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Steve Jobs

by Walter Isaacson

4.17 · rating details · 18,098 ratings · 2,798 reviews

Based on more than forty interviews with Jobs conducted over two years--as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues--Walter Isaacson has written a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolut...more

Hardcover, 1st edition, 630 pages

Published October 24th 2011 by Simon & Schuster (first published January 1st 2011)

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Jan 24, 2012

Stephanie rated it

Shelves: biography

Steve Jobs was a damn dirty hippie.

He didn't much like to shower or wear shoes. He believed his diet kept him from getting stinky, not true apparently. In fact he was quite odd and obsessive about his diets, he would go on kicks where he would eat nothing but carrots for long periods of time until he turned orange (maybe John Boehner is on this diet, no pretty sure it's Cheetos). This makes me wonder if these strange eating habits brought on his cancer. Who can say.

Stev...more

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Nov 10, 2011

Lisa rated it

There are three things necessary for a great biography:

1. A compelling subject
2. An engaging narrative
3. Accuracy

Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs has all three.

Steve Jobs was a fascinating person whose powerful personality and extraordinary life make for a very compelling read. He revolutionized many different technological and entertainment industries by successfully blending technology and the liberal arts, giving consumers products they didn't e...moreThere are three things necessary for a great biography:

1. A compelling subject
2. An engaging narrative
3. Accuracy

Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs has all three.

Steve Jobs was a fascinating person whose powerful personality and extraordinary life make for a very compelling read. He revolutionized many different technological and entertainment industries by successfully blending technology and the liberal arts, giving consumers products they didn't even know they wanted. He was able to defy reality by simply refusing to accept it (a phenomenon referred to as his "reality distortion field"), enabling him to do the impossible. On a personal level, Jobs was a very sensitive and emotional man, yet he was unable to empathize with the feelings of others, which, along with his "reality distortion field," led to him act in unsavory ways towards people in both his personal and professional life. After reading this book it was easy to understand why Jobs is such a polarizing figure. But whether you love or hate him, it's impossible to deny that he had a major impact on the world, or that he was an interesting person.

Isaacson's narrative style is engaging. Rather than listing a bunch of facts and quotes, which would make for a very dull read, he uses them to construct a story about Jobs' life. The book is also structured in a logical fashion. Although largely chronological, the chapters do center around a certain theme. Isaacson also avoids getting bogged down by technological details, which can be a temptation in a book that features a computer company. Even when the technological aspects of a product are necessary to illustrate a point, they are explained simply so that even a reader who is not tech savvy can understand.

In terms of accuracy, I can only judge based on what I know from other sources as well as my impression after reading the biography. I do not have the resources or connections to go through every assertion made and verify them. I can, however, assess whether or not Isaacson appeared to be presenting an overly positive or negative picture. I believe that Isaacson presents a realistic picture of Jobs that includes both the positive and negative sides to his personality. Jobs comes across as a real person with a lot of flaws and perhaps a mental illness, but who has also accomplished some amazing things. I did not get the feeling that Isaacson was trying to whitewash or defame him.

This is not to say that Isaacson is unbiased, but I have yet to find a biographer who isn't. A biographer must be passionate about his or her subject in order to devote the time needed to write a thorough biography, and with passion comes bias, whether positive or negative. Isaacson was positively biased towards Jobs, however, this did not prevent him from exposing the darker side of Jobs' personality. He also contradicts Jobs' own statements with both facts and other people's accounts. I appreciated that he included both sides of a story.

However, he does tend to justify Jobs' obnoxious behavior and negative personality traits by reminding the reader that these behaviors and traits also led him to do great things, and achieve the impossible. It often seems as though Isaacson is implying that the ends justify the means, although the reader is able to form his or her own opinion. If you can ignore Isaacson's apologetic tone, which is present throughout, the biography does present a balanced picture of Jobs.

Overall, I really enjoyed this biography. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Steve Jobs, Apple, or is interested in particularly influential people. Although Pixar plays a much smaller role, there are also some interesting stories about how Pixar came to be what it is today. I would not recommend this biography to Apple haters or Steve Jobs haters due to Isaacson's apologetic presentation of Jobs' negative traits, nor would I recommend it to fans who would rather remember an idealized version of Jobs. Also, I'd caution readers to remember that this is a biography about Steve Jobs, not about the history of Apple. While Apple is featured in this biography quite a bit since it was a huge part of Jobs' life, more so than his other companies or even his family, there are pieces of Apple's story that are missing or glossed over, presumably because in the grand scheme of Jobs' life, they were not that important. If you are looking for a complete profile of Apple, this is not it, although it will give you some interesting insights into the company, and provide a detailed, though incomplete, history.

Disclaimer: I think it's important to note my personal history with Apple. I have been drinking the Apple koolaid for about twenty years, which is most of my life. In high school, I used to get into debates with people over whether Macs or PCs were better, often being the only Mac defender in a group arguing for PCs. Like any Apple fanatic, I've regarded Steve Jobs with a sort of reverence usually reserved for rock stars and actors. I was, therefore, deeply interested in reading about his life. Take what you will from my review given my feelings towards Apple, and the man who made the company what it is today.(less)

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Dec 07, 2011

Otis Chandler rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: business, biography

This is an amazing inside view into the life of one of the great businessmen of our era. A must read.

