Bill Gates has released a new memoir, “Source Code: My Beginnings,” which takes readers on a journey through his childhood and early days as a tech entrepreneur. The book, the first of three projected volumes, begins with Gates’ birth in Seattle in 1955 and ends before 1980, when Microsoft embarked on its road to personal-computing dominance.
In the memoir, Gates recounts his early years with wholesome scenes of jigsaw puzzles and gunnysack races, as well as precocious feats of coding. He spent time with his Gami, who taught him card games and fed him Ritz crackers with peanut butter. Gates’ mother also played a significant role in shaping his childhood, pouring her ambitions and skills into organizing the household.
As Gates grew older, he began to question the authority of those around him, becoming more argumentative and intellectually forceful. He recounts how his budding math talent gave him confidence that “the world was a rational place” filled with answers he could find by applying his brain. Gates also talks about his teenage years, including sneaking out of his bedroom window at night to code for hours on end.
Gates’ approach to work and life is evident throughout the memoir. He credits Rob Guth with extracting and guiding his memories, and his voice in the book is upbeat, wryly self-deprecating, and congenial. The memoir ends with Gates speculating that if he were growing up today, he would probably be identified as someone on the autism spectrum.
“Source Code: My Beginnings” offers a unique glimpse into Gates’ childhood and early days as a tech entrepreneur. With its engaging narrative and insightful reflections, the book provides readers with a sense of what drove one of the most influential figures in technology today.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/30/books/review/source-code-bill-gates.html