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

Thank you Steve Jobs !

Wow this is a great look into the innovative life of Steve Jobs. I HIGHLY recommend this book! Rest In Peace Steve

interesting...

overall an interesting portrait of a slightly sad figure. From his being adopted to being not the most loving father and sometimes a miserable human being, you can't help but appreciate his genius when it comes to knowing what the public wanted in a truly great product. While his methods were questionable you have to appreciate the dedication he had to the company he founded and at the same time hate him for being a wreck as a person.

Great history of Apple, Pixar, and tech world.

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

This book ranks at the top of the list. Highly recommend.

What did you like best about this story?

How it truly captures who Steve Jobs was unfiltered!

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

Steve Jobs' progression and thoughts on death.

Best book I have "read". Period.

By far the most amazing book I have listened to. Simply an amazing story of a man "that changed the world".

enchanting & can't-stop-listening audiobook!

this was so good, I couldn't stop listening to it. My wife literally begged me to stop talking about Steve Jobs all the time. Anyone interested in business, technology, or entrepreneurship should commit to this soon. It's so inspiring a book, even if Jobs isn't your favorite person. Do it!

Amazing and refreshing insight

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

Absolutely! While I'm not an Apple Fanboy, the insight into Steve Jobs and the process by which Apple was built was very insightful and it was well written such that it kept my attention, even though it was really long.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jobs

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

Not really sure.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

How a bunch of geeks changed the world

Love Hate Relationship

I too am about 1/3 of the way through. I find myself constantly vascilating among love, dislike and admiration for this man. Amazing book.

Steve Jobs Unwrapped

What did you love best about Steve Jobs?

Steve Jobs was a creative, innovative, and complex individual who mastered the art of marketing. Most people who read this last sentence would say of course just look at Apple; however, the great success story was the way Steve Jobs marketed himself. The public persona that we all know, isn't what he was really like. This is the mark of a true master of marketing.

What did you like best about this story?

The story starts off with the "Story of Steve Jobs" that we all know, and then the author begins to unwrap him. Like peeling away the layers of an onion, we finally get to the core of who Steve Jobs was, and more importantly why he was the way he was. There is absolutely no doubt that he was a creative genius; however, he was also ruthless, demanding, and many time treated the employees as parts required to get a project completed. His explosive temper, his laser beam focus, and attention to detail all combined to make him the success he was.

The author includes a lot of lessor know facts about Steve Jobs such as how he approached Apples main competitor Microsoft CEO Bill Gates for a loan to keep Apple in business once he returned to Apple after being fired by the board of directors. Why Steve Jobs did not want to pay dividends to the shareholders of Apple corporation opting for increasing the actual value of the company and the companies shares while amassing billions of dollars in cash in the Apple bank accounts so that cutting edge technology could be purchased by Apple.

As I finished listening to this book it dawned on me that the image of Steve Jobs that he so skillfully crafted as a nerdy kid with the ability to envision future technology isn't fact at all. Rather Steve Jobs too technology that other created and combined several difference technologies together to create a totally new product that used the old technology to achieve a totally new experience. As I finished the last moments of the recording, I was reminded of something that my doctorate advisor once said. A genius is a person who looks at the ordinary and sees the extraordinary. That sums up Steve Jobs life.

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

The experience bought more feeling and depth to Steve Jobs. Not the image of Steve Jobs, but the real human Steve Jobs.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Apple unwrapped, the story of an American Genius

Any additional comments?

This audiobook removes the excuses that people offer for failure. Failure to live life to the fullest. Potential isn't affected by economic means, the type of family one comes from, the advantages or disadvantages of social class. If it did then Steve Jobs would have been a huge failure. Rather Steve Jobs listened to his heart, and found something he loved to do, and became so good at it that people paid him to do it.

Steve Jobs, the visionary.

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

This book presents a down-to-earth view of Steve Jobs. We learn about his mercurial nature, his lack of compassion for others, and his seemingly impossible demands. On the plus side, he loved his family and friends, and tried to bring out the best in himself and others. At times, he seems to be an arrogant egomaniac. At other times, he seems emotional and sensitive. He was a complicated person, as many of us are. I was relieved to see that he was not presented as a god, but as a normal human being. He was truly a visionary.

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

none

Have you listened to any of Dylan Baker’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

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

Yes, when he booked the hotel for his and Laurene's 20th anniversary.

Fascinating Read

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

Best Bio in a while. Dynamic Story explaining an out of the box thinking person. Distant from family passionate about design and consumer products.

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

His squabbles with people.

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

Dylan definitely in intrigued by Jobs.