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Steve Jobs
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Length: 25 hrs and 18 mins
From the author of the best-selling biographies of Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein, this is the exclusive biography of Steve Jobs.
Based on more than 40 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 ...more
From the author of the best-selling biographies of Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein, this is the exclusive biography of Steve Jobs.
Based on more than 40 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 ...more
Audiobook, 20 pages
Published
October 24th 2011
by Simon & Schuster Audio
(first published October 1st 2011)
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Tu Ngoc Van
Vietnamese hardcover version is 751 pages
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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. This makes me wonder if these strange eating habits brought on his cancer. Who can say?
Steve Jobs was an asshat.
He was an ass to everyone, even Steve Wozniak, who by everyone's stand ...more
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. This makes me wonder if these strange eating habits brought on his cancer. Who can say?
Steve Jobs was an asshat.
He was an ass to everyone, even Steve Wozniak, who by everyone's stand ...more

Oct 24, 2011
Lisa
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
autobiography-biography,
non-fiction
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 even know they wanted. He was able to defy reality by ...more
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 ...more

Feb 02, 2012
Petra-X would like a non-smear lippy for my mask
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
reviewed,
biography-true-story
Update This is a very interesting view of Steve Jobs by the mother of his daughter, Lisa (although he denied he was her father, despite paternity tests) and his childhood sweetheart. She doesn't think the film goes far enough in depicting his character truthfully. I am sure that what she writes in her book The Bite in the Apple: A Memoir of My Life with Steve Jobs is absolutely true. Apple's lawyers would sue her out of all existence if there was even a word that they could latch onto. But still
...more

When I was at the halfway point I became struck by 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, or the fact that he changed and invented whole industries, would compensate. Maybe the two things went together, cruelty and brilliance.
But the lesson to be drawn here, future CEOs, isn't that ...more
Some might say that his gifts to tech development, or the fact that he changed and invented whole industries, would compensate. Maybe the two things went together, cruelty and brilliance.
But the lesson to be drawn here, future CEOs, isn't that ...more

Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson
From the author of the bestselling biographies of Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein, this is the exclusive, New York Times bestselling biography of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.
I wish I had written their biography myself, he was a myth, maybe then I could mix my words with the scent of Roses, and mix them with the sound of nightingales, so that they would always be fragrant and audible.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز یازدهم ماه سپتامبر سال 2016میلادی
عنوان: استیو جابز - زند ...more
From the author of the bestselling biographies of Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein, this is the exclusive, New York Times bestselling biography of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.
I wish I had written their biography myself, he was a myth, maybe then I could mix my words with the scent of Roses, and mix them with the sound of nightingales, so that they would always be fragrant and audible.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز یازدهم ماه سپتامبر سال 2016میلادی
عنوان: استیو جابز - زند ...more

so, we are having the event for this book at our store tonight. the number of people calling up to ask if steve jobs will also be present to sign is staggering. in other words, "i care enough about steve jobs to want to read a 600+ page book about him, but i am somehow unaware that he is deceased."
is what i hope. the alternative is ghoulish and i do not want to entertain it. ...more
is what i hope. the alternative is ghoulish and i do not want to entertain it. ...more

Oct 31, 2011
Riku Sayuj
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Riku by:
Amit Haralalka
Shelves:
r-r-rs,
biographies
Never expected to find this much enjoyment reading a biography. Isaacson has truly done a wonderful job with this book.
For those who are too busy to read the entire book, please try to grab a quick read of the last two chapters of the book at a book store or airport or someplace - These chapters are a concise summary of the entire book as well as the thesis Isaacson builds up to throughout the book. Besides, it will probably make you buy and read the whole thing anyway.
To call this man a "Great ...more

Executive summary of Isaacson's "Steve Jobs":
But these are not spoilers. The drama of this biography is in the decisions Jobs made, the way he followed through on these ide ...more
- 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 biography is in the decisions Jobs made, the way he followed through on these ide ...more

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 upbringing. I'd really like to k ...more
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 upbringing. I'd really like to k ...more

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 needed to be able t ...more
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 needed to be able t ...more

Nov 03, 2011
Katie
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
allow-myself-to-introduce-myself
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.
His subject, however, left m ...more
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 m ...more

I downloaded the e-book on my iPad (quite fitting) Sun. night and stayed up until the very wee hours reading (on a work night, no less). Isaacson's writing style is very engaging and, at least so far, he seems to be embarking on a no holds barred, honest portrayal of this very admired, feared, respected, despised, controversial titan of industry.
As a college senior in '85, watching the iconic "1984" commercial, reading all about SJ & Woz and how they wanted to "change the world", I made it my m ...more
As a college senior in '85, watching the iconic "1984" commercial, reading all about SJ & Woz and how they wanted to "change the world", I made it my m ...more

