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

Personally loving this Book

I'm just surprised by how much there is in the meat of this story. I remembered where I was in the audiobook, took a look at the actual book, and I was barely 1/4 the way through yet! This is going to last me a while. But I'm glad because I am very much invested in the story of Steve Jobs and Apple. Walter Isaacson did a great job of researching and collecting information on this man and relaying it in a well organized comprehensible manor. I wish history textbooks were as well written as this.

Oh wow.

I love Steve Jobs, always have. I had already read Walter Isaacson's biography on Einstein. I loved it and I love this book even more. I miss Steve Jobs. I bet Isaacson does, too. Steve knew everyone would tell their stories of him when he died, so he wanted this one to come from him. Well written. Narrator has a voice that I came to know as a friend. I wish there was more...

I cried, I laughed, and then I really cried

You have to love him or you have to hate him, you can hardly have an in between opinion. I agree with the synopsis of the book which is, Steve Jobs is one of the all-time great geniuses that have graced planet earth.
So many times he ended up being right about how things should work.
Anyway, it is a wonderful book it's a wonderful story and I think that his friends and his enemies will both learn something new while reading it.
PS: I did play it in 2x fast-forward speed because the reader is just a little bit slow in speaking.

Amazing Book!

I absolutely loved this audible book! I'm glad I decided to finally listen to it. You won't regret it!

Truth Be Told!

Despite not being a big fan of Steve Jobs the person, I couldn't help but be fascinated by his success which drove me to listen to this book. I was impressed by the book's candor and recommend this as a good listen.

A Historical Biography in Real Time

What did you love best about Steve Jobs?

It provided unparalleled insights into the successes and failures of Apple Computer, its founders, and its products, all of which changed the fields of technology, music, movies, and publishing. The book, from my perspective, is not attempt to project Steve Jobs as the greatest business manager in history but to tell his personal story...some of which went well, other parts were a miserable mess.

What did you like best about this story?

I was most intrigued by the way that individual personalities shaped company strategies and character, which then had an impact on their place in the market place. There wasn't just one winning strategy as the opposing pathes of Microsoft and Apple illustrate. Apple, however, wasn't really a huge success until it stumbled upon the value of music being available across its various fully integrated platforms. The personal insights into the life of Steve Jobs and his relationship with Bill Gates gave these business empires a more textured perspective.

What about Dylan Baker’s performance did you like?

He told the story as if we were talking to one another, not as though he was reading a book.

Interesting, though written favorably for Jobs

What made the experience of listening to Steve Jobs the most enjoyable?

I really enjoyed learning about his background, thought process, and perspective as he took us through the certain events of his life.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I felt like the narrator had a campy presentation. I felt like his manner of speaking didn't at all meld with how it was written.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Nothing really, though if I had to pick something it may be how he went through the period of time when he knew life was short. I think that's a scary time for anyone, and to see how one reacts and compare that to how you think you would react is a scary place to be.

Any additional comments?

I did feel as though the author was particularly harsh of others that Jobs had a negative thought on. Walter seemed to search and enhance certain events to make it more favorable for Steve Jobs.

Interesting book about an complicated man

If you could sum up Steve Jobs in three words, what would they be?

He's hard core

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

Steve Jobs going to India to meet his guru. There are a lot of memorable moments and things Steve Jobs does that I didn't know about.

Which character – as performed by Dylan Baker – was your favorite?

Steve Jobs

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I did not have an extreme reaction, but I was disappointed how (spoiler) the main character was cut down in the prime of his life.

Any additional comments?

When I read a bio of someone, what I really want to know is whether they the subject is good person or a bad person. Steve Jobs reminded me a lot of Albert Einstein, and he likely modelled himself after Einstein. Like Einstein, Steve Jobs is complicated and the answer isn't black and white.
Fun fact:
Einstein was born the year James Clerk Maxwell died.
Steve Jobs was born the year Einstein died.

The book is as amazing as an Apple product!!!

What an amazing lesson on a pioneer, a revolution, and how to make something(s) special.

Insightful

The story is a bit long but very enjoyable as it embarks on a journey.