The thing that struck me most about Steve Jobs was that he was an incredible perfectionist. He was a craftsman, and wanted the computers he built to be beautiful and amazing and useful. He believed that computers were "at the intersection of technology and liberal arts" - a phrase he used a lot - because he realized computers weren't just for geeks. They are for everyone, and...more

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Nov 15, 2011

Gerard rated it

My background is as a post-1979 punk rocker. So naturally I view all dope-gorging smelly long hair Dylan-worshiping hippies with a certain amount of suspicion and disdain.

The author shows, on a page-by-page basis, what an insufferable asshole Steve Jobs was. I'm not exaggerating. But the book left me wondering: why? how did he become this way?

The book is fairly well researched, but except for a precious few anecdotes about his youth, very little is said about his upbring...more

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Nov 08, 2011

Lynne Spreen rated it

Wow. I'm halfway through this book and, while it's well-written and interesting, I can't get over what a jerk SJ was. Yes, he was brilliant and all that. But he seemed to view other humans as nothing more than ants in his ant farm, sub-biologicals that he could squish whenever he felt like it. And did.

Some might say that his gifts to tech development, that he changed and invented whole industries, would compensate. Maybe the two things went together, cruelty and brilliance.

...more

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view all 16 comments

Lynne Spreen I don't agree. I'll give you some examples:

He lied to people. He ripped them off, literally. He denied them legitimate pay and benefits and ...more
Dec 18, 2011 01:24pm

Sid Carter We can argue over and over about this, but we may not agree eventually.

What am I trying to say? His good does not exist without his bad (wha...more
Dec 18, 2011 02:50pm

Jan 02, 2012

A. marked it as to-read

Shelves: to-buy

the man died yesterday!!!!

Already there are reviews on his biography book?!!!!WOW

They make books faster than we blink!!!!

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Jan 10, 2012

Donna marked it as to-read

Just watched the 60 Minutes interview about this book. I normally wouldn't have considered reading it right away, but it is supposed to be a very true account of Jobs, not just a flattering acount either. I say that because I admire what he did in his work and with his life and I like to read about the failures as well as the successes of accomplished people. I'm not looking for juicy dirt, I just feel a connection to people who actually struggle with various things. That's much more enrichin...more

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Jan 10, 2012

J rated it

I saw Walter Isaacson on the Charlie Rose Show, and bought the book with reservations since I had previously read his biography of Einstein where I found the author's concern with minutiae annoying and his writing style lack-luster at times. This didn't happen so much with Steve Jobs' Biography.

I recall Isaacson stating rather early in the book that he might be accused of writing something apologetic and perhaps maybe even stand accused of being under the spell of one of the most i...moreI saw Walter Isaacson on the Charlie Rose Show, and bought the book with reservations since I had previously read his biography of Einstein where I found the author's concern with minutiae annoying and his writing style lack-luster at times. This didn't happen so much with Steve Jobs' Biography.

I recall Isaacson stating rather early in the book that he might be accused of writing something apologetic and perhaps maybe even stand accused of being under the spell of one of the most influential people in contemporary history's 'reality distortion machine.' The biography seemed fair enough, but I think it may have come too early. It is enjoyable and even has some enduring life lessons, but in the end, I think Walter Isaacson soft-peddled more than he needed to.

Consequently, I wonder how much of Jobs' biography is influenced by Walter Isaacson's world view and vice-versa.

Personally, I think Isaacson didn't reveal anything more than what was already floating in the ether about Steve Jobs, the man. Moreover, it seems the juiciest tidbits offered up by the author came in his varied interviews when he was touring the talk shows to hype the book. While my knowledge of Steve Jobs was next to nothing before I read the book, my perspective of him post-Isaacson, is that of a rather emotionally labile, petulant, brilliant man who was given to extremes of self consumption, willfulness that not only attested to his creative genius, but contributed to at least three life-changing disasters - one with the gravest consequences of all for him because it quite likely killed him.

Because only three significant disasters were written of by Issacson, it becomes a matter of reading between the lines. I am left with the feeling that the author purposefully gives his readership bones so that they can sort of build the final character according to their personal likes. To that end, this biography seems a bit skewed. That is why I give this book 3 stars out of a possible 5; it is likeable enough but seems lacking in substance.

I don't know how, or why other people read biographies, but my reasons focus on understanding people and how they influenced their respective worlds. As a result, I tend to look for examples "what-to-do's" and "what-not-to-do's" as I read. While I remain convinced that few if any biographies ever accomplish what they boldly set out to do; convey a complete, unbiased vetting of what makes up a person's life, it seems even harder to summarize a book - even less so, a life - in merely one sentence, but here goes; being bold and determined in your decisions is a double edged razor that has the potential to cut in your favor but it can also cost you your life.

In biographies, sometimes it's not what you say. It's how you say it. Additionally, sometimes it's about what you don't say or perhaps, that you elect not to say it. Finishing up with this book leaves me with those niggling questions. Unfortunately, I don't think I really know much more about Steve Jobs than I did in the past. I do know however, more about the history of Apple, and that was worth paying for.

