“I’ve read a number of biographies of Gates, and this is the best one. In fact, for me it’s the definitive one . . . Anyone who wants an understanding not just of the facts of Gates’ life and rise, but also insight into his personality and motivations should read it.” —Computerworld
“ . . . the epic biography helped me understand Bill Gates and his company, and what made them tick. . . . I’ve already downloaded the new e-book to my Kindle. It’s a great companion and counterpoint to Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs biography.” —Geekwire
“The definitive work . . . gets beyond the cliche of Gates the billionaire nerd . . . Gates is particularly good at providing insights into what sets Mr. Gates apart.” —The New York Times
“An impressive account of the life of the Microsoft chairman . . . as interesting and important as [Microsoft’s] story is, this massive biography is perhaps more interesting for its portrait of Gates as a complex character . . . meticulously researched . . . Well-written, with much of the drama and suspense of a novel. . . —The Washington Post
“Fast-paced, informative . . . riveting . . . Pioneering on the high-tech frontier, Mr. Gates embodies the stirring American symbol of a self-made man calling his own shots. At the same time, his success is so fantastic that it inspires envy, suspicion, and awe in both friend and foe. —The Wall Street Journal
“A hot read . . . The best account yet of the 37-year-old software titan who has become America’s richest man . . . The good stuff starts on page one. . . . Manes and Andrews deserve credit for trying to show Gates’s complexity rather than blithely simplifying him, as most previous profiles have done.” —Fortune
“Finally, the real book on Microsoft’s Gates! . . . The real Book of Bill has arrived . . . a potent biography . . . a compelling story.” —Newsweek
“The most complete and most colorful account yet of the meteoric rise of the nation’s No. 1 software company . . . embellishes events with provocative detail and puts them in context.” —Business Week
“The definitive book on the USA’s oddest, richest person . . . Read Gates for a sophisticated look at the software industry’s dominant figure.” —USA Today
“A real gem . . . The book takes us behind the scenes as Gates uses the power of deftly worded contracts to quickly squeeze out rivals and even finagle his partner. . . . Manes and Andrews provide insights.” —San Francisco Chronicle
“We should thank our lucky stars for authors Stephen Manes and Paul Andrews. These journalists and personal computer experts have given us a rare and exacting look at America’s richest man—who just happens to head the world’s largest software company.” —Rocky Mountain News
“Rich with anecdotes and details that are so painstakingly documented it’s hard to imagine a more thorough job . . . should be required reading for any new hire in the personal computer industry, especially those who want to understand what has made Microsoft the dominant power it is. Ultimately, Gates is a thorough history of a business that has changed the way we work and play.” —Seattle Times
“A remarkable story of a complex and highly talented individual made all the more interesting because of the close links between Gates’s career and the evolution of the computer.” —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“Manes and Andrews have produced a valuable primer on the computer industry, its cast of strange characters and its even stranger array of corporate cultures. . . . —Chicago Tribune
“While this isn’t the first book written about Gates, it’s by far the best—complete, balanced, insightful, and well-documented.” —Detroit News
“From now on, this estimable effort will be mandatory reading for whoever writes about Gates. . . . In documenting the rise of Gates, Manes and Andrews provide a valuable history of the computer and software industries that grew up with him.” —New York Post
“The book methodically separates the real from the apocryphal. Future writers will thank Manes and Andrews for their reporting . . . the bio of record.” —Seattle Weekly
“The book not only is the story of a man of vision, but it also is about the explosive growth of a new industry—software—in which he was something of a pioneer. And it paints the most complete picture yet of Gates, who has remained something of an enigmatic figure despite spending a lot of his time in the public eye.” —Arizona Republic
“Gates succeeds . . . Its authors’ admirable depth of knowledge and their anecdotes are ultimately more revealing of both the industry and the man . . . Gates lets the reader determine whether the man is in fact an obnoxious bully, or simply smart and successful.” —San Francisco Review of Books
“Gates is a comprehensive account of the early years of personal computing, a crazy time . . . a high-tech story told in the language of the streets . . . an informative look at a generalissimo of the information revolution.” —Financial Times of Canada
“. . . the definitive picture of ‘the real Bill Gates.’” —Toronto Globe and Mail
“Scrupulous, balanced, and thoroughly engaging . . . a tour-guided voyage through historic events behind the transformation of an information industry and age.” —Toronto Star
“Fascinating inside look at what made a billionaire out of Gates while still, incredibly, in his 30s.” —Copley News Service
