We are excited to announce that John Wood, Founder and CEO of one of our partner organizations, Room to Read, has written and published a book detailing how he left Microsoft and started Room to Read.  As you know, Room to Read is an award-winning organization dedicated to providing children across the developing world with an opportunity to gain the lifelong gift of education.  Better World Books has raised over $150,000 for Room to Read over the past two years from our book drives and online book sales.

The Book is called Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, and it is available to buy now!  Room to Read has partnered with Giveline, Inc. (www.giveline.com/roomtoread) so that the margin from purchasing this book will be donated directly back to Room to Read.  The book is also available on Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and Borders sites.

Leaving Microsoft details John’s incredible journey from corporate executive to social entrepreneur.  John was once a rising executive at Microsoft.  He thought he had it all: the big paycheck, the corporate apartment, and proximity to legendary software giant Bill Gates.  However, in 1998, he took a vacation that changed his life.

While trekking in the Himalayas, John visited a rural Nepali school and was confronted by the harsh reality faced by millions of children in the developing world — there were no books in the library!

As John left the village that day, the headmaster made a simple request: “Perhaps, Sir, you will some day come back with books.”  This request became a mission, one which John has dedicated “the second chapter of his adult life” to fulfilling:  changing the world one book and one child at a time by setting up schools and libraries across the developing world.

As of July 2006, Room to Read has opened nearly 3,000 libraries with 2 million books, set up over 2000 girls with long term scholarships, and opened nearly 200 schools.   Nearly a million children now have the opportunity to gain the lifelong gift of education.  To learn more visit: www.leavingmicrosoftbook.com and www.roomtoread.org.

The team at Better World Books has read John’s memoir and we highly recommend it.  Publishers Weekly agrees – in a starred review, they described the book as “an infectiously inspiring read [in which] Wood endears himself to the reader with his honesty and introspection.”

We hope that you will not only buy the book, but also share this mail with others.  Better World Books is proud to be funding the amazing work of Room to Read, and we believe that the launch of Leaving Microsoft to Change the World is a wonderful opportunity to share this story with millions of potential supporters.

Sincerely,

The Better World Books Team