Steve Jobs

By: Walter Isaacson

Narrated by: Dylan Baker

Length: 25 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

Featuring a new epilogue read by the author.

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 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 21st 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. 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.

©2011 Walter Isaacson (P)2011 Simon & Schuster

The "Other" Path

Would you listen to Steve Jobs again? Why?

Yes, I would listen once more. I was very curious about the man who's genius created so many

What did you like best about this story?

I believe I enjoyed reading about his younger years and watching that spark take many turns before it flared into brightness.

Did Dylan Baker do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

I believe he did a fair job. It could have been better by fleshing out the characters a bit more, but he did an admirable job.

Get Story

I would recommend this book to anyone who has any interest in technology and/or business. Jobs is a fascinating character, his life, accomplishments, and mad scientist persona along with the rise of the information age are laid out in this intriguing and well written biography. The narration is average and I did not like it at first, but it's a biography so the reading does not really make or break it. It was well worth the credit, I was disappointed when it ended because I enjoyed it so much.

not an Apple user but now....

have always used devices provided by my company, usually ibm,samsung,dell etc. my wife and kids have been Apple forever and say "dad get with it" after reading this book I have a new appreciation for Apple and perhaps everything else is a pretender... well written insight into a genius and the key people in his life. many lessons here about corporate greed vs products and doing the right thing.

It all makes sense now

What did you love best about Steve Jobs?

It is glaringly apparent Steve Jobs was an absolute visionary who plowed through his inability to manage his people skills. I admire his drive, but felt very sorry for those who laid in his wake. I, personally, own very few actual Apple products but will miss the excitement of what will he think of next!

Great book, great narration

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Dylan is my favorite narrator, I'd listen to almost any book he narrates. But Isaacson does a masterful job of making the book an interesting story with great business advice. One of the best books I have ever

What does Dylan Baker bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Inflection makes it sound as if he is the author and personally spoke with Jobs. He seems to truly know the subject and doesn't at all sound like he is reading someones work.

airshipuk

Excellently written and narrated. Awesome book, made me a fan of Steve Jobs and wish I'd known more about him before he passed away.

Isaacson's Best

Can't recommend this more. You'll love the man that you're supposed to hate.

It starts and ends in apricot fields.

Wicked Good

Any additional comments?

In the past I have refrained from buying non-fiction and biographies. I thought they would boring. This book was my first biography and it has changed my mind! I couldn't stop listening to it and am currently looking for other biographies! EXCELLENT!

My first audiobook in 15 years

Would you listen to Steve Jobs again? Why?

Yes

Any additional comments?

A great book to acquaint you to audiobook biographies. It was most interesting to me since I could recall most of this books history.

Best book I ever read!!

Would you listen to Steve Jobs again? Why?

Yes, I would listen to it again even if its a crazy 20 hour + listen

What other book might you compare Steve Jobs to and why?

None ... so far

What about Dylan Baker’s performance did you like?

Awesome!! It felt as if the narrator lives in the skin of the person and the situation that his voice comes through very REAL

Any additional comments?

The book contains many bits of wisdom on innovation, business, and life in general. Most importantly, it sheds light on the the kind of thinking that goes into disruptive innovation!