Leaving Microsoft to Change the World by John Wood

I absolutely loved reading this book, so much so that I even read a couple pages one day during an incredibly boring conference call. John Wood writes a fascinating memoir of leaving his high-power job at Microsoft in favor of starting a non-profit organization. He founded the non-profit Room to Read after a visit to Nepal, and several years later it is thriving with millions of dollars of grants and programs in several countries.

Room to Read's purpose is to set up libraries and schools in underserved countries. John Wood is courageous, bright, and a great combination of dreamer and executor. Early in the book, he starts with a grass-roots effort to get books to Nepal. As time goes on, he uses all his skills and all his connections to make Room to Read a successful business, and it is as interesting to read as an entrepreneurial book as it is a humanitarian one. I finished this book feeling both ashamed and inspired.