“Manes and Andrews combine authoritative discussions of technology with a clear and entertaining prose style. . . . Most interesting is the glimpse of the turbulent 20-year history of the computer industry.” —Publishers Weekly
“An illuminating, unsentimental biography . . . a like-it-is portrait of an archetypal nerd who built a world-class business empire . . . An exhaustive report on an aging whiz-kid whose consequential life story is far from over.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Refreshing . . . Rich with detail, this book is thorough and not always laudatory of Gates.” —Library Journal
“Two veteran reporters take off the rose-colored glasses to show the young tycoon at his best . . . and worst. . . . This warts-and-all portrait of a businessman as a celebrity reveals Gates’ temper, childishness, and disregard for employees, as well as his brilliance and work acumen.” —Booklist
“An impressively detailed chronicle of the man and his company . . . Independent and scrupulously documented . . . the authors do an outstanding job.” —PC Magazine
“Solid information . . . An engrossing narrative.” —Byte
“The Bill Gates story is inextricably linked with the history of the PC industry. And that’s where the book shines. . . . The most satisfying explanation we’re likely to get for quite a while as to why—and how—lightning from the PC revolution struck Bill Gates.” —Information Week
“Definitive . . . The intertwined history of the man and the industry is fascinating . . . engrossing . . . What a story!” —IEEE Software
“The best biography of Bill Gates . . . the definitive work to date, both well-written and accurate . . . A fascinating, detailed, warts-and-all account of the accumulation of America’s largest private fortune by, arguably, the single most important person in computer history.” —Windows Magazine
“The hot book of the new year for anyone who follows the computer industry.” —Bay Area Computer Currents
“A rich and wonderfully captivating account of the birth of an industry that changed the world . . . Manes and Andrews successfully weave together what are now two interrelated tales: the development of both Bill Gates and the microcomputer industry. . . . The book captures those early years of computing so well that you can almost feel the excitement and power. . . . Manes and Andrews should also be applauded for presenting technical information about the emerging technologies of the time that should neither intimidate nor insult the reader.” —Computer Shopper
“The ultimate Bill Gates book . . . dismisses old myths and adds new seasoning to the Gates legend, as fact is separated from fiction with extraordinary detail. This history book tells a story that is as fascinating as the American dream.” —CompuServe Magazine
“Manes and Andrews have written not just a biography, but a history of the microcomputer industry . . . that is at once entertaining and. informative. Whether you work with business or computers, or are simply curious for details on how the wealthiest man in America made it to the top, Gates should be at the top of your reading list.” —OS/2 Professional
“. . . the best-researched and most-detailed history of desktop computing ever written. It’s ostensibly about Billion-Dollar Bill, but Microsoft’s history starts with the Altair in 1975 and touches literally every aspect of desktop computing to happen since then. . . . Gates is an interesting guy, one you have to admire without necessarily wanting to play bridge with him. . . . He is quintessentially American, and I doubt a better portrait of him will be painted than this one. . .” —PC Techniques
“A fascinating history, and still a very relevant read . . . ” —Otis Chandler, founder of goodreads.com
“Bill Gates has become a symbol of many things, from good old American inventiveness to weird, secretive power-wielding. Stephen Manes and Paul Andrews have put the complicated pieces together in a revealing and nicely droll way. Anyone interested in how computers have remade the world, anyone curious about how Bill Gates has made his fortune, anyone who loves—or hates—Microsoft’s Windows will enjoy this impressive book.” —James Fallows, columnist, The Atlantic
“A real knockout! Gates is so clear and exciting that anyone can enjoy it, yet so crammed with detail that computer fanatics will have their eyes opened about how their business—and Bill Gates—really work. Manes and Andrews know their stuff: They’ve laid the myths to rest, they’ve provided amazing new revelations, and they’ve written the first serious book about the computer industry that you simply can’t put down.” —Paul Somerson, editor, PC/Computing and MacUser
“Part history, part biography, part computing, Gates tells how a man turned a byte into a dollar, a language into an obsession, and a program into a bestseller. Here’s the complete story of the man who built a universe from his keyboard and an empire from his software.” —Clifford Stoll, author of The Cuckoo’s Egg
“Scrupulously researched, overflowing with detail, and just plain fun, Gates is must reading for anyone interested in an accurate history of Microsoft, and learning what’s gone right—and what’s gone wrong—in the personal computer industry.” —Charles Petzold, author of Programming Windows
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