Perhaps that is what Isaacson should have framed his book as; a history of Apple's rise, fall and rise again - rather than a biography about Steve Jobs. Apple was, after all, what defined Steve Jobs and is, in large part, what will reflect his legacy.(less)

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Jan 20, 2012

Ayushi rated it

Wowie. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. The biography's great. I wonder how much did Jobs influence the content despite reports to the contrary. I think I laughed, cried ,gasped and even threw the book against the wall (really ! I am behaving steve-ish) .5 stars. And the back cover is hot :P I think I stared at it for 20 minutes. Recommended.

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Nov 17, 2011

William rated it

I am a little surprised this book ended up being such a disappointment. Walter Isaacson just doesn't know that much about the tech industry and, despite the opportunity and access, didn't learn enough to make it interesting. The one saving grace was the participation of Steve Jobs, his friends, and family, and this alone rescues the book from a lower rating.

Granted, this biography is meant for a mass audience, not someone who is a regular listener of Apple podcasts (yes, like me). T...more

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Feb 13, 2012

Tamra rated it

Shelves: biography

4 & 1/2 stars really. I mean, my life isn't totally changed to never be the same again, but it was awwwwwsome (said in a singing tone)!!!!!! Let's start with #1. Great writing! I don't know how Isaacson did such a good job, no, a great job with keeping on task with his time line. Not easy! #2. I love, love, love that Steve Jobs told Isaacson that there was no skeleton in his closet that he couldn't drag out. That allowed us to have a clear, honest perspective of his life. #3. This book...more

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Nov 28, 2011

Michael rated it

Shelves: nonfiction-reference, inspirational-hoohah

Entertaining and almost always fascinating, if not particularly deep or insightful. More the superficial portrait that is probably inescapable so soon after the subject's demise. More penetrating bios will, I suspect, have to wait, and will have a more selective focus.

Because it is clear other bios will have to be written: Jobs is a fascinating character, at once an admirable visionary and complete unapologetic brat asshole. Clearly the products he oversaw/drove the creation of are ...moreEntertaining and almost always fascinating, if not particularly deep or insightful. More the superficial portrait that is probably inescapable so soon after the subject's demise. More penetrating bios will, I suspect, have to wait, and will have a more selective focus.

Because it is clear other bios will have to be written: Jobs is a fascinating character, at once an admirable visionary and complete unapologetic brat asshole. Clearly the products he oversaw/drove the creation of are mostly the cobbled-together innovations of many other people who worked for him, but equally clear is that the passion and ego and big-picture thinking that was able to collect and keep track of all the smaller picture details was Jobs' and Jobs' alone. It is tempting to say that catering to that artistic consumer technological vision meant short-changing other parts of his personality, such as the part that feels empathy for people, but such an excuse feels like just that: an excuse. It was a choice Jobs made. He chose to be a brat, to indulge his worst qualities.

But more than just a bio, this is a swell surface accounting of an era, when the rate of technological change was so rapid that the end place—in which I read the book on an e-reader and posted notes with a smartphone—is practically unimaginable in the book's humble beginnings, and was more the stuff of science fiction. Which makes Jobs' early visions—of a computer no bigger than a clamshell notebook—all the more remarkable.

[Earlier entry follows]
Am about 150 pages into this fat biography and pretty much loving it. It's a hagiography neither of Jobs nor of the tech industry, for which I'm grateful. (If anyone comes off as vaguely saintlike, it is sweet, affable Steve Wozniak, who never tells a lie and always thinks the best of people.) Kind of awesome that Isaacson so clearly portrays what a self-indulgent ass Steve Jobs was ... and why that was part of what made him a driving force in an industry that in its infancy was all too willing to be "pragmatic." So the book is inspirational, in a way, though rife with behavorial cautionary tales.

Perhaps what I've loved most about it is the swift evocation of California in the seventies. As someone who grew up there and then, this vividly brought back the seventies and a US culture that is vastly different from the one we have now. I don't know what it was like elsewhere, but I can tell you that much of the suburban San Diego experience mirrors the early Silicon Valley lifestyle captured in this bio (minus the brainy engineers playing with cool junk in their garages; in my neighborhood, we fixed cars). Specifically, it reminded me of those days in seventh grade of learning BASIC on the loathsome TRS-80s (Trash 80s) and not being allowed to work on the Apple II, putting together stupid little programs that did the simplest crap like run multiple choice quizzes. I was telling someone the other day about how back then we would dial up a BBS by putting a phone handset into a cradle with rubber suction cups that fit over mouth and earpiece, and she didn't believe me. That, to her, was such ancient history as to only be the province of dusty books in classroom libraries. Reminded me of when one of the assistants started at Harcourt and couldn't figure out the typewriter because she had never seen one before, turning and asking, "Where's the 'Print' button?"(less)

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Nov 17, 2011

Peter added it

Executive summary of Isaacson's "Steve Jobs":

- Remove everything that is unnecessary.
- Be ruthless about building an A team.
- Make stuff you believe in.
- Collaborate often through vigorous discussion.
- Push yourself and others to do the impossible now.
- Make great experiences by simplifying.
- Own your work and protect it.
- Live at intersection of intellect and intuition.

