Leaving Microsoft to Change the World

Q: Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?

No, you don’t have to buy the ebook to participate, but we do recommend it to get the most out of your club. There are several premium social reading features that are only available when you buy the ebook, like annotations, reactions, comment threads, resources, discussion prompts, and more, all embedded right in the text. It’s a unique and immersive way to read.

Q: Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?

It’s annoying, we know. App store rules prevent us from selling directly in the app, so for now you can only purchase ebooks on our website. Don’t worry: when you purchase an ebook on the web, it’s automatically added to your bookshelf in the app.

Q: How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?

Kindle is a straightforward e-reader; Fable is an interactive e-reader that includes social features inside the ebooks. When you read an ebook on Fable, you can see and react to the text with others in real time. Start a discussion, share highlights and quotes, add emoji reactions—all of it lives right inside the book. It’s hard to explain and easy to see, so we recommend reading the free sample in one of our most active clubs to get a feel for it.

Q: Do you sell physical books too?

We do not sell physical books at this time. Wish we did? Let us know why here!

Q: Are book clubs free to join on Fable?

Most of our clubs are completely free to join. The only exceptions are clubs marked as “Premium” or “Career Development,” which do require a fee. You can find out more on each club’s detail page.

Q: How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?

The first step is to download the Fable app. From there, you’ll be able to create your own private or public book club and invite others to read with you. Once your club is created, click on the plus sign under “Currently reading” and search for this book to add it to your club.

By John Wood

Why read on Fable?

Discover social reading

Chat inside the ebook with emojis, comments and more

Annotate with notes, tabs, and highlights

Share or keep your notes private with our annotation features

Support the World Literacy Foundation

We donate 20% of every book sale to help children learn to read

Publisher Description

John Wood discovered his passion, his greatest success, and his life's work not at business school or helping lead Microsoft's charge into Asia in the 1990s but on a soul-searching trip to the Himalayas. He made the difficult decision to walk away from his lucrative career to create Room to Read, a nonprofit organization that promotes education across the developing world. By the end of 2007, the organization will have established over 5,000 libraries and 400 schools, and awarded long-term scholarships to more than 3,000 girls, giving more than one million children the lifelong gift of education.

If you have ever pondered abandoning your desk job for an adventure and an opportunity to give back, Wood's story will inspire you. He offers a vivid, emotional, and absorbing tale of how to take the lessons learned at a hard-charging company like Microsoft and apply them to the world's most pressing social problems.

38 Reviews

3.5

gg_reads

Created over 2 years ago

Chasen Robbins

Created over 3 years ago

brightly.unfiltered

Created about 4 years ago

Syahiran

Created over 4 years ago

“Siapa dapat sangka bahawa suatu hari jalan hidup yang kita biasa lalui akan berubah 100%. Begitulah yang terjadi pada John Wood penulis buku Leaving Microsoft to Change The World yang pernah memangku jawatan tertinggi di syarikat terkenal dunia iaitu Microsoft. Dengan hanya satu pengembaraan secara backpacker di Nepal, penulis berjumpa dengan seorang guru sebuah kampung di banjaran Himalaya untuk melihat kehidupan kanak-kanak sekolah yang terpaksa menunggu giliran untuk belajar di bilik darjah, buku-buku yang terpaksa disimpan dan dikunci dalam almari, kuantiti buku pula sangat sedikit tidak padan dengan kuantiti murid (itupun melalui sumbangan pengembara) dan peratusan penduduk yang boleh membaca sangatlah rendah berbanding negara membangun lain. Daripada pengalaman itulah penulis membuat keputusan besar dalam hidupnya dengan meletak jawatan sebagai Pengarah Pembangunan Microsoft lalu menubuhkam satu badan organisasi NGO dinamakan Room to Read bagi menyumbang buku-buku di perpustakaan sekolah (objektif awal), membina sekolah, dan memberi biasiswa untuk murid-murid yang susah. Siapa sanggup untuk meninggalkan 'kerusi empuk' yang bertahun-tahun lamanya kita duduk? Dengan pendapatan yang besar, rumah pula ditanggung syarikat, ada pula pemandu sendiri, dan pekerjaan pula sentiasa memerlukan outstation (kerja luar) antara negara, satu keputusan yang cukup berat untuk seseorang itu lakukan. Buku ini menyedarkan bahawa masih ramai lagi yang tidak dapat menikmati kemudahan seperti apa yang orang lain kecapi seperti kemudahan perpustakaan, adanya pengeluaran buku yang sentiasa ditunggu-tunggu oleh pembaca, kemudahan sekolah yang lengkap tanpa perlu berkongsi bilik darjah dan sebagainya. Mereka ini bukannya tidak mahu bersekolah, membaca, mengubah hidup, malah mereka sentiasa mengharapkan kejaiban pendidikan mampu mengubah status hidup, cumanya tidak ada ruang dan peluang untuk memeluk mimpi tersebut.”

Venkataraman Ganesan

Created over 4 years ago

“A well deserved break from a frenetic work schedule at the world's most renowned bellweather company for technology, Microsoft changed the world of John Wood, and unbeknownst to him at that time, the trajectory of a million little lives. A chance encounter with an education co-ordinaator Pasupathi, makes John Wood undertake a steep climb to one of the most impoverished schools in Nepal. This school in the idyllic but isolated setting of Bahunnanda, has a library that is not only decrepit but one whose books, for the purpose of preservation have been firmly locked away in a cabinet. This image of an empty library racks John's peace and bliss and upon returning to his adopted city of Beijing, he arrives at a momentous decison of resigning his plum position of Marketing Director at Microsoft and committing himself to empowering childrens education. This autobiography insipires, delights and amazes the reader in equal measure. The travails and tribulations faced by John Wood in setting up and consequently running his charitable organisation "Room to Read" is both enervating as well a fulfilling. Today as per the statistics published on its website (roomtoread.org), more than 1,900 schools with 17,000 libraries and 2,300 classrooms have been built across Nepal, India, Vietnam, Cambodia and Africa. 9.7 million chldren are directly impacted by this noble endeavour of John Wood. My personal exhortation would be for everybody to read this book and most importantly hit the website of John Wood's wonderful initiative and get involved in whichever way one finds it feasible. "Leaving Microsoft" - A clarion call for making Planet Earth a better place than what it is today!”

About John Wood

After earning an MBA at the prestigious Kellogg School of Management, John Wood worked for several years in banking before joining Microsoft in 1991. Through hard work and determination, he ascended rapidly, earning coveted overseas assignments in Australia and China. While serving as Microsoft's Director of Business Development for the Greater China region, Wood decided to change his life's focus to help children break the cycle of poverty through the lifelong gift of education. In 2000, he founded Room to Read, a nonprofit organization that promotes literacy in Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and soon in Africa. When not traveling the world fund-raising and visiting Room to Read communities, he lives in San Francisco.