This is the story of how a young American student devised a computer program, known as the Microsoft Disk Operating System, or MS-DOS, which rapidly become an industry standard. The book also traces the subsequent evolution of Bill Gates's business empire, which turned him into a multi-millionaire. Today, Bill Gates is becoming the most powerful player in the computer industry, and arguably the richest man in America. Investigative reporters Wallace and Erickson trace Gates's rise to the top - from his days as an unkempt 13-year-old computer hacker to his present-day status as a billionaire CEO. The authors have spoken to childhood friends, employees, business rivals, to present a portrayal of Gates's singular accomplishments, and what the authors desribe as his equally extraordinary brattiness, arrogance and hostility.