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Showing Up for Life: Thoughts on the Gifts of a Lifetime Hardcover – April 28, 2009

by Bill Gates Sr. (Author), Mary Ann Mackin (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars 54 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 208 pages
  • Publisher: Crown Business; 1st edition (April 28, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0385527012
  • ISBN-13: 978-0385527019
  • Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.9 x 7.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #656,678 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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  1. 2:43
    Now Playing Bill Gates Sr. on Fatherhood
  2. 4:07
    Now Playing Bill Gates Sr. on Living Through Hard Times
  3. 2:33
    Now Playing "What I Learned From My Dad"
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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsA Vaccine Against Cynicism
By Lowell Weiss on April 29, 2009
Format: Hardcover
Every page of this wise, warm, and inspiring book is suffused with the qualities that have made Bill such a towering role model for thousands of his protégés, mentees, and students. His infectious empathy and compassion. His glass-three-quarters-full optimism. His integrity and value set. His humility and utter lack of pretension.

Bill writes about the Gates family tradition of reading aloud with his children. My wife and I are now doing that with this book. Our hope is that Bill's wonderful stories and insights will help inspire in them the spirit of "radical generosity" which Bill attributes to his sister and so clearly applies to him better than any other human being I know.

Especially at a time when our world feels unmoored, we desperately need leaders like Bill to inspire us to show up for life in the way he has--for his family, friends, employees, community, nation, and world. Showing Up for Life is a powerful vaccine against cynicism. When you read this book, you can't help but want to use more of the hundreds of quiet decisions you make every day to make a difference in the lives of others.
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5.0 out of 5 starsFrom father to son, an interesting life story
By Emil B on April 29, 2009
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Bill Gates Snr writes a story that "humanises" Bill Gates Jnr, the competitor, as most of us know. Perhaps the father and son are very different characters; however the success of the future world's richest man can be traced back to the independent life and personal experience of his father. The life story of the author is as interesting, in my view, as the life story of Bill Gates Jnr.

There is a flow in this story that connects parents' lives, ambitions and dreams to what will become a dominant figure in software industry and philanthropy.

We all know from various stories what Bill Gates did during his early years, but we know much less about the parents. This book is a good read from a parenthood perspective. Both parents had a very hard time with Bill Gates Jnr and they handled the situation in a very smart way. If the father did not have an independent and positive life in his early years, with a rare opportunity to spend time with a great mentor, perhaps Bill Gates Jnr could have ended up as a rebel, competent and difficult successful manager or business man with good but not great achievements.

The book provides a glimpse of the family life, tradition with ups and downs and with amazing successes and tragedy. The work of the family in the field of philanthropy is also inspiring. A good book with a great story that makes an interesting read for most people as this is not a book that discusses the merits of a particular operating system or technology.
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5.0 out of 5 starsThe world has gained much from this man "showing up"
By Heidi Roizen on May 1, 2009
Format: Hardcover
I loved this book. it reads like a pleasant conversation with an affable, interesting, kindly man. Yet while the prose is simple and straight-forward, the underlying messages are deep and thought-provoking. Mr. Gates covers wide-ranging topics, from an intimate look at his roots and the roots of his children, to national issues of taxation, to global crises of health and humanity. While it is not surprising to hear of a father's love for his children, I was struck by the open-heartedness Mr. Gates shows to extend that love to people in every walk of life around the globe. Throughout the book you find a very consistent picture of a man who puts his all into life, follows a strong moral compass, and cherishes every bit he gets out of life, from monumental milestones to the smallest touching word from a friend. He uses humor, color and candor through personal stories to make his points about what it means to be a parent, a spouse, a friend, and a citizen of the world. The book is a 'fun' read but also has that rare quality of leaving one thinking and inspired. Indeed, this is a man who shows up for life every day, and I believe the world is a much better place for that.
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5.0 out of 5 starsWhat a Functional Family Looks Like
By Sara Engelhardt on June 25, 2009
Format: Hardcover
We're constantly bombarded with fictional and real stories of dysfunctional families. Here, finally, is a first-person history of three generations of a functional one. It's too late for many of us, but this book could be a lifeline for all new parents and those struggling to be good parents. It's neither preachy nor sappy, and in the span of three generations, we see the spectrum of good parenting from a family in the depths of the Great Depression to one with what might be considered an embarrassment of riches.

The book captures both the ordinariness and the exceptional qualities of the Gates family. One exceptional quality is their ability to see themselves as ordinary people, and another is the exceptional quality of their family life. This is how we'd all like to think any "ordinary family" lives. The Gates's understand that the vast majority of families in the world never get to experience this most basic of human needs, and in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, we see them acting on that knowledge.

So much of child rearing today is focused on enrichment external to the family and often to its detriment. We read about well-educated "stay-at-home" moms who are so involved in their child-rearing responsibilities that they neglect their wider community ones and are so dominating their children's upbringing that the father doesn't get to play the important role Bill Gates Sr. played in his children's lives.

In the right hands, this little book could revolutionize how we think about raising children to be successful in whatever they choose to do--but especially in parenting.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsAmazing book.

An amazing book showing true appreciation for even the simplest pleasures in life.

Published 1 month ago by Caleb D. Moyer
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Pleased!!

Published 3 months ago by Ms. Leslie Lawrence
5.0 out of 5 starsBe like Bill Gates, Sr.!

Without Bill Gates Sr., there would be no Bill Gates, Microsoft, or Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Read more

Published 7 months ago by Pat Chang
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Great read, recommend to all ....

Published 7 months ago by RawkinRuby
4.0 out of 5 starsA Good Philosophy of Life

Well written and insightful. It is better to give than receive. We are all in this together. A very good read.

Published 8 months ago by Julia F.
5.0 out of 5 starsJust a terrific way to look at life

Just a terrific way to look at life, and the way to approach opportunity... or create your own. A great parenting book, with lots of anecdotes about raising the Gates kids and... Read more

Published 8 months ago by Payne
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Great book and gift to present to those that 'show up'!

Published 11 months ago by L
5.0 out of 5 starsShowing up and speaking up for good causes

I enjoyed the audio version of this book very much. Recently, Bill and Melinda Gates have been interviewed on the Charlie Rose Show. This book by Bill Gates Sr. Read more

Published 16 months ago by Chad M
4.0 out of 5 starsGood words of wisdom on life and family.

I think this book would be very instructive for all young parents. We get the opportunity to listen to the wisdom of a father (and thru him of the mother), regarding raising... Read more

Published 16 months ago by PlatoFromTexas
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Excellent book and Bill Sr. is a wonderful man!

Published 19 months ago by Don

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