But these are not spoilers. The drama of this biog...more

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Dec 04, 2011

Lisa (Ravenswood) rated it

Since his death in October, those of us who use Apple products and/or have a strong interest in technology have read various obituaries, tributes in blogs, and reviews of the Isaacson book. Like other books by Isaacson I have read over the years, this book is beautifully written, very well documented, honest in its criticism and praise of Jobs, and really compelling. The end is of course very sad, no matter how you may have felt about Jobs as a human being. He was both a creative genius and ...moreSince his death in October, those of us who use Apple products and/or have a strong interest in technology have read various obituaries, tributes in blogs, and reviews of the Isaacson book. Like other books by Isaacson I have read over the years, this book is beautifully written, very well documented, honest in its criticism and praise of Jobs, and really compelling. The end is of course very sad, no matter how you may have felt about Jobs as a human being. He was both a creative genius and a very difficult person to be around not only in the work environment, but with his own family and friends, and at the end, even his doctors and nurses.

As a bonus, Isaacson also provides an excellent, well-documented, and honest description of the culture of Silicon Valley and the history of the rise, the fall, and the rise again of Apple.
Having worked in Silicon Valley, I was able to have a front row seat to amazingly rapid and fascinating technological advances. I worked with very intelligent, creative, decent, incredibly hard-working people who lived in simple ranch houses and drove nondescript cars. We were never bored. We worked long hours. Eventually we may have even been rewarded financially. But there was another culture in Silicon Valley. There were the personalities, Jobs among them, who landed on the cover of Wired or Fortune. They would be interviewed by Charlie Rose on PBS. Personalities such as Ellison at Oracle, Jim Clark at Silicon Graphics and Netscape, and Scott McNealy at Sun Microsystems, had very strong, notoriously difficult and demanding personalities and super inflated egos. They accumulated vast wealth. They fought with their neighbors over the height of their backyard fences. They built expensive yachts and travelled in custom designed private airplanes. Yes, some of them, such as Hewlett and Packard, or Andrew Grove at Intel, have made significant investments in philanthropic activities. Of course, Bill Gates seems now to be more respected for his global philanthropic activities than for his contributions to Microsoft

Jobs personality in particular was very inconsistent, as though he possessed some sort of split personality. He and his family lived in a basic middle class neighborhood in Palo Alto (north of Apple headquarters in Cupertino). They had no security presence in their lives, unlike many. Yet Jobs regularly drove down 101 (a notoriously dangerous freeway) at 100 mph in his Mercedes AMG (a $100,000 car he replaced annually) with no license plates and, once arriving at work, deliberately parked across two handicapped spaces while declining the “status” of his own personal CEO parking space. When pulled over for speeding or for driving without plates, he would make an excuse to the officer, speed off again, miracuously arriving safely at his destination.

Jobs read the Autobiography of a Yogi once a year and spent time at Buddhist retreats. However, these pursuits did not give him any sense of tranquillity. He could be brutal, extremely hyper-critical with his employees, his suppliers, distributors and ad agencies. He was a genius in directing the creation of remarkable technologies (Apple II, Mac, iPod, iPhone, iPad,)frequently copying the work of researchers as Xerox Parc however. He founded the wildly successful Pixar Animation Studios with its long run producing blockbuster animated films. But, he made terribly wrong decisions about his own health. He dressed simply but had bizarre eating habits, eating nothing but carrot juice for months, going on fasts, and adamantly declining food that would assist in building up his immune system during his lengthy illness. I found his treatment of doctors and nurses to be outrageous, but it was very honestly conveyed to Isaacson by Jobs’ wife, Laurene Powell, certain close friends, and even doctors. Waiting for death to take him, Jobs could not resist complaining about the design of his oxygen mask. What would Freud have thought? What type of behavior is this?

The chapters on the design of the iPod, the MAC, and the Apple stores were fascinating and also indicative of the very demanding and obsessive nature of Jobs personality. I do appreciate the simplicity of Apple's products, the Zen-like design of devices such as the Macbook Pro and the white iPhone. However I feel guilty possessing them knowing they were produced in China in horrible sweatshop factories, such as Foxcomm, where workers have even committed suicide after working very long hours for very low wages and feeling completely hopeless of ever rising above these conditions.

The corporate history of Apple is also told is a very readable and well-documented detail. His dealings with others, including executives at suppliers and distributors, tech journalists, and powerful CEO’s such as Eisner at Disney, are fascinating and provide insights into the egos behind the CEO culture. Also compelling are the background stories behind the first firing of Jobs after his fall-out with former Pepsi CEO John Scully, his failures (such as the LISA computer and the Next computer) his return and attempt to run the highly successful PIXAR Studios at the same time as he was re-energizing Apple, the controversy surrounding back-dated stock options, the secrecy surrounding his health issues, and his final months. Jobs and his team created many highly successful products. But the failures were also given their fair share of treatment.

What I’m left with most is a feeling of sadness for his family, his three daughters, his wife, his son, and his sister, Mona Simpson. As his wife, Laurene Powell, discussed at the end of the book (pages 543 – 544), “he’s not extraordinary in every realm”. His family was neglected, especially his daughters, even as he must have realized he was going to have only a few short months left in this world. Laurene admits to Isaacson that Steve “did not have social graces, such as putting himself in other people’s shoes.” I can’t begin to imagine how emotionally drained Laurene especially must feel as she recovers from the ordeal of caring for her husband during this prolonged illness. After months in denial and avoiding treatment he finally accepted various medical treatments but also insisted upon trying bizarre so-called approaches that may have served to only make his condition worse. I wonder to what degree his angry, frenetic behavior, his anger, his constant need to always be in control of everything may have contributed to the development of the cancer that ultimately killed him.

