David Epstein’s "Range" Makes Bill Gates’ “Holiday Books 2020” List

09 Dec 2020

On the heels of being named to Bill Gates’ “Must Read” list, David Epstein’s #1 New York Times best-seller Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, has been named as one of only five titles on Gates’ coveted “Holiday Books 2020” list. The honor follows a string of accolades since the APB exclusive speaker released Range last year, including Wharton professor Adam Grant’s “New Leadership Books to Read in 2019,” Inc.’s “2019 Must Read Books” and Amazon’s “Best Business Books of 2019.”

In an admiring blog post in Gates Notes, Gates wrote that his own personal experience and Microsoft’s hiring practices reflected Range’s premise that in most fields, generalists, not specialists, are primed to succeed. “My own career fits the generalist model pretty well,” writes the Microsoft founder. “As a kid, I used to sneak out of my basement bedroom to do late-night coding at the University of Washington, but my passion for computers was always mixed with many other interests. I spent a lot of time reading books on a wide range of topics.” Gates went on to credit the power of generalists with Microsoft’s success. “I believe that one of the key reasons Microsoft took off is because we thought more broadly than other startups of that era,” he wrote in his blog post. “We hired not just brilliant coders but people who had real breadth within their field and across domains. I discovered that these team members were the most curious and had the deepest mental models.”

Gates isn’t the first thought leader to praise Epstein’s work. Malcolm Gladwell, whom Epstein has collegially sparred with over the “10,000 Hour Rule” has written, “David Epstein manages to make me thoroughly enjoy the experience of being told that everything I thought about something was wrong.”

A highly popular speaker whose TED talks have received more than 10.5 million views, Epstein’s engaging presentations and stunning visuals have made him a stand-out speaker in the age of virtual events. He has long been known for his rigorous research and talent for turning studies and facts into captivating stories from the worlds of sports, business, medicine, education and more. Epstein unpacks the science of success—leaving audiences with actionable takeaways to improve how they live, work, teach, parent and prepare for the future.

+Learn More About David Epstein

+Read Bill Gates’ “5 Good Books for a Lousy Year”