Episode · Founders · 2021-04-05
Books mentioned on #174 Bill Gates (Overdrive)
What I learned from reading Overdrive: Bill Gates and the Race to Control Cyberspace by James Wallace. ---- There would be an industry breakthrough unimagined at the time, and it would be made by a company that didn’t yet exist.
David Senra recommended Hard Drive by James Wallace and others and The New New Thing: A Silicon Valley Story by Michael M. Lewis, and discussed Overdrive by James Wallace, Becoming Steve Jobs by Brent Schlender and others, Zero to One by Peter Thiel and others, and Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson and others.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
-
Overdrive
Overdrive: Bill Gates and the Race to Control Cyberspace by James Wallace is an investigative non-fiction book published in 1997 that examines the rise of Microsoft and its co-founder during the dawn of the internet age.
Discussed“That was an excerpt from the book I'm going to talk to you about today, which is Overdrive, Bill Gates and the Race to Control Cyberspace by James Wallace”
Where to get it
-
Hard Drive
Hard Drive by James Wallace and Jim Erickson is a biography detailing the early years of Microsoft and the relentless rise of Bill Gates.
Recommended“And that book is called Hard Drive, Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire. It is one of my favorite books that I've read for the podcast so far.”
Where to get it
-
Becoming Steve Jobs
Becoming Steve Jobs by Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli is an insightful biography examining the evolution of Steve Jobs from a reckless upstart into a visionary leader.
Discussed“I'm going to read this quote from Overdrive, but then I want to read a quote from becoming Steve Jobs, that book I did, I think all the way back on Founders Number 19”
Where to get it
-
The New New Thing: A Silicon Valley Story
The New New Thing: A Silicon Valley Story by Michael M.
Recommended“If you're looking for a book to read, that's really easy to read and you're learned and not even realized you're learning because the writing's so good. It's the new new thing, a Silicon Valley story written by Michael Lewis”
Where to get it
-
Zero to One
Why people recommend it: Peter Thiel and Blake Masters's Zero to One offers a provocative guide to startup creation, arguing that true economic progress comes from building entirely new things rather than copying existing models.
Discussed“That reminds me of a quote from the book Zero to One, the single most powerful pattern I've noticed is that successful people find value in unexpected places.”
Where to get it
-
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson, Jordi Ainaud i Escudero, and Beruryah Ben Barukh is a comprehensive biography exploring the life and boundless curiosity of the iconic Renaissance polymath.
Discussed“His intense curiosity is just beyond my understanding and I should read another biography on him. I was Leonardo Da Vinci, I think it's founders number 15 if I remember correctly.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (1) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“So we've seen this over and over again, Steve Jobs causes this, a bozo explosion. A couple of podcasts ago when we covered the early days of SpaceX, the book called Liftoff.”