John Wood’s excellent travel/philanthropy memoir about the founding of Room to Read has been released in paperback. Chosen by Amazon as one of the “Top Ten Business Narratives of 2006” and translated into 15 languages, Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur’s Odyssey to Educate the World’s Children is a great story which has motivated thousands to join the Room to Read movement. Room to Read’s mission is to “partner with local communities throughout the developing world to establish schools, libraries, and other educational infrastructure.” With the surge of support brought on by readers of Wood’s book, Room to Read is set to establish its 5000th library by the end of 2007. Their goal is to nothing less than to build 10,000 libraries by 2010—and impact the lives of 10 million children by 2020.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever wondered what kind of difference they can make in the places they travel. Wood’s descriptions of climbing remote yak trails in Nepal are as compelling as his accounts of fund-raising meetings in Boston and Chicago. Enjoy.
