Oracle

Hard Drive : Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire

Format: Paperback
Author: James Wallace
ReleaseDate: 26 May, 1993
Publisher: Collins
Rating:

An Extraordinary Person
Bill Gates transformed the computer industry and made computers user friendly to anyone and everyone who has access to them, a tremendous contribution to business and the world. An excellent and fascinating read. His ambition, drive, diligence and business intellect made him the most successful and richest man in the world, and is well admired and praised.
A timeless classic and wonder, I am sure he can transform the globe into a more humanitarian place in his new endeavor. .

Still a Good Read
He is one of the most compelling and admired and maybe feared business leaders today. Should I Buy This Book?

The story is starting to get a bit dated but the book still has 95% of the Gates story warts and all.

Unlike Jack Welch, another great leader and manager, he started from zero or near zero in a new field and (largely) owned the company. I remember seeing the personal computers for sale in the 70's - just pre Microsoft - that did not come with anything other than a very rudimentary software. He was one of the first people to recognize the dollar value of the software and to charge for its use in the hobby market. Since then he has dominated the market. Now there is a computer in virtually every office and home using his (expensive high margin) software. Now he has the resources to buy anything he wants, or to support any charity or university, or buy a sizeable portion of the stock in almost any company that he wishes. And of course he has no debt. He used no risky leverage or tricks. He took the software and generated billions of dollars in cash and securities on hand. It is quite the story.

This is a relatively short book and an easy read. Frankly it is a must read for anyone running their own business and or in the Tech field. Gates is the statistical anomaly who sits at the very pinnacle. He is perched even above Warren Buffet the financial guru who is at least 20 years older than Gates. But Gates was astute enough to buy DOS for $50,000. and then had the business smarts and drive to market and sell the product. He was a hands on manager working long hours and a technical leader. He was (is) as smart or smarter than anyone else in the field. He did not invent any major new invention but he had the practical ability to take the product to market and make it work, make it better, and build a winning business. He hired great people and built a team that literally crushed the opposition including IBM and all foreign competitors in that area. It is only now two decades later that people are (seriously) starting to consider alternatives such as Linux, and these still have a lot of catch up to do.

Still a great book and a great yarn. A must buy 5 stars.

Still relevant and thrilling in 2005
It is hard to imagine much in this book is out of date, other than the estimate of Gates' wealth at the time ($4b). Although this book was written at a time when the authors found it necessary to explain what 'electronic mail, or e-mail' was, the insight into Bill Gates' life, methods and extraordinary success is timeless. This is a well-written book and a fast read.