Have you ever wondered what makes the world's greatest business people, entrepreneurs, and thought-leaders so successful? A healthy dose of luck? Probably. A large amount of start-up capital? Sometimes. A dedication to self-education? Undoubtedly.

But what about the books they read? Is it possible that their approach to life has been shaped by books they've enjoyed? It's certainly not entirely implausible.

Why don't we give it a try? Here are three books that Bill Gates loved in 2017. You can buy them all on Amazon and download them onto your Kindle.

1. Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City

First on the list is Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City. It won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in the non-fiction category.

Written by Harvard sociologist Matthew Desmond, the book uses personal stories and hard data to shine a light on the running battle between tenants, landlords, and the city in one of the poorest areas of Milwaukee.

2. Energy and Civilization: A History [Broken URL Removed]

Gates appears to enjoy non-fiction stories. Energy and Civilization: A History [Broken URL Removed] investigates how the entirety of human development over the last 10,000 years can be traced back to our species ability to harness energy and turn it into heat, light, and motion.

Vaclav Smil is the author. He is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba.

3. The Sympathizer

Despite being a work of fiction, The Sympathizer takes an interestingly unique look at the ill-fated Vietnam War. It won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

The narrator is a communist double agent. The book charts his post-war life in Los Angeles and his ongoing allegiance to his communist bosses in Vietnam.

Note: Bill Gates recommended all three books on his personal website, gatesnotes.com.

Image Credit: Tim RT/Flickr