The Road Ahead

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Summary: The Road Ahead
Review: What is most striking about this book is that it makes you sit up and look at where this world is heading. We all get so engrossed in our day to day lives that it takes a book like this to give you an insight as to where this world is heading and how fast it is going to transform our lives. Engrossing, scary, eyeopening....all this and much more, The road ahead is written in a simplistic manner, easily understood by a technical novice as well.

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Summary: Dreams become reality!
Review: This book is about the history of computers, Microsoft, Bill Gates and Paul Allen's involvement in computers. I found it very interesting and full of inspiration. Bill Gates presents his love computers and how this love helped in the evolution of the computer/technology industry. He feels that there is more to see and do concerning technology. It just hasn't been developed or if its been developed its not refined enough. I would recommend this book to those who have a vision to make their dreams a reality and want to read how Bill Gates made his dreams a reality.

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Summary: Brillant!
Review: Bill Gates has done tremendous good, whether he intended to or not. And there does seem to be an altruistic streak running through this man's spine. Forget that he is worth $85 billion dollars. You better. As Gates points out constantly in his book, these figures are going to mean less and less as we move into the next century. This book and CD is a good prescription for what Toffler calls "Future Shock". Gates does indeed show you the road ahead, how things may very well be 50 (40[30]) years from now. He does not say that it is good or bad. He does not foerwarn us about getting out of touch with our "inner goodness". He doesn't take any stand! He knows that he is not better than anybody else. But he also knows that he has access to "see" what may very well be ahead. And he is enough of a gent to share this with you and me. I do believe that he sees the whole "Gates Phenomena" as a process. That his shoes would have been filled with someone else's even if he were never born. This also was the case with Thomas Edison. Many were directly behind him. But he wanted to "own" the past. Gates shows no such egomania. His humility is quite refreshing. And the book is really fun reading. Even if you are not a "computer geek", read this book. It will take away a lot of the anxiety that surrounds people who feel "left out of it". After you read it, and if you are computer illiterate, you will feel so much better. Just do it!

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Summary: not as interesting as you'd think
Review: this book seems to be just an empty generalization with little real insight. for being written by someone who has had a part in revolutionizing the world it is actually quite dull. searching amazon.com gives one more idea of the direction the world is going and how the future might unfold. luckily gates gives us something far more valuable with MS Windows as a tool for finding "the road ahead"

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Summary: Homemade Success
Review: The Road Ahead is a novel about how computer technology effects our lives. The book explains how Bill Gates was introduced to computers at the young age of 13 (a rarity in 1969). He also practicly designed software for an entire computer terminal at age 13 1/2. Bill's obsession carried him through grade school and then through high school. Eventually, he got into Harvard University. While in Harvard he designed more advanced software for a brand new computer he saw in a magazine. When Bill tried to give his software to various companies they rejected him. Discouraged, Gates dropped out of Harvard after his sophomore year. After dropping out he decided to star his own company. Perhaps you have heard of it, the most successful homemade software company in the world, Microsoft.

Bill Gates is obviously the most important character in the book. He is a persistent and determined man. He is very bright, and his life revolves completely around computers. Because of Gate's hard work, he is one of the wealthiest men in the world.

I would recommend this book to everyone. I feel that people can easily relate to this wonderful story. The theme is, when you have a goal, you can reach it with work, and lots of it. This definitely applies to everyday life. Although Bill is a billionaire, he still handles himself like a normal person. Bill Gates is classy, intelligent, and respectable. He is truly quite a man!

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Summary: Ignorance Is Not Bliss
Review: We live in a digital age. We will not be able to succeed in the workplace unless we become fluent in the use of digital tools. Mr. Gates explains the FUNdamentals of the computer age. Read this book if you are interested in an easy-to-read update of the computer revolution and a vision of our future. His vision of the future of education is particularly interesting to me (a parent and an educator). I have seen how the computer can augment learning, especially outside the classroom. A real challenge will be to ensure that all children have the same access to computers both in and outside of school.

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Summary: dry, nerdy, Microsoft advertisement
Review: this book is probably the second worst I have ever read. it comes off as a dry, nerdy Microsoft advertisement. Bill Gates may be a business genius, but he cannot write a book! this book is supposed to talk about the future, but instead it has a whole chapter devoted to his new house! (he hopes the first thing you notice when you come in is not the electronic pins he hands out, but his "beautiful" view if the lake outside) he seems to be saying, "look at me, I'm rich!" very nerdy. if you want a book about the future, read 1984 by George Orwell.

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Summary: Only If You Like Brain Dumps...
Review: This book is nothing but a brain dump. Do you like reading about wild ideas nonstop for a few hours? If so, you'll love it. Get your favorite beverage that will keep you up for a few hours and let Bill bombard you with ideas freeform.

Are you looking for vision and a peek into the exciting future of the internet? If so, look elsewhere. You won't find it here.

If you would like to know a little history of how the Internet came to be, the book "Where Wizards Stay Up Late" is terrific.

Instead of investing more money in books that claim to give an overview of "the road ahead", I think I'll just dream of it myself and marvel at what others are accomplishing.

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Summary: The cover is the best part...
Review: All right, maybe I'm misjudging it. The CD is entertaining. This isn't a revolutionary tome written by a techno-visionary inventor, it's more a nice little pamphlet introducing people to Our Friend, Mr. Computer. Having read it 4 years ago, I found it just as vapid as Donald Trump's Art of the Deal: you find the same self-congratulation packaged as wisdom, but since Trump never claimed to be doing anything new, it's even worse. You get a techno-primer on such things as the binary system, a cute picture of a boy Gates fooling with a PDP-8, a lot of talk about his way-kewl house, and a CD-ROM showing off what life is going to be like in a Windows-centric future. Rereading it, it's amazing how much this "visionary" got wrong: stick to bridge, Bill, you're better off.

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Summary: For the reviewer "Sept 20 99" from "Milipitas, CA"
Review: This message is for "[e-mail] from milpitas, CA , September 20, 1999". The reviewer from India meant to say "Bill is the greatest human being ever on this earth". I think that you should take an elimentary english course or something.