Becoming Steve Jobs

The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader

By: Brent Schlender, Rick Tetzeli

Narrated by: George Newbern

The #1 New York Times bestselling biography of how Steve Jobs became the most visionary CEO in history.

Becoming Steve Jobs breaks down the conventional, one-dimensional view of Steve Jobs that he was half-genius, half-jerk from youth, an irascible and selfish leader who slighted friends and family alike. Becoming Steve Jobs answers the central question about the life and career of the Apple cofounder and CEO: How did a young man so reckless and arrogant that he was exiled from the company he founded become the most effective visionary business leader of our time, ultimately transforming the daily life of billions of people?

Drawing on incredible and sometimes exclusive access, Schlender and Tetzeli tell a different story of a real human being who wrestled with his failings and learned to maximize his strengths over time. Their rich, compelling narrative is filled with stories never told before from the people who knew Jobs best, including his family, former inner circle executives, and top people at Apple, Pixar and Disney, most notably Tim Cook, Jony Ive, Eddy Cue, Ed Catmull, John Lasseter, Robert Iger and many others. In addition, Schlender knew Jobs personally for 25 years and draws upon his many interviews with him, on and off the record, in writing the book. He and Tetzeli humanize the man and explain, rather than simply describe, his behavior. Along the way, the book provides rich context about the technology revolution we've all lived through, and the ways in which Jobs changed our world.

A rich and revealing account, Becoming Steve Jobs shows us how one of the most colorful and compelling figures of our times was able to combine his unchanging, relentless passion with an evolution in management style to create one of the most valuable and beloved companies on the planet.

Contextual, Insightful, Inspiring

Where does Becoming Steve Jobs rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The breadth and content of the book is a great achievement. The reading, while good, seems to lack inspiration.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Becoming Steve Jobs?

The final chapter brings a dimension of humanity to a number of oft caricatured human beings.

Which scene was your favorite?

The scene where Steve and his family drive to Stanford the morning of his now famous commencement speech reminds you they are human beings like all of us.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Generally, yes. Some of the middle chapters, while I believe necessary, may bog down readers who care less about the technology aspects of the book.

Any additional comments?

As someone who worked at Apple for nearly a decade during Steve's second act, I found Walter Isaacson's official autobiography shallow, uninformed (he should've employed a technical consultant) and simply unable to capture the essence of the DNA Steve embodied into his company. This book gets it right. It weaves contextual technical explanations with a breadth of insightful interviews, coupled with the author's own experiences with Steve, to deliver a pitch-perfect story of the evolution of an astoundingly insightful, inspiring and complicated individual.

I'm grateful this book was written. My understanding of my experience at Apple, and of Steve, achieved a new depth of insight and appreciation.

what could have been

What a shame the Walter Isaacson book gets the 'official' title and this far superior bio becomes just one of the crowd.

The idea of Steve 3.0, becoming an older man, continuing the journey he was on is such a great idea wonderfully put.

This is the bio about the man (rather than the tech) I was looking for when I got the Isaacson book. If you haven't read Isaacson then skip it and read this instead.

Best steve jobs book I’ve read

This is the Best steve jobs book I’ve read, very different perspective and I loved seeing the change that happened throughout Steve Jobs’s career, no book on steve jobs has explained it this way.

Highly recommended!

I loved this audio book

It was great to hear such an amazing story of the person that made it such a huge influence in computers and mobile devices

Emotional and Inspiring!

I wholeheartedly recommend that you read this book if you are at all interested in one of the world's greatest innovators and leaders. Steve's life and work will continue to inspire people for generations to come.