Road ahead a book review
THE ROAD AHEAD BY BILL GATES (Reviewed by V Viswanath) 1. The chance to review the book “The Road Ahead” by Bill Gates, I thought was a great opportunity to catch up with what I had wanted to do for quite sometime now. The book was first published in 1995 and I remember having read it sometime in the late nineties and left the book unfinished, since I did not quite enjoy it. The book did not leave any great impression then and I was now curious, as to what one of the richest man in the world was about. ... Was the book designed to be more of an advertisement of self and Microsoft or was it a serious look at the future (by when Bill Gates might have hung up his boots and the generation next would be calling the shots). The book was touted as the great lesson of what the future held in store for us, in the thoughts of Mr Bill Gates, the greatest modern day revolutionary. ... To begin with, I decided to go in for an early edition of the book, for it would give me an idea of what Mr Gates thought in the mid 90’s and how are we placed in the year 2004. I managed to lay my hands on the 1996 (first revised) edition of the book. My first thoughts were, Would a visionary have to rewrite his book a year after completion? ... To start with, lets look at what the book has to teach and where lies the strength of Mr Gates and Microsoft. 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). ... Gates states that currently, the "information highway" does not exist, because the road must be built. ... If only the wealthy can afford the highway, it becomes a private road rather than a highway for everyone. ... Gates book is a lesson in success. ... He brings out that businesses must learn from past mistakes and move ahead to be competitive in selling their products. ... Having learnt about what Mr Gates says, we will realise that there are a lot many things which have been missed out in the earlier editions of the book and are a reality or a near reality today. ... While, Mr Gates might makes us believe that his tome is the ultimate guide to what is in store for us in the next hundred or fifty years, the book disappoints on this score.