I had to be convinced by a GR friend to read this book, similarly to how Isaacson had to be convinced to write it.
Back in 2004, Steve Jobs approached Isaacson and asked if he was interested in writing Jobs' biography. Isaacson declined several times, thinking that it was too soon to write one and that it would be better to wait a few decades. It wasn't until 2009 when Jobs' wife bluntly told him that Jobs was seriously ill from cancer and that there was little time to lose. Isaacson said he hadn ...more
Back in 2004, Steve Jobs approached Isaacson and asked if he was interested in writing Jobs' biography. Isaacson declined several times, thinking that it was too soon to write one and that it would be better to wait a few decades. It wasn't until 2009 when Jobs' wife bluntly told him that Jobs was seriously ill from cancer and that there was little time to lose. Isaacson said he hadn ...more

I was a little surprised when Steve Jobs died that I actually had an emotional reaction of loss. He was always such a warrior for technological evolution, conceiving products that we didn't know we needed until we held them in our hands. I didn't know I needed an iPod, now I can't travel anywhere without slipping 13,000 songs into my pocket. I now have a playlist for any situation, a wedding, a long drive, robbing a bank, meditation etc. What was so unique about Jobs was that he was a creative p
...more

Isaacson has taken on the incredible task of documenting the life and times of Steve Jobs, a herculean venture if one did exist. Speaking in the introduction about how Jobs sought him out to pen the biography and wished to have no input in its creation (save for the hours of interviews he would give), Isaacson admits that the task was as unconventional as it was enthralling. Isaacson divides Jobs's life into three major themes throughout the book: the man of countless ideas, the innovator, and t
...more

Well, The mighty Steve Jobs that we have so much to learn from.
You can see the Full review here.
The book
Walter Isaacson the author is a well-know writer (Einstein, Franklin are his other biography books) has covered all the aspects of Job's life from his childhood, family, friends, to founding apple with Wozniak, each product design (Macintosh, iphone etc.) and venture (Next, Pixar) he conveyed.
The book has benefited a lot from articulation of Walter Isaacson and the content are precise with ri ...more
You can see the Full review here.
The book
Walter Isaacson the author is a well-know writer (Einstein, Franklin are his other biography books) has covered all the aspects of Job's life from his childhood, family, friends, to founding apple with Wozniak, each product design (Macintosh, iphone etc.) and venture (Next, Pixar) he conveyed.
The book has benefited a lot from articulation of Walter Isaacson and the content are precise with ri ...more

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 one way or ...more
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 ...more

Sep 14, 2017
Natalia Yaneva
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction
Bulgarian review below/Ревюто на български е по-долу
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards”, Kierkegaard said. Steve Jobs managed to live even further ahead of his time and pulled a whole world along with him – that of information technology.
No one can accuse Jobs of indiscriminate philanthropy. In any kind of philanthropy in fact. Nor in unmotivated generosity. Thinking about it, I understand from what I read that he didn’t sway towards reasonable generosity e ...more
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards”, Kierkegaard said. Steve Jobs managed to live even further ahead of his time and pulled a whole world along with him – that of information technology.
No one can accuse Jobs of indiscriminate philanthropy. In any kind of philanthropy in fact. Nor in unmotivated generosity. Thinking about it, I understand from what I read that he didn’t sway towards reasonable generosity e ...more

It's amazing how much you can learn about life when you look at life through someone else's eyes. Steve Jobs is such a different person from me and he also accomplished so much in his life.
I really didn't know much about Apple before this book. I am writing this on a MacBook Air, but until 2014 when I got my first iphone, I had never owned an Apple product. I am impressed with what I see and for someone not skilled with computers, I have found Apple much easier to use.
What I enjoyed about this ...more
I really didn't know much about Apple before this book. I am writing this on a MacBook Air, but until 2014 when I got my first iphone, I had never owned an Apple product. I am impressed with what I see and for someone not skilled with computers, I have found Apple much easier to use.
What I enjoyed about this ...more

Steve Jobs was a genius, who always thought ahead of time. With the help of his passion for perfection and ferocious drive he altogether revolutionized 6 industries: PCs, Animated Movies, Music, Phones, Tablet Computing and Digital Publishing.
Despite being adopted, Steve always regarded himself as ‘Special’ in every way possible. After dropping from Reeds, with Wozniak he co-founded Apple and launched a fully packed computer, one of its first kind from his father’s garage. With Apple II they ta ...more
Despite being adopted, Steve always regarded himself as ‘Special’ in every way possible. After dropping from Reeds, with Wozniak he co-founded Apple and launched a fully packed computer, one of its first kind from his father’s garage. With Apple II they ta ...more

