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

Excellent! Easy to follow chronologically

Excellent book, on top of more than i ever needed to know about apple, woven in were many lessons that can be applied to anyone's life.

Great writing, great read

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

The writing was excellent and the story was compelling. The book was a good history of the computer revolution and the story of how Apple climbed back to relevance was a wonderful lesson.

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

25 hours --- no shot at one sitting, as much fun as that would have been.

Any additional comments?

Get it. It is well worth it.

Important book. Dislike narrator.

Why does this narrator always sound nasally and ornery? It's bizarre. Unpleasant timbre to his voice, which he could control if he wanted to.

Anyway, the book itself is amazing.

A very good book

If you want to know Steven Jobs, this book is for you. One of the best biography of Steven Jobs

Incredible man, great listen.

Amazing book, never got bored. An incredible man who put a major mark on all of our lives if you know it or not. Although flawed, Steve Jobs always seem to somehow make his flaws a positive. Incredible life journey. Very honest book, didn't feel the author filtered anything negative about Steve. All accounts of his life good and bad were written about. Maybe my favorite bio I've listened to so far. Narration by Dylan Baker spot on.

Interesting, Educational, and Enjoyable

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

Just being able to drive and listen to an interesting story

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jobs himself since I never paid much attention to Apple

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

no sure

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

no

So good.

Loved it - put me to bed every night and changed my outlook on life, business and my iPhone, Mac & original Apple IIe when I was a kid.

Wonderful account of a revolutionary life!

This was an interesting unbiased account of the life of a man, who changed the world. Historical jewel. Inspiring story.

One of the best Biographies

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

Would recommend to others. Especially "techies".

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

His early days of doing drugs.

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

It's non-fiction, so he didn't perform the characters.

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

The need to always seek perfection, which is the basis of products like the iPod and the iPhone.

Absolutely Excellent!

Difficult to put down. He did so much more than i had thought. Highly recommend!