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

Incredible Journey!

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

This is a very well written book with very vivid details on Job's life and thoughts. Not to be missed, it's a journey while worth taking. The narration didn't sound like what you'd expect, but, was delivered well enough to enjoy the book

Really interesting book, somewhat monotone reader

This is a very interesting book about a unique man that had a goal to change the world, and he certainly accomplished that. I thought the story of Job's life was entertaining, inspiring and revealed a ton of things about a guy that could change from wildly brilliant to extremely childish, sometimes within a single sentence. He was certainly a man that lived by the "Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish" motto he preached.

I thought it was transparent and authentic.

I have noticed a thread in the entrepreneurs and creators of successful organizations. Allthough every leader approaches their business from slightly different perspectives each seems to have a lazer focus on what to focus on and what to ignore. This was exstremely evident in Steve Hobs life & business. I dont rhink he would appreciate me as a person because I dont think in the same ways he does, but that's ok because I am needed elsewhere and doing different things. so in that respect I believe I would have enjoyed observing him as he dissected each aspect and detail. Great book!

An intriguing book

For anyone who has been an Apple fan from the company's inception, this is a terrific book. The author includes great detail about Jobs' life and business philosophy. The narrator is easy to understand; I don't have the same negative feeling about him that others have expressed.

Better than the book

I have owned this book hardcover since it came out. Several times I attempted to start reading it but didn't make it very far in

Fantastic Simply Fantastic Story

Was never a big fan of Steve or Apple. My first computer I ever touched a Mac in my kindergarden class though, which lead me into IT.
Hearing this story was very inspirational and an eye opener as to how an entrepreneur endured great challenges.

Well read, biography of a fascinating person

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

Passionate, blunt, and genius

Any additional comments?

I gradually transitioned to Apple products, preferring their simplicity and clean design, and it was interesting to see the story behind these characteristics (and behind Apple's reluctance to use much 3rd party software, like Adobe products). It's easy to conclude, at least for me, that Apple would not be what it is today without Steve Jobs. I found the book well researched and well narrated. I'd recommend it for anyone interested in learning a unique (but at times horrifying) management style and learning how Apple and Pixar became what they are today.

Best Biography I've Ever Read

A great and easy narration. The book is insightful and inspiring. A complete page turner!!

you never know who will be your boss

Would you listen to Steve Jobs again? Why?

once is enough

Who was your favorite character and why?

steve

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

both

Any additional comments?

it seams that he is only a salesman the brains was woz

A True Inventor--

What did you like best about this story?

story is very believable and provides a wonderful insight into a an incredibly creative person who could not even take good care of himself causing his own death at a very young age