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Isaacson has done it again with another incredibly perceptive and comprehenisve biography, this time of a hugely complex individual. I hated Jobs in the first half and admired him greatly in the second. I don't really think that anyone will remember Jobs in 25 years -- good accomplishments for those of us who like to listen to music or books while we are on the treadmill but hardly of the transformational level of Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, or Louis Pasteur. But people will be reading this book because of the way in which Isaacson has developed a personal portrait with all its complexities. I cannot wait for Isaacson's next book. I am more than happy to wait for, and skip, the next biography or article about Steve Jobs.

Do not read this book unless you have never read a column by Friedman. Once again, he pastes together dozens of columns and stories that he has published repeatedly and calls it a book. The greatest disappointment was his co-author, Michael Mandelbaum, a distinguished and accomplished professor of international relations. My hope was that Professor Mandelbaum would put historical and trenchant prespectives into Friedman's endless anecdotes. Unfortunately, Mandelbaum seems to have bought entirely into the Friedman style and is no where to be seen intellectually in this book. I have read probably several hundred of Friedman's columns and his earlier books. What a profound disappointment this one was.

I love David McCullough which is why I bought this book and started reading it automatically. What a disappointment! Lots of scenes but no real themes, no real threads, no real story. It was as if he threw together 500 note cards and called it a book. Let's all hope he returns to the great David McCullough in his next book. Give this one a pass.

This is my first review after 7 years of membership listening to over 200 books. I am 64 and in good health, but this book raised profound questions for me about mortality, how to leave your family and friends when the time comes, and what to do when the time comes. I laughed and cried throughout, but now I have to figure out what I do when (if) something like this happens to me. I can't remember when a book affected me so profoundly. There are not enought stars in the rating -- it deserves 7.

Although it is long, includes an uncountable number of scenes and settings, and is based on a character who can be so self-absorbed that it makes your blood boil at times in anger and frustration, it all fits together quite well. I am recommending this to my book club.