Editor’s Note
“Imaginative & impactful...”
Isaacson’s exclusive biography brings this generation’s leading innovator to life again, illustrating the impact of imagination through interviews and anecdotes.Ashley M.
Scribd Editor
Biography & MemoirBusiness & LeadershipComputers & ITBusiness Biography & MemoirBusiness Biography & HistoryPrivate Sector Biography & Memoir
FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE BESTSELLING BIOGRAPHIES OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN AND ALBERT EINSTEIN, THIS IS THE EXCLUSIVE BIOGRAPHY OF STEVE JOBS.
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 revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.
At a time when America is seeking ways to sustain its innovative edge, and when societies around the world are trying to build digital-age economies, Jobs stands as the ultimate icon of inventiveness and applied imagination. He knew that the best way to create value in the twenty-first century was to connect creativity with technology. He built a company where leaps of the imagination were combined with remarkable feats of engineering.
Although Jobs cooperated with this book, he asked for no control over what was written nor even the right to read it before it was published. He put nothing off-limits. He encouraged the people he knew to speak honestly. And Jobs speaks candidly, sometimes brutally so, about the people he worked with and competed against. His friends, foes, and colleagues provide an unvarnished view of the passions, perfectionism, obsessions, artistry, devilry, and compulsion for control that shaped his approach to business and the innovative products that resulted.
Driven by demons, Jobs could drive those around him to fury and despair. But his personality and products were interrelated, just as Apple’s hardware and software tended to be, as if part of an integrated system. His tale is instructive and cautionary, filled with lessons about innovation, character, leadership, and values.
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 revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.
At a time when America is seeking ways to sustain its innovative edge, and when societies around the world are trying to build digital-age economies, Jobs stands as the ultimate icon of inventiveness and applied imagination. He knew that the best way to create value in the twenty-first century was to connect creativity with technology. He built a company where leaps of the imagination were combined with remarkable feats of engineering.
Although Jobs cooperated with this book, he asked for no control over what was written nor even the right to read it before it was published. He put nothing off-limits. He encouraged the people he knew to speak honestly. And Jobs speaks candidly, sometimes brutally so, about the people he worked with and competed against. His friends, foes, and colleagues provide an unvarnished view of the passions, perfectionism, obsessions, artistry, devilry, and compulsion for control that shaped his approach to business and the innovative products that resulted.
Driven by demons, Jobs could drive those around him to fury and despair. But his personality and products were interrelated, just as Apple’s hardware and software tended to be, as if part of an integrated system. His tale is instructive and cautionary, filled with lessons about innovation, character, leadership, and values.
Topics: Computer Programming, Innovation, Silicon Valley, Creativity, Leadership, and Tech Industry
Published: Simon & Schuster on Oct 24, 2011
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I didn't feel the want to continue reading; thereof I stopped. Might try again a different time, maybe I wasn't in the right mood for reading this book.more
This book was "docked," so I picked up. I was surprised by how interesting this biography was. He was both a jerk and a genius. I was struck by how much he changed our digital world (as I type this on my macbook Air) and by how much he was driven by creativity. To remember: Art requires revision and revision and revision until it is (Nearly) perfect.more
Now I know - like I didn't know already - that Steve would hate me because I have an iPod AND an Android phone. A charming portrait of a not-always-benevolent dictator. And, yes, genius. Kudos to Isaacson for getting Jobs to trust him enough to write the biography Steve probably wouldn't have wanted him to write.more
Easy and thorough story telling about Steve Jobs life. I think you do get a sense of Jobs without anything feeling like overreaching sentimentality or delicacy. It appears that Jobs was the Jobs you read in this book - which means, assholish. Is that excusable? That's not what this book is about, and I'm glad it made no attempts to sway you one way or another.
