Stephen Manes - Gates

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 [Microsofts] 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 Americas richest man... The good stuff starts on page one.... Manes and Andrews deserve credit for trying to show Gatess complexity rather than blithely simplifying him, as most previous profiles have done.

Fortune

Finally, the real book on Microsofts 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 nations No. 1 software company... embellishes events with provocative detail and puts them in context.

Business Week

The definitive book on the USAs oddest, richest person... Read Gates for a sophisticated look at the software industrys 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 Americas richest manwho just happens to head the worlds largest software company.

Rocky Mountain News

Rich with anecdotes and details that are so painstakingly documented its 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 Gatess 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 isnt the first book written about Gates, its by far the bestcomplete, 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 industrysoftwarein 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 thats where the book shines.... The most satisfying explanation were likely to get for quite a while as to whyand howlightning 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 Americas 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.