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A review by dashtaisen
The Bill Gates Problem: Reckoning with the Myth of the Good Billionaire by Tim Schwab
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.0
This was a tough read. It's long, very thorough, meticulously researched, and infuriating. Tim Schwab makes a strong case that Gates and his foundation are a "canker on democracy".
Some of the sections felt like a slog, not so much because of the writing, but because the Gates Foundation MO is so predictably slimy. Schwab tries to keep his harshest criticism directed at Gates and his cronies, and does point out that grantees are often deeply conflicted about receiving foundation money. But clearly there wasn't enough room in the book for a thorough explanation of the nonprofit industrial complex, and as a result, some of his criticisms of grantees feel unfair.
Schwab's vision for the future in the conclusion is extremely sensible and an unusual ray of hope in an otherwise deeply depressing book.
Some of the sections felt like a slog, not so much because of the writing, but because the Gates Foundation MO is so predictably slimy. Schwab tries to keep his harshest criticism directed at Gates and his cronies, and does point out that grantees are often deeply conflicted about receiving foundation money. But clearly there wasn't enough room in the book for a thorough explanation of the nonprofit industrial complex, and as a result, some of his criticisms of grantees feel unfair.
Schwab's vision for the future in the conclusion is extremely sensible and an unusual ray of hope in an otherwise deeply depressing book.