This is a pretty open and shut biography, it's worth a read if you're an architect, artist, technologist, or just somebody who's interested in design, engineering, and the idea of of what drives a person to create something. Somethings you might agree with somethings you'll disagree with, but you'll probably learn something about yourself along the way.more
This is a pretty open and shut biography, it's worth a read if you're an architect, artist, technologist, or just somebody who's interested in design, engineering, and the idea of of what drives a person to create something. Somethings you might agree with somethings you'll disagree with, but you'll probably learn something about yourself along the way.more
Wow. Steve Jobs : smelly hippie. The amount of research that went into this book is astounding; really is a no holds barred look at the rise of an empire, and it was fascinating to read. I loved Woz, detested Jobs, but in the end it was... cartharic in a way to start this soon after he passed away. Brilliant book.more
This biography does everything a steller bio should do: provides a full portrait of a complex man who definitely brings to mind Whitman's phrase "I am large, I contain multitudes;" places him squarely in his time and generation without going overboard with the cliches of less skilled biographers (eg: "The 1960s were a time of free love and acid trips, a magical mystery tour of experience and experiment..."); explains clearly to the interested, but non-specialist reader the details of the growth of Apple (and to a lesser extent, Pixar) and the specific ways in which Jobs was a brilliant innovator, a true visionary, and an incredible jerk to most of the people that he knew. I think that Isaacson lingers a bit too long on the "adopted child needing to prove himself" theory, especially as Jobs dismisses it, but in general, I think that this book for the most part avoids the (also all-too-common) biographical trap of simplistic psychological evaluation and presents Jobs as the full, fascinating individual that he was.more
A disclaimer: This is not a hagiography, nor is it a sloppy rush job (or, more simply, 'shit!' as Jobs called imperfect work). Isaacson is simply too good a biographer for that.
Jobs was clearly a passionate and driven men, and his abrasive and arrogant personality was an extension of that. He honestly did believe in his mantras on art and creating a difference. A contradiction in terms. He wasn't a tinkerer or engineer, as Woz was. He has this obsession for control, power, being an earth-shaking genius. Perhaps he was. But he was still only too human, being highly sensitive and callous in equal measure.
Unfortunately, I can imagine too many asshole business school types trying to imitate Jobs' obsessive perfectionist behavior, without his underlying attention for details and vision.
Perhaps if it was released a moment later, a little bit on his childhood and his father could have been filled in, but I won't fuss here. This was a very revelatory book, and does a fine job of providing a portrait for his life.more
Jobs was clearly a passionate and driven men, and his abrasive and arrogant personality was an extension of that. He honestly did believe in his mantras on art and creating a difference. A contradiction in terms. He wasn't a tinkerer or engineer, as Woz was. He has this obsession for control, power, being an earth-shaking genius. Perhaps he was. But he was still only too human, being highly sensitive and callous in equal measure.
Unfortunately, I can imagine too many asshole business school types trying to imitate Jobs' obsessive perfectionist behavior, without his underlying attention for details and vision.
Perhaps if it was released a moment later, a little bit on his childhood and his father could have been filled in, but I won't fuss here. This was a very revelatory book, and does a fine job of providing a portrait for his life.more
Putting this onto the "read" shelf because it's obvious to me that I won't get around to finishing/rereading for a while. In any case, I stand by all my earlier comments, and have made up my mind that Steve Jobs was a grade-A asshole. Genius-shmenius, doesn't make up for anything as far as I can tell.
That being said, it was a solidly written book, definitely worth the time.more
That being said, it was a solidly written book, definitely worth the time.more
After reading this book, I feel like Steve Jobs is fairly humanized, at least in my mind. To be honest, I never really knew how much Jobs contributed to the creation of his products. I understand now: it's complicated. But Issacson took me to all the right places in Jobs life, and perhaps, I have learned something from it.more
First things first: Steve Jobs was a bit of a prick.
I've read several books on the man, and however much of a visionary or perfectionist or whatever he may have been, he was also a selfish ass. An ass with some looney ideas.
That said, he was very good at making you believe that he had the answers, and pushing his people to excel beyond what anyone believed was possible.
This book does not put Jobs on a pedestal, nor does it vilify him. He was a human who made mistakes, like any man. This is the life of that man.
It is very much worth the read.
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I've read several books on the man, and however much of a visionary or perfectionist or whatever he may have been, he was also a selfish ass. An ass with some looney ideas.
That said, he was very good at making you believe that he had the answers, and pushing his people to excel beyond what anyone believed was possible.
This book does not put Jobs on a pedestal, nor does it vilify him. He was a human who made mistakes, like any man. This is the life of that man.
It is very much worth the read.
more
To those in the middle of this book, accept my words of encouragement: You may want to bail, but hold your nose and keep going. I read the last sentence myself. I can testify that this book really does eventually end. Keep heart. It's all worth it. You'll be disillusioned with Jobs and liberated from Apple fan-boydom.
This is required reading for anyone attempting to work reflectively in a business context. Like with Gladwell's trilogy, it's full of landmarks useful for thinking with reflective business people. Like Gladwell, you may come close to clawing your face off with the slow pace, the repetition, and excessive gratuitous and compulsive story-winding. But like with Gladwell it actually can be tolerated if you work hard at it, which is more than can be said for most pop business books.
