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

fabulous insight into the life of Steve jobs.

fabulous insight into steve's life.wonderfully well done and riveting . I enjoyed it very much.

Excellent! Interesting, insightfully funny & sad.

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

A top notch audiobook for sure. Surprisingly an intimate look into his life through a timeline of products.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Of course Steve Jobs!

Which scene was your favorite?

Steve Jobs return to Apple!

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

No, the audiobook it is too long but I did listen for long periods of time.

Any additional comments?

What an icon Steve Jobs is even today. I think he is an interesting study of creativity and innovation. His design instincts and passion for innovation will long be missed.

Complicated and Gifted Person

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

The first half of the book feels uncomfortable as you realize how difficult Steve Jobs could be to those around him. He was hard on people and selfish. But there is a moment in the second half when you realize how brilliant he truly was. It took a driven and complicated person to change computer devices and how we interact with them. He was being creatively selfish to the huge benefit to all of us.

Very Compelling

Very enjoyable , reader was fine not overly charismatic
As a fan of Jobs, I feel it gave us a good feel into the genius and at times madness he was.

Great read, and great narration.

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

Yes, anyone into Apple products or technology.

Any additional comments?

You feel as though you get to know the man. The good and the bad. Steve Jobs was a great CEO who pushed for innovation and focused on even the smallest detail to ensure the user gets the best product possible. It dose not hide the fact that he was also an emotional and a times irrational man who sometimes treated people horribly. Overall this book is great.

Awesome story

Would you listen to Steve Jobs again? Why?

I'm not so sure that I'd ever listen to this again, but not because it was poor. Quite the opposite.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime story about a guy who only comes along once a century. I'm not sure there's ever been anyone quite like Steve Jobs. I was never a big fan, but always respected him.

Walter Isaacson has a tall order. How do you exceed expectations when your subject is a larger-than-life character such as Mr. Jobs?

Isaacson delivers superbly.

What did you like best about this story?

Isaacson expertly wove all the intricate parts together. Always moving, always sharing, always opening up new revelations about a marvelous man.

Which scene was your favorite?

When we read about Steve Jobs proving his Dad wrong, innocently enough, with a demonstration of electronic conductivity in the family driveway that his Dad swore was impossible.

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

Think. (His Life.) Different.

Worth the read or listen.

Great book. Learned a lot about a very brilliant but complex man. Not sure the logic behind the sequence of some of the chapters but very well worth the read or listen.

What a dick.

But easily the most important dick of the century so far. He's completely changed our culture, and not by some huge political movement or vision, but by putting technology into our hands.

Couldn’t imagine why this needed to be 20 hours

But after listening I can’t imagine how a single word could be left out. I loved Isaacson’s Einstein biography, and this didn’t disappoint. At first I wasn’t sure about the narrator, but as I began to understand Jobs more I think it was a great choice. Great blend of personal insight with the story behind Apple revolutionizing the tech world.

If you've ever used/loved an Apple read this

I have been an Apple user since the // series, but never a fanatic. I am not devoted to Jobs but admire some of his results.

This helped fill in a few remaining gaps in the Jobs story in my mind. I've been in to tech since the early 80s and studied the history of the "personal computer" as far back as the concept reaches.

I follow modern technology stories on a daily basis and it's fascinating to see the fingerprints of the revolutionaries that pushed the edge of possibility and brought about the revolution which is now a way of life. This book brings in to focus the role that Jobs and his cohort have played in this new world order.

Great interview approach, unapologetic and brilliant. Heartfelt narration keep you interested and engaged with this fascinating character.