What was missing from the book was a deeper look at the manufacturing processes behind the iPad, iPhone and other Apple products. I don’t fault Isaacson for this. There simply could not have been time for him to thoroughly research the issues. These can be examined in another book on the subject. China has closed these factories, such as the notorious Foxcomm, to outside visitors. Before complaining about the high price of Apple and other tech products, we should all think of the low wage Chinese factory workers who are suffering serious damage to their health and well-being, even risking their lives, putting together the products we covet. Perhaps the new management at Apple will finally address these and other social welfare issues. Overall, Apple’s products have provided great benefit to so many around the globe. Do such products have to orginate with people possessing such difficult, abusive personalities?
(less)

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Oct 30, 2011

Jane rated it

I'm still not entirely sure what to think. I keep flipflopping between annoyed/disgusted and inspired.

I applaud Isaacson for putting a masterful bio together without succumbing to the Reality Distortion Field and vomiting out a piece of Jobs-worship like some Apple/Steve-related books out there. I also really appreciate all these little anecdotes, some that I have seen before and others that are new and all the more enjoyable, that people that knew and interacted with Steve shared in...moreI'm still not entirely sure what to think. I keep flipflopping between annoyed/disgusted and inspired.

I applaud Isaacson for putting a masterful bio together without succumbing to the Reality Distortion Field and vomiting out a piece of Jobs-worship like some Apple/Steve-related books out there. I also really appreciate all these little anecdotes, some that I have seen before and others that are new and all the more enjoyable, that people that knew and interacted with Steve shared in one way or another.

On the other hand, I like my personal heroes to have a smidgen of friendly and positive virtues like courtesy and generosity. This book blows away many times over any idea I had that Steve might have been a nice guy at heart with occasional and sometimes very public extremism. The stories related to his daughters and many other women in his personal life nauseated me. I'm frustrated that what I already knew to be his horrifying but effective work attitude also crossed over to his personal life. I appreciate his work and his efforts and he is singlehandedly responsible for me being what I am today, but I despise myself at the moment for having thought this dickless asshole as an awesome role model when I was younger. I wasn't expecting perfection in this regard since we are all human after all, but it was eye opening to see the whole picture in a single book.

But that is what I signed up for when I decided to read a no holds barred official bio of Steve, I suppose. Good and bad and worse, all packaged together in a book that is no less beautiful than the products Apple puts out.

Tomorrow, I will probably feel bad about this review and feel more inspired by the positive aspects of this bio to push myself harder to work better and to do what is right, like Steve would have done. Then the next day I will be frustrated that he didn't have surgery sooner and think about the what ifs. Rinse, repeat.

edit: Tomorrow is today... and Mona's eulogy for her brother is in the NYT (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/opinio...). I think that wonderful eulogy brought more tears to my eyes than this bio or even his death did. Short, simple but beautiful, and more importantly, shows me another side of Steve that is more like the person I thought he was before I read the bio. The side that cared about his family but was hindered by the cancer, spreading and getting worse. Thanks for restoring my faith, Mona.(less)

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Jan 24, 2012

Robert rated it

This biography was started before his death, so it is not the rush job I originally thought that it would be coming out so soon after Jobs died. However, I feel that the detail and insight into his life is much more biased towards his early years. Time starts passing faster and faster the further you get into the book, and it starts to feel less like a look into Jobs and what made him tick, and more of an encyclopedic summary of what was going on at Apple.

It's still a very interestin...more

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Nov 17, 2011

Jeff Yoak rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: audio-collection, read-in-2011, books-recommended-to-everyone

I'm going to post my blog entry on this in its entirety, even though it covers thoughts not strictly related just to the biography, but the biography inspired it all.

I recently finished reading Steve Jobs, the well-written and extensive biography by Walter Issacson. Apple's products, and accordingly Steve Jobs, have made a big impact in my life. First and foremost, computers add a lot more to my life than they would have without the products Apple makes, but also they've influenced m...more

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Nov 29, 2011

Katie rated it

Shelves: biography

Oops! The publishers forgot to include a subtitle, so I've taken the liberty of helping them come up with one. May I suggest:

Steve Jobs: Unrelenting Narcissist, Suspected Sociopath and Giant Fucking Asshole

Isaacson writes a great biography: He tells a coherent, cohesive story, he interviews all the players and most important he doesn't feel the need to hoist his subject on a pedestal with his pen. When it comes to carrying a story, our author did all the right things.
...moreOops! The publishers forgot to include a subtitle, so I've taken the liberty of helping them come up with one. May I suggest:

Steve Jobs: Unrelenting Narcissist, Suspected Sociopath and Giant Fucking Asshole

Isaacson writes a great biography: He tells a coherent, cohesive story, he interviews all the players and most important he doesn't feel the need to hoist his subject on a pedestal with his pen. When it comes to carrying a story, our author did all the right things.

