iWoz

How I Invented the Personal Computer and Had Fun Along the Way

By: Steve Wozniak, Gina Smith

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor

Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

The mastermind behind Apple Computer sheds his low profile and steps forward to tell his story for the first time.

Before cell phones that fit in the palm of your hand and slim laptops that fit snugly into briefcases, computers were like strange, alien vending machines. They had cryptic switches, punch cards, and pages of encoded output. But in 1975, a young engineering wizard named Steve Wozniak had an idea: what if you combined computer circuitry with a regular typewriter keyboard and a video screen? The result was the first true personal computer, the Apple I, a widely affordable machine that anyone could understand and figure out how to use.

Wozniak's life before and after Apple is a "home-brew" mix of brilliant discovery and adventure, as an engineer, a concert promoter, a fifth-grade teacher, a philanthropist, and an irrepressible prankster. From the invention of the first personal computer to the rise of Apple as an industry giant, iWoz presents a no-holds-barred, rollicking, firsthand account of the humanist inventor who ignited the computer revolution.

©2006 Steve Wozniak (P)2006 Tantor Media, Inc.

Brilliant!

The Woz is actually a really entertaining guy. love this book! Great history, stories, enthusiasm. Definitely recommend listening for anyone interested in Silicon Valley or computer history.

Love it!

This is truly a must read (listen) for anyone who's interested in technology. Woz is one the greatest icons of the computer industry.

Great

It's a great book, if you want to know the true story of apple history

Just enough details for a great story

Narrative voice was the best I heard so far.
A superb story with an amazing description.

Woz's side of the Apple

It was amazing hearing insider stories of the origins of the remarkable Apple Computer Co.; from a man that lived and was the "other" driving force behind it. I say "other" because the Apple story is popularly held synonymously as the Steve Jobs story. I believe that Woz is much overlooked, although he was just as responsible, and deserves as much credit as Jobs, for the Apple revolution. it was satisfying hearing his side of the story. Writing and continuity could have been better. Woz jumps around a lot giