By his early thirties, Paul Allen was a world-famous billionaire-and that was just the beginning.

In 2007 and 2008, Time named Paul Allen, the cofounder of Microsoft, one of the hundred most influential people in the world. Since he made his fortune, his impact has been felt in science, technology, business, medicine, sports, music, and philanthropy. His passion, curiosity, and intellectual rigor-combined with the resources to launch and support new initiatives-have literally changed the world.

In 2009 Allen discovered that he had lymphoma, lending urgency to his desire to share his story for the first time. In this long-awaited memoir, Allen explains how he has solved problems, what he's learned from his many endeavors-both the triumphs and the failures-and his compelling vision for the future. He reflects candidly on an extraordinary life.

The book also features previously untold stories about everything from the true origins of Microsoft to Allen's role in the dawn of private space travel (with SpaceShipOne) and in discoveries at the frontiers of brain science. With honesty, humor, and insight, Allen tells the story of a life of ideas made real.

作者：(美国)保罗•艾伦 译者：吴果锦

保罗•艾伦，微软联合创始人，比尔•盖茨最纠缠不清的黄金拍档，最有型的NBA球队老板，摇滚乐队主唱兼吉他手……1953年生于华盛顿州西雅图，曾就读于西雅图一家著名的私立学校湖畔中学，在这里他遇到了比他小2级但对计算机同样痴迷的比尔•盖茨，从此开始了两人爱恨情仇数不尽的人生，并开创了一个时代。

他们一起独占了湖岸中学的唯一一台微型计算机，通宵达旦编程，艾伦将编写商业软件的梦想蓝图描绘给盖茨，两个人一拍即合、为成为IT史上的明星先后辍学，1975年共同创立了微软公司。虽然微软的股票让艾伦在34岁就成为亿万富豪，但在公众眼里，他只能是世界首富背后的男人。当年艾伦也绝对想不到，当他们的分歧越来越多，盖茨会想尽办法将他驱逐出权力核心层。但这都不是最重要得了吧。1982年保罗·艾伦拿到自己罹患癌症的诊断书，转而投身他热爱的其他梦想。

离开比尔盖茨的保罗•艾伦，却活得更精彩。他是动漫迷们最爱的梦工厂的大股东。是西雅图海鹰和NBA的波特兰开拓者的老板。玩摇滚，玩航海，玩太空，玩冒险。即使罹患癌症，他却玩得不亦乐乎，完全忘掉病魔的威胁。他的妹妹朱迪•艾伦称哥哥“感觉不错，乐观依旧”——岂止是感觉不错，他比任何人都要更享受这人生！

保罗•艾伦——世界首富背后的男人，却是世界上拥有最完美人生的人：他实现了他所有的梦想！

保罗•艾伦现居住在美国华盛顿州的Mercer岛。