It's best to endure it on audiobook, and let the reader keep the momentum for you.more
This is required reading for anyone attempting to work reflectively in a business context. Like with Gladwell's trilogy, it's full of landmarks useful for thinking with reflective business people. Like Gladwell, you may come close to clawing your face off with the slow pace, the repetition, and excessive gratuitous and compulsive story-winding. But like with Gladwell it actually can be tolerated if you work hard at it, which is more than can be said for most pop business books.
It's best to endure it on audiobook, and let the reader keep the momentum for you.more
An excellent book about the genius and madness that was Steve Jobs. Isaacson has captured Jobs as only those who were close to him could have done. I don't typically enjoy biographies but found myself drawn in wanting to learn more about this individual who has influenced and changed our culture and how we live our daily lives. Although not a fan of Apple's proprietary systems, I have a greater respect for Steve, the company that he built, and his generation that has paved the way of future generations.more
If you don't know much about Steve Jobs, you should definitely take some time to read this book. In fact, even if you think you know a great deal about Steve Jobs already, you should still probably read this book because I guarantee you'll learn something new. The story of Steve Jobs is absolutely incredible. There is and there never will be anyone like this man. He was a truly unique individual. His need for perfection was unprecedented. His desire for success was unmatched. And his creativity and vision were off the charts.Walter Isaacson did a great job capturing the many sides of Jobs. There are so many different stories in this biography, and in each one the reader learns a little more about the legend that is Steve Jobs. I know for a fact that Jobs actually played a huge role in the publication of this book, and I think it's much better this way. Jobs really wanted this biography to be the inside scoop of what actually went through his mind. Jobs and Isaacson did a great job. This is a must read biography.more
Having spent the 1980s and early 90s in the technology world, I loved this book. Walter Isaacson has captured the excitement, creativity, intrigues, the good guys and bad guys, the pace, the money and careers made and lost. Focus, genius, and more focus. The good Steve, the bad Steve. Personalities, talents, products – wonderfully drawn. An outstanding portrait of Steve Jobs – and a fascinating view of 30 plus years in the world of computers and technology. Yes, it is a long book! But what a story!more
It is rare to see an entrepreneur who is successful more than once. More than twice is extremely rare. Steve Jobs was successful many times. His story is incredible and moving. On the business side, the book makes a powerful case for the effectiveness with users and in the marketplace for closed systems.
But over these 500 pages, I was shocked by a few things. Jobs cries frequently when he can't get his way. From an early age, he exhibits a bizarre habit of extreme eating: Eating single foods for weeks, then switching over to something else . . . compromised ethics around vegan food . . . The food issues alone suggest that Jobs was an extremely disturbed person. I suspect that there are untold stories involving mental health and therapy. It is hard for me to believe that he had any real friends towards the end of his life, and his family was clearly under torment. I'm not sure at this point that I really want to know even more more thing about Jobs. RIP.
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But over these 500 pages, I was shocked by a few things. Jobs cries frequently when he can't get his way. From an early age, he exhibits a bizarre habit of extreme eating: Eating single foods for weeks, then switching over to something else . . . compromised ethics around vegan food . . . The food issues alone suggest that Jobs was an extremely disturbed person. I suspect that there are untold stories involving mental health and therapy. It is hard for me to believe that he had any real friends towards the end of his life, and his family was clearly under torment. I'm not sure at this point that I really want to know even more more thing about Jobs. RIP.