Update: I 'did' read this a ways back - my friend gave me her book when done--her husband is still living - a Survivor of pancreatic cancer! Doing well!
At the time when I read this - I was actually wanting to read as much as I could about the his cancer -( because of my friend John).
There wasn't enough to pull anything from---yet-I was fascinated with everything else. Nobody has made a bigger difference in the quality of people's lives, in my lifetime, than Steve Jobs.
It bothered me though tha ...more
At the time when I read this - I was actually wanting to read as much as I could about the his cancer -( because of my friend John).
There wasn't enough to pull anything from---yet-I was fascinated with everything else. Nobody has made a bigger difference in the quality of people's lives, in my lifetime, than Steve Jobs.
It bothered me though tha ...more

Everyone in their life has a role model. A person whom they look upto in times of need. For me that person has always been Steve Jobs.
I was eight years old when he died. And i had such an emotional reaction to his death that i was surprised myself. I knew i adored him. But what i didn't know was that i idolized this man. The man whose passion for perfection revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, phones, music, tablet computing and digital publishing.
And now, nine yea ...more
I was eight years old when he died. And i had such an emotional reaction to his death that i was surprised myself. I knew i adored him. But what i didn't know was that i idolized this man. The man whose passion for perfection revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, phones, music, tablet computing and digital publishing.
And now, nine yea ...more

Mar 09, 2018
Asif
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
biographies,
favorites
Steve Jobs in many ways was mythical and mystical personality. Steve Jobs was man of immaculate tastes. He single-handedly changed the course of half dozen industries. He was one of true innovator and history makers ever lived in the world. When it came to choosing the things he was no match to anybody in my limited knowledge i have not known an international personality who himself-herself chose his-her biographer, in this regard he chose no lesser person a biographer par excellence Walter Isaa
...more

"Some people say, "Give the customers what they want." But that's not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they're going to want before they do. I think Henry Ford once said, "If I'd asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me, 'A faster horse!'" People don't know what they want until you show it to them."
- Walter Isaacson, Steve Jobs
🍁
Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography is a definitive portrait of Steve Jobs, one who is considered to be one of the greatest innovators of the h ...more
- Walter Isaacson, Steve Jobs
🍁
Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography is a definitive portrait of Steve Jobs, one who is considered to be one of the greatest innovators of the h ...more

This man's life, y'all. Crazy.
...more

Dec 06, 2011
Connie Rea
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
audible,
2013-read,
kindle-purchased,
1001musings,
0reviewed,
my-best-reads-ever,
muse-reviews
Are you a fan of APPLE? Do you hate APPLE? Did you admire Steve Jobs? Did you hate Steve Jobs? No matter your answers, you *really* should read this book. There have been things about APPLE I always disliked. This book made me turn many of these things into things I no longer dislike, but also into things I now understand and yes, even admire. There was many many things I learned in here that I had no clue about. There is no way I think you can read this book and not just totally be in awe of Jo
...more

I started this book with two questions: Was Steve Jobs an asshole? And if so... did he need to be to accomplish what he did?
Having just finished it, I don't have a good answer to either question. In fact both seem foolishly simplistic given this rich, sweeping, detailed, and intimate depiction a truly remarkable man's life experience.
What I learned about Steve Jobs is that he was very good at some things, and very bad at others. Among the things he was very good at, his true genius lay in his ab ...more
Having just finished it, I don't have a good answer to either question. In fact both seem foolishly simplistic given this rich, sweeping, detailed, and intimate depiction a truly remarkable man's life experience.
What I learned about Steve Jobs is that he was very good at some things, and very bad at others. Among the things he was very good at, his true genius lay in his ab ...more

In a way, I regard this book as a balanced biography. Even though Walter Isaacson is apparently unsatisfied with having gotten all of Steve Jobs's shaft into his mouth and spends a lot of time sucking on Jobs's balls, his recounting of Steve Jobs's behavior left me unavoidably with the impression that Steve Jobs was a world-class asshole. Jobs is presented as so much of a whining, pathetic bully that I find myself glad that he died of pancreatic cancer, and I also find myself regretting that he
...more
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Walter Isaacson, a professor of history at Tulane, has been CEO of the Aspen Institute, chair of CNN, and editor of Time. He is the author of 'Leonardo da Vinci; The Innovators; Steve Jobs; Einstein: His Life and Universe; Benjamin Franklin: An American Life; and Kissinger: A Biography, and the coauthor of The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made. Visit him at Isaacson.Tulane.edu and on T
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Walter Isaacson, it’s safe to say, is not afraid of tackling the really big topics. In 2011, he wrote about our ubiquitous computer culture...
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“One way to remember who you are is to remember who your heroes are.”
—
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“If you want to live your life in a creative way, as an artist, you have to not look back too much. You have to be willing to take whatever you’ve done and whoever you were and throw them away. The more the outside world tries to reinforce an image of you, the harder it is to continue to be an artist, which is why a lot of times, artists have to say, “Bye. I have to go. I’m going crazy and I’m getting out of here.” And they go and hibernate somewhere. Maybe later they re-emerge a little differently. (Steve Jobs)”
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