His subject, however, left much to be desired. It's startling to see how someone can be so immensely successful in one aspect of his life and such a complete, utter failure in virtually every other. To illuminate just a few of the many failings of Steve Jobs, allow me to expound upon my proposed subtitle:

Unrelenting Narcissist: It's true that if you're going to launch a business in a cutthroat industry and be willing to fight to the death to succeed, you gotta believe in yourself. Jobs, however, took a little positive self-esteem to a whole new level and chose to recreate truth to position himself in the best light. He steals the concept of the GUI from Xerox and it's collaborative sharing, but Microsoft does, well, anything and it's because they're thieves, and we have no respect for thieves. Good ideas? He took credit for them, even if he would veto them upon first review. The man truly believed he could do no wrong, and I can't help but think he probably, just before taking his last breath, was thinking, "Well there goes the future of Apple."

Suspected Sociopath: To be clear, I'm using the term "sociopath" like I would if I were Wong's junior psychologist on SVU: that is, to define someone with an anti-social personality disorder. The man - Jobs, not Wong; Wong is amazing - fit the profile to a T: Despite having the ability to charm someone's head off when he needed to, Jobs had an absolute lack of genuine regard for almost everyone around him - his wife, his employees, his poor, cast-aside daughters (his son seemed to escape his scorn, which is a charmingly sexist detail), even his supporters (I can't bring myself to call them friends) who were there for him from the beginning. If a person could not - or could no longer - provide a benefit to Jobs, he would cast them aside...but not before cruelly shitting mounds of aggression and abuse all over their bare heads. See? Sociopath.

Giant Fucking Asshole: There are seriously almost too many examples of this to count, but let me curate a sample for your consideration. 1). He screwed one of the founding members of Apple out of founders stock that would now be practically priceless. 2). He thinks he can explain away the abuse he doled out to employees by saying that was "just who I am." Seriously? Do you not think that the people around you want to rip your head off every single day? They do, I assure you. But you know what? They hold it in, because collaborative, encouraging environments are better for everyone (unless you're a narcissist and/or a sociopath, in which case, see above). 3). There's something atrocious about a multi-multi-multi-billionaire who can envision how personal computers/GUIs/the mouse/touchscreens/computer animation/digital music/tablets/etc. can change the world for rich consumers, but who can't see that a fraction of his wealth could have changed the world for people who don't have water.

It's undeniable that Jobs was fantastically talented and will go down in the books as one of the great visionaries in history. I'm writing my review on my MacBook, and both my iPhone and my iPad (as well as a slew of iPods, Nanos and Shuffles) are nearby, so I guess the guy was doing something right. Still, I don't believe that being an asshole is the answer, and I don't believe it gets better results; it may not get worse results, but if today's Apple is what he created with vinegar, then I'd love to see what he could have done with honey.(less)

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Jan 23, 2012

Ken Pichakun rated it

· review of another edition

เป็นหนังสือที่ไม่มีเล่มไหนเปลือยชีวิตของสตีฟจ็อยส์ได้มากขนาดนี้เลย อ่านเล่มนี้แล้วทำให้รู้สึกว่าชีวิตของเขาช่างน่าเหลือเชื่อมาก มีทั้งช่วงชีวิตที่กากสุดๆและก็รุ่งเรืองสุดๆ ถ้าอยากอ่านชีวประวัติของสตีฟจ็อบส์ที่ไม่ผ่านการปรุงแต่ง คือไม่อวยเว่อร์เหมือนเล่มอื่น แนะนำให้อ่านเล่มนี้โลด

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Nov 18, 2011

Eileen rated it

Steve Jobs, Bill Gates...fascinating men. Genius's who have forever changed the world.

Jobs would have been difficult to work for yet his passion/obsession for Apple has impacted all of us.

I think he died with dignity, certainly his family buried him with quiet dignity....no jets overhead, just private family memorial.

I was impressed by his 'awe' of the Beatles and his quest to come to terms with the Beatles, Apple and music for his Ipods. I had no idea what was inv...more

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Jan 12, 2012

Moonbutterfly rated it

Shelves: biography, favorites

Essentially this is a historical overview of Apple, along with Jobs founding of NeXT and Pixar. Many products are mentioned with a special emphasizes on the Apple 2, iMac, iPod, iPhone and the iPad; also included is Jobs wrangling with the music and publishing businesses. Details of Jobs’ personal life are slim, and his life before Apple is almost non-existent. The exception to this is Job's struggle with cancer which is adequately covered. There is an unusual stress on Job's personality in the ...moreEssentially this is a historical overview of Apple, along with Jobs founding of NeXT and Pixar. Many products are mentioned with a special emphasizes on the Apple 2, iMac, iPod, iPhone and the iPad; also included is Jobs wrangling with the music and publishing businesses. Details of Jobs’ personal life are slim, and his life before Apple is almost non-existent. The exception to this is Job's struggle with cancer which is adequately covered. There is an unusual stress on Job's personality in the first half of the book, but this is toned down in the second half. This is probably attributed to book's rushed release, and as a result, it is not as polished as Isaacson's other biographies.

Having been in technology since 1990, I was impressed how accurate the author was with a few exceptions. It was fun to relive the launch of the Apple 2 and the iMac. It was also glad the author exposed many misconceptions about Apple. Apple did not invent the user graphical interface, personal computer, MP3 players, smart phones, or tablets. Apple is an innovating company that takes existing technology and makes it better. Jobs did not invent these technologies. The author also brings up the subject of open and closed systems, and how Apple censors and inhibits consumer choice. I was really impressed by the author’s knowledge about this topic.

