67 books like No Such Thing as a Free Gift

The first book written about the Gates Foundation brilliantly unpacks the foundation’s serial, wrong-headed interventions in public education. Written by school teacher Anthony Cody in clear language with compelling argumentation, the book gives voice to the Gates Foundation’s intended beneficiaries: the teachers who say that Bill Gates’s charitable crusade is hurting, not helping, American schools.

Danish scholar Adam Fejerskov spent months in Seattle doing field research, trying to get behind the impenetrable and secretive PR fortress the Gates Foundation has built to guard its humanitarian image. Calling the foundation a “chameleon,’ Fejerskov explores how the foundation publicly presents itself as an innocent philanthropy while actually operating, at turns, like a private company or a political actor.

The book will leave readers troubled by the foundation's enormous power in global affairs and questioning why this power is so unregulated.  

For Bill Gates, there is no bigger philanthropic goal than eradicating polio, the focus of historian William Muraskin’s book. The author puts a critical lens on the polio eradication campaign not because he is a critic of vaccines but because he’s a critic of colonialism. Why do powerful Western actors—like Bill Gates—get to decide the public health priorities of poor nations? 

And who, really, is the primary beneficiary of the Gates Foundation? The answer I came up with when writing my book is Bill Gates. Between the political influence, public applause, reputational enhancements, and tax benefits, Gates himself is the single biggest beneficiary of the foundation.

If you want to understand the man who runs the Gates Foundation, you must understand the man who ran Microsoft. For this, there is no better text than Hard Drive, the highly readable, magisterial biography of Gates published in 1993.

Reading the book today, the throughlines between Gates’s two careers, as a businessman and philanthropist, are unmistakable: the desire to win at any cost, the questions surrounding his treatment of women, the explosive temper tantrums, and the incredible hubris that drives Gates—that makes him believe he is right and righteous in everything he does, whether he is trying to dominate software markets or malaria research.

Rob Reich, a professor at Stanford University – in observing that we are living in a second gilded age – directly addresses whether the philosophy of philanthropy is in opposition to democracy. 

He answers, with several qualifications, that it very well could be.  He sets it up in the following way: Is philanthropy – the support of privately funded causes that affect society, often in profound ways – an individual act or a social policy? 

He views the question through that prism, of social policy, and concludes that philanthropy “is not just a matter of private morality,” but is “a matter of public morality.”  Just Giving appeals to me because of its comprehensive approach to an issue – the private support of our nation’s charitable organizations – that, while ubiquitous in society, has received too little attention. 

Framing the philanthropic sector within the larger cultural era we’re living through, the authors outline the history of wealth accumulation and then lay out the ‘ontological shift’ necessary for humans to create new ways of sharing resources in order to thrive on this planet. This book allowed me to step back, yet again, from the day-to-day work of reforming and redistributing, to think more broadly about what’s possible when we understand our collective history, humanity, and desire for the future. There are deep societal dynamics upholding the inequities we don’t want, but when we create context for our actions and policies, we can build new frameworks for visioning the possibilities of our shared future. This book will inspire you to be more intentional in how you engage in your philanthropy for the future you truly want.

Jacqueline Novogratz was a successful young woman with a promising career in banking who wanted to truly understand global poverty and find ways to tackle it.

This book tells not only the remarkable story of a favorite hand-knit blue sweater she donated in Virginia and saw again in Rwanda, but her own sometimes fumbling ways to connect her experiences to women living in poverty.

I love this book for its honesty and how the author shares her own mistakes as well as understandings.

In this memoir Scott Harrison, founder of Charity: Water, tells of his transformation from a party-seeking youth to a man of grace and influence. Through his charity, he has brought water and hope to millions.

I am deeply inspired by his journey and how he overcame past mistakes to find a new purpose. I knew Scott during my early days in New York City. I support his cause not only because I respect him personally but also because of his approach to philanthropy. Charity: Water applies innovation to a noble cause.

This is a book I would recommend because it's filled with love and hope. I'm a real fan of books that make you feel good by describing great relationships of all kinds. I especially enjoyed the relationship between the two sisters. The story truly teaches about great romance. When a person is having a bad day, this book will suck you in and leave you with a feeling of happiness. 

It’s the perfect choice for anyone who wonders, “But what can I do? I’m just a kid!” The book is filled with kid-friendly, practical ideas of ways to be kind: offering a smile or a hug; sharing; letting someone else take the first turn; learning words in a new arrival’s language; and much, much more. Each page features work by another terrific artist—it’s absolutely a visual feast for anyone who appreciates good illustration. The bonus is that sales of the book help raise money for a charity that assists refugees trying to make a new start. What could be better than feeling kind just for buying yourself a new book!