From a how-to guide about meditation to a deep dive on autonomous weapons to a thriller about the fall of a once-promising company, there’s something interesting for everyone. If you’re looking for a fun and engaging read for you or your friends and family, you can’t go wrong with one of these.
Educated, by Tara Westover. Tara never went to school or visited a doctor until she left home at 17. I never thought I’d relate to a story about growing up in a Mormon survivalist household, but she’s such a good writer that she got me to reflect on my own life while reading about her extreme childhood. Melinda and I loved this memoir of a young woman whose thirst for learning was so strong that she ended up getting a Ph.D. from Cambridge University.
Army of None, by Paul Scharre. Autonomous weapons aren’t exactly top of mind for most around the holidays, but this thought-provoking look at A.I. in warfare is hard to put down. It’s an immensely complicated topic, but Scharre offers clear explanations and presents both the pros and cons of machine-driven warfare. His fluency with the subject should come as no surprise: he’s a veteran who helped draft the U.S. government’s policy on autonomous weapons.
Bad Blood, by John Carreyrou. A bunch of my friends recommended this one to me. Carreyrou gives you the definitive insider’s look at the rise and fall of Theranos. The story is even crazier than I expected, and I found myself unable to put it down once I started. This book has everything: elaborate scams, corporate intrigue, magazine cover stories, ruined family relationships, and the demise of a company once valued at nearly $10 billion.
21 Lessons for the 21st Century, by Yuval Noah Harari. I’m a big fan of everything Harari has written, and his latest is no exception. While Sapiens and Homo Deus covered the past and future respectively, this one is all about the present. If 2018 has left you overwhelmed by the state of the world, 21 Lessons offers a helpful framework for processing the news and thinking about the challenges we face.
The Headspace Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness, by Andy Puddicombe. I’m sure 25-year-old me would scoff at this one, but Melinda and I have gotten really into meditation lately. The book starts with Puddicombe’s personal journey from a university student to a Buddhist monk and then becomes an entertaining explainer on how to meditate. If you’re thinking about trying mindfulness, this is the perfect introduction.