The author gets stuck in Job's “reality distortion field”, when he states that Jobs revolutionized the music business with the iTunes store. Not only did Jobs not revolutionize this business, but he was late to the party by many years. eMusic started business in 1998 and Rhapsody in 2001. iTunes didn’t come on the scene until 2003. The standard price for .99 for a music track was already a standard, but Apple wants people to believe they set the standard. This type of mentality is what makes me really dislike Apple and companies like it.

This will be controversial, and is not the perspective of the author, but Jobs was a not a designer nor was he an artist. To me, Steve Job acts like he is in the category of Picasso but yet he can't paint. Jobs is good at pushing people to come up with designs he likes, and then critiques and streamlines the design. This is not a designer but a product manager. The backlash from this, as the book points out, is investors thought Apple would sink without Jobs. People actually believe Jobs designed these devices himself, and I really felt bad for the designers in the company. As the book points out, Jobs was good at taking credit for other people’s work. Ethically this is plagiarism – something that drove Jobs nuts when other people did it to him.

In the end, I thought the book was balanced. Job's did accomplish many things in his life, but it's hard to ignore his meanness and arrogance. I found his behavior and personality repulsive. It really says something when a person goes to India to find enlightenment, but yet feels entitled to park in handicap parking spaces. In this respect, Apple fanatics would benefit by reading this book to understand why so many people hate Apple and Steve Jobs. When a person throws you down the stairs, you tend to forget they opened the door for you.
(less)

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Dec 07, 2011

Mike Lewis rated it

Shelves: biography, business, non-fiction, epic, work

I just finished the Steve Jobs book and it was probably one of the most enjoyable books i've read in a long long time. I might say the past 10 years. Here's why:

Steve Jobs really cared about his products, deeply. He had an intuitive feel for what the consumer wanted, and what he wanted. He truly wanted his products to be close to art. Even though very few in the industry believed him, even after the Macintosh had been around for over 10 years, he continued to hold on to this bel...more

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Dec 07, 2011

David rated it

Wow I enjoyed this book! It's got drama, epic battles, triumph, and a really polarizing protagonist.

There's no doubt Steve Jobs was a deeply flawed person, and this book portrayed that aspect of him really well. He screwed over one of his early employees by refusing to grant the employee any founder stock. He constantly called people bozos and their work shit. It seemed he didn't care about and intentionally sabotaged his relationship even with those in his family.

And...moreWow I enjoyed this book! It's got drama, epic battles, triumph, and a really polarizing protagonist.

There's no doubt Steve Jobs was a deeply flawed person, and this book portrayed that aspect of him really well. He screwed over one of his early employees by refusing to grant the employee any founder stock. He constantly called people bozos and their work shit. It seemed he didn't care about and intentionally sabotaged his relationship even with those in his family.

And his life was exciting. The thing is, I really don't think he's that much of an asshole just because he didn't tolerate poor work. Perhaps he was extreme, but his management style of product over politics built a great company. I find myself cheering for him throughout this book, even when he was mean. Take his battle with Michael Eisner as an example. I remember reading legal cases about Disney and Eisner. The cases were about whether the Disney directors breached their fiduciary duties by giving Eisner a bunch of money for basically running Disney to the ground. Eisner represents pretty much everything wrong about a lot of the CEOs in this country, and I find myself cheering for Steve Jobs to be as mean to Eisner as he could be.

This book is long, but I learned a lot about Steve Jobs. Having had similar mood swings and self-destructive behavior but learning to be self-aware as I grow older, I actually don't think Steve Jobs was that messed up or different from the rest of us in many ways. He was a genius, and we just have to accept there are some things we can't explain. There were flashes of his loyalty, love and sadness. I was especially affected by a scene that showed his incomprehension when it came to the subject of his daughter Lisa.

Isaacson did a really good job keeping the story going, except for the last few chapters when it seemed a string of product announcements. To be fair, I might not have found those chapters exciting because most of the stories were already publicized by the blogosphere.

Bonus - this biography taught me how awesome Steve Wozniak is.(less)

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Jan 26, 2012

Michael McLean rated it

A gripping bio of probably the biggest rock star CEO ever. Jobs comes across as a genius that you probably wouldn't want to work for (unless you're a masochist). He's a visionary who's also painstakingly obsessed with the details and the bigger picture. What is admirable about him is his passion for building great products and great companies and he certainly succeeds in both areas.

It's admirable that Jobs, the ultimate control freak, ceded control of the book to Isaacson saying that ...more

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Nov 08, 2011

Josh Bancroft rated it

Shelves: ebooks, kindle, dead-trees

Well researched, thorough, and a more or less unbiased look into the life of one of the most interesting people of our time. Lots of inspiration to be taken and lessons to be learned from Steve, for both good and bad. Highly recommended, whether you're an Apple fan or not, a geek, business person, father, or just plain like an interesting biography.

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Nov 01, 2011

Jose rated it

Shelves: programming

I finally got it! It's started out really well. Personally, I am not a big S. Jobs fan, after reading iWoz he comes across as a jerk, but he accomplished so much in a field full of smart people competing, I am curious about his life. I was not disappointed.