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I recently attended a lecture by Walter Isaacson and I found him to be a fascinating speaker and so well informed. He spoke often of Jobs and you could tell the tremndous impact Jobs had on Isaacson. I found the book to be so fasinating with Jobs being a creative genius and a quirky individual who in his own words could be an asshole. The book is very long but well worth the read as it covers Jobs entire life and the history of Apple. Jobs really was behind creating things that changed the world we live in. He was so complex and had such drive and ambition but yet like most creative people he could be completely lost on the simpliest things. There are so many other reviews with more details but if you want a great biography this is it.more
Interesting life history of the creative genius behind APPLE. The only reason I gave it the mediocre rating was because of the length of the book, and the detail of the personalities and technologies. I would love a book that was focused on Jobs, the man, the genius. I could not get enough of that.more
The irony of this book is that it was purchased by Mr. Jenners (Apple devotee and Steve Jobs fan) and yet he never finished it (pooping out somewhere about 100 pages in). I, on the other hand, didn’t really know all that much about Apple and Jobs (although I enjoy Apple products) yet I found myself fascinated by the Job’s story. I think much of the appeal is that so much of the technology that influences our lives today (iPods, iPads, digital music, computers) were developed, perfected and revolutionized by Apple at Job’s behest. Learning why Apple is the way it is and why it is so wildly successful was really interesting to me, and Jobs himself is a fascinating person (albeit not someone you’d want to live or work with). He certainly left the world a better place than he found it, and I think most of us owe him a “thank you” for his vision and insistence on quality products that work they way they should. It also makes you think about the importance of design in consumer products—not something I ever gave much thought to but now think about quite frequently.more
This is the first biography I have ever read so I do not know how it compares against other biographies, but I am absolutely impressed by the way this book is written. I am neither a Mac nor windows user and I wanted to read this biography to understand why Steven Jobs seemed to be a God. This book portrays Steven Jobs the way people perceived him, no holds barred, no diplomatic language, just raw Jobsian. The highest praise I can give for this book is this: If I ever get a biography done, I want Walter Isaacson to do itmore
I could not put this book down. I bought it the day it was released and was glued to it through the very last sentence. I'm a fan of Isaacson's prior work on Benjamin Franklin and enjoy his straightforward and easy to read style. As an avid Apple nut, I thought I already knew most of what the book would reveal about Jobs and his genius .... I couldn't be more wrong! I was shocked over and over again and bored my husband continuously with every new fact I learned. A year later I'm still incredibly impressed by Jobs' willingness to let Isaacson into his life and tell his story from the viewpoints of the many people who knew and loved (or oftentimes hated) him. A must read for anyone with even a cursory interest in one of the greatest minds this country and indeed this world has ever seen.more
I loved this book. I learned more than I ever imagine I would when I started it. The man behind Apple/Next/Pixar was a fascinating individual who covered an extreme range of intellect, emotion and behavior. If you are a Macintosh, Apple, Pixar, iPod, iPhone or iPad fan I think you will find this biography as interesting as I did. The book not only highlights Jobs but many, if not most of the Silicon Valley tech guru's as these people floated in and out of his life.It also covers all aspects of his life from early childhood to his last days with cancer. How he did and did not interact with his own family to his forcibly direct and brutal honesty while touching on his sometimes vain and delicate emotions.more
Way too long and Walter Isaacson should be ashamed -- writing himself into the story, being used by Jobs so shamelessly. I loved Isaacson's biographies of Einstein and Ben Franklin, but this was absurd, where was his objectiveness? At first I was interested, Jobs wasn't as big of an asshole as I thought he was, but so repetitive and long and not really deserving -- Steve Jobs is neither Einstein or Franklin, Isaacson should of thought twice before undertaking this task and I should've thought twice before I finished the book.more
Although I use an Apple computer at work, I've never purchased any Apple products for myself. Maybe it was the cultish aura that seemed to surround them and Steve Jobs. Nevertheless, I was interested to read his biography, which turned out to be refreshingly candid and thorough. I came away with great respect for Steve Jobs' integrity and creativity, and his understanding of the importance of design to creating and marketing a product. But many times, listening to the way he treated other people made me wince; I'm certain I could never have worked for anyone as emotionally callous as he, no matter how brilliant he was. The book could have been subtitled: An Asshole and A Genius. And I came away wondering how Apple will survive in the long run, since he was so clearly in control of the vision and execution of that vision.more
There's no denying the vision and genius of Steve Jobs. Unfortunately, it seems, there is also no denying that the drive behind his vision and genius meant sacrifices that, personally, I can't even fathom making. I'm not alone. Near the end of the book, Isaacson himself states that "the nasty edge to his personality was not necessary." Isaacson does a solid job conveying a complete picture. The Apple fanboy in me cheered with each of Jobs' triumphs in his career. The father and husband in me was deeply saddened by the personal choices he made.more
I am by no means much of a fan of Apple or Apple-products. However, this was a really interesting read. There are some parts, or rather a specific chunk, of this book I found to be really boring, but it was more than worth going through for the sake of the rest. No matter what one may think of him, Steve Jobs was an extremely influential person in the consumer electronics-market. As well as giving what seems like a very honest description of the kind of person Steve Jobs was, this book also gives a fascinating insight in how Apple operates, why it does what it does, and how this has made the company so successful.more
Well, hell... what can I say? It was written by the wonderful weaver Walter Isaacson.more
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