"Steve Jobs" Book Review
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication"
4 Stars
As featured in: The Carolinian
Note: This is my first review published in my new college's paper. If the review doesn't pass your 'snuff test' I personally apologize and will do my best to get back on track. Quality counts and so do my readers. Thanks!
Steve Jobs' name has been plastered everywhere over the past month, from prominent publications such as The New York Times to blogs run by faithful Macintosh users. The reason for such vast interest was the Apple co-founders untimely death at age 56. Though his passing undoubtedly rips open a giant hole in the tech industry, Walter Isaacson's definitive biography of the late icon seems to fill in the the sadness with poignant stories of Jobs' greatness, his failures, and genius. It simply could not have come out at a better time.
Isaacson's book is a definitive account of Steve Jobs. It lays out quite nicely the story of how a college dropout from Northern California became a "messiah"of the late 1970s/80s personal computer revolution. Steve Jobs in not merely referred to as a wunderkind; he is looked at as a magician whose tricks are not just a mirage. Jobs nearly single-handedly created hit products such as the iPod and iPad that transformed and created multiple industries.
For the most part, "Steve Jobs" is a thoroughly enjoyable read. Yet, in spite of the superbly written passages there is one large flaw. It's quite easy to get sidetracked by Isaacson. Isaacson asserts himself a bit too much and his voice sometimes dominates the book rather than taking a back seat to his subjects, Jobs and his friends and foes.
However, as the pages turn and the reader gets into the meat of the book, something changes. Isaacson's voice begins to take a back seat and only crops up to help the reader gain a fuller understanding of a man that can really be mistaken at face value. People who hated him still praised him and people who admired him mourned his passing.
The best part about "Steve Jobs," is that it is completely and utterly candid. Bill Gates, former Apple CEO Gil Amelio, and Apple co-founder Steve "Woz" Wozniak both embraced and took issue with Jobs. They offer up criticisms regarding his forward manner of speaking and praise his laser focus. If you strip away all the grandstanding and outright nastiness that came out of Steve Jobs' mouth, it was not that he was a bad person or an egomaniac just for the sake of being an egomaniac. Rather he was just a passionate man who fought to fill his life with purpose. That purpose was to create great products that were simple and fun to use.
It seems odd to fit a man's life, let alone technological successes, and personal life, into a 600-page book. Yet, by using an easy to follow chapter style in which the early facets of Jobs life are put first and the end of his life is talked about last does not water down his importance. In fact, the book's layout compartmentalizes his defining characteristics.
With breathtaking depth and riddle with emotional candor, Walter Isaacson captures more than just Jobs' life at Apple Computer (now Apple, Inc.); he is the only author to ever be granted permission by Jobs himself to write about his past failed relationships, volatile temper and perfectionist nature that ultimately contribute to his "legacy."
"Steve Jobs" was written by Walter Isaacson and compiled from numerous interviews with the late technology mavericks friends, foes and business partners as well as himself.
P.S. If you haven't read the book yet you may want to hold off on buying a copy. But why? Isaacson is re-releasing the book sometime in 2012. It's not the biggest update in the world, but it will include more annotations.
Watch Steve Jobs in action below:
As always thanks for reading!
© 2011 Matthew R. Reis, All rights reserved.
4 Stars
As featured in: The Carolinian
Note: This is my first review published in my new college's paper. If the review doesn't pass your 'snuff test' I personally apologize and will do my best to get back on track. Quality counts and so do my readers. Thanks!
Steve Jobs' name has been plastered everywhere over the past month, from prominent publications such as The New York Times to blogs run by faithful Macintosh users. The reason for such vast interest was the Apple co-founders untimely death at age 56. Though his passing undoubtedly rips open a giant hole in the tech industry, Walter Isaacson's definitive biography of the late icon seems to fill in the the sadness with poignant stories of Jobs' greatness, his failures, and genius. It simply could not have come out at a better time.
Isaacson's book is a definitive account of Steve Jobs. It lays out quite nicely the story of how a college dropout from Northern California became a "messiah"of the late 1970s/80s personal computer revolution. Steve Jobs in not merely referred to as a wunderkind; he is looked at as a magician whose tricks are not just a mirage. Jobs nearly single-handedly created hit products such as the iPod and iPad that transformed and created multiple industries.
For the most part, "Steve Jobs" is a thoroughly enjoyable read. Yet, in spite of the superbly written passages there is one large flaw. It's quite easy to get sidetracked by Isaacson. Isaacson asserts himself a bit too much and his voice sometimes dominates the book rather than taking a back seat to his subjects, Jobs and his friends and foes.
However, as the pages turn and the reader gets into the meat of the book, something changes. Isaacson's voice begins to take a back seat and only crops up to help the reader gain a fuller understanding of a man that can really be mistaken at face value. People who hated him still praised him and people who admired him mourned his passing.
The best part about "Steve Jobs," is that it is completely and utterly candid. Bill Gates, former Apple CEO Gil Amelio, and Apple co-founder Steve "Woz" Wozniak both embraced and took issue with Jobs. They offer up criticisms regarding his forward manner of speaking and praise his laser focus. If you strip away all the grandstanding and outright nastiness that came out of Steve Jobs' mouth, it was not that he was a bad person or an egomaniac just for the sake of being an egomaniac. Rather he was just a passionate man who fought to fill his life with purpose. That purpose was to create great products that were simple and fun to use.
It seems odd to fit a man's life, let alone technological successes, and personal life, into a 600-page book. Yet, by using an easy to follow chapter style in which the early facets of Jobs life are put first and the end of his life is talked about last does not water down his importance. In fact, the book's layout compartmentalizes his defining characteristics.
With breathtaking depth and riddle with emotional candor, Walter Isaacson captures more than just Jobs' life at Apple Computer (now Apple, Inc.); he is the only author to ever be granted permission by Jobs himself to write about his past failed relationships, volatile temper and perfectionist nature that ultimately contribute to his "legacy."
"Steve Jobs" was written by Walter Isaacson and compiled from numerous interviews with the late technology mavericks friends, foes and business partners as well as himself.
P.S. If you haven't read the book yet you may want to hold off on buying a copy. But why? Isaacson is re-releasing the book sometime in 2012. It's not the biggest update in the world, but it will include more annotations.
Watch Steve Jobs in action below:
As always thanks for reading!
© 2011 Matthew R. Reis, All rights reserved.
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