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Jan 01, 2012

Sean rated it

· review of another edition

I'm a tremendous fan of Apple products. I also greatly respect what Steve Jobs accomplished at Apple (and Pixar). The story of his rise, fall from the former and triumphant return is almost mythic. Isaacson tells some mean stories here and is consistently engaging. He also never shies away from depicting how much of a raving prick Jobs often was. To Jobs' credit, Isaacson did so with full cooperation from his subject, beginning years before his demise. What other corporate leader would have will...more

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Nov 15, 2011

Neven rated it

This is an important book, because it contains unique information about Steve Jobs, and quotes from him. It's also rather bland and uninspired. It's not the book we deserve, but it's the only such book we get. Let's hope better ones can be woven out of different cloth.

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Dec 23, 2011

Guenther Johann rated it

ISAACSON, Walter: „Steve Jobs. Die autorisierte Biografie des Apple Gründers“, München 2011
Mehrmals hatte es der Autor abgelehnt, eine Biografie über Steve Jobs, den Apple Gründer zu schreiben. Jobs ist tot und die Biografie liegt vor. Sie zeichnet den zu Beschreibenden nicht von seiner besten Seite. Sie zeigt auch seine negativen Eigenschaften: wie er Menschen beleidigt, wie er jähzornig und spontan aufbrausend sein kann. Sie zeigt aber auch, dass Apple ohne ihn nicht Apple wäre. In der C...moreISAACSON, Walter: „Steve Jobs. Die autorisierte Biografie des Apple Gründers“, München 2011
Mehrmals hatte es der Autor abgelehnt, eine Biografie über Steve Jobs, den Apple Gründer zu schreiben. Jobs ist tot und die Biografie liegt vor. Sie zeichnet den zu Beschreibenden nicht von seiner besten Seite. Sie zeigt auch seine negativen Eigenschaften: wie er Menschen beleidigt, wie er jähzornig und spontan aufbrausend sein kann. Sie zeigt aber auch, dass Apple ohne ihn nicht Apple wäre. In der Computerindustrie werden die Prozess von den Entwicklern bestimmt. Die Designer packen das fertig Entwickelte in einen mehr oder weniger schönen Kasten. Nicht so bei Jobs. Bei ihm redete das Design von Anfang an mit. Er war ein Perfektionist, bei dem auch die Innenseiten der Geräte hohe Qualität haben mussten.
„Er lügt nicht, weil es in seinem Interesse liegt, er lügt, weil es seine Natur ist. In Job´s Natur lag es zu täuschen oder gelegentlich geheimniskrämerisch zu handeln, wenn er es für gerechtfertigt hielt. Andererseits war manchmal auch brutal ehrlich und äußerte Wahrheiten, die die meisten von uns entweder beschönigen oder verschweigen würden. Lügen erzählen und die Wahrheit sagen waren einfach nur verschiedene Aspekte seiner Einstellung im Sinne Nietzsches, dass die üblichen Regeln für ihn nicht zuträfen.“ (Seite 369)
Steve sagt in diesem Buch im O-Ton über seine Konkurrenten: „IBM war im Grunde wie Microsoft, nur schlimmer. Sie waren keine innovative Kraft, sondern eine Kraft des Bösen. Sie waren wie AT&T oder Microsoft oder Google heute.“ (Seite 166)
Es ist eine amerikanische, von einem Amerikaner geschriebene Biografie. Sie hat über 700 Seiten und ist bis ins kleinste Detail recherchiert. Ein detailgenauer Lebenslauf, wie ihn kein europäischer Autor schreiben würde. Im Anhang dokumentiert der Autor sogar, welche Interviews und Besprechungen er in welchem Kapitel mit wem gemacht hatte. Eine Leistungsbeschreibung. Zusammenfassend muss man aber sagen: nach diesem Buch versteht man, warum es iPOD, iPhone und iPAD gibt, so wie sie sind. Steve Jobs hat Dinge in die Welt gesetzt, die nachhaltig sind. „Er hat eine verblüffende Art, technische Spielereien auszutüfteln, von denen wir nicht wussten, dass wir sie brauchen, ohne die wir aber plötzlich nicht mehr leben können.“ (Seite 581) Er hatte aber auch hohe ethische Werte: er verhinderte Raubkopien von Musikstücken, weil die Musiker fair behandelt werden sollten und die kritisierte „App-Zensur“ erlaubt keine Pornografie und Diffamierungen im System.
(less)

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Dec 10, 2011

Jack added it · review of another edition

In the early summer of 2004, I got a phone call from Steve Jobs. It turned out that he wanted me to write a biography of him. This is a book about the rollercoaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.

Click here to more on Steve Jobs -The Exclusive Biography

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About Walter Isaacson

Walter Isaacson lives in Washington, DC, where he is the president and CEO of the Aspen Institute. He is the author of acclaimed, best-selling biographies of Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, and Henry Kissinger.

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Quotes from Steve Jobs

“There are parts of his life and personality that are extremely messy, and that's the truth” — 10 people liked it

“The reality distortion field was a confounding mélange of a charismatic rhetorical style, indomitable will, and eagerness to bend any fact to fit the purpose at hand,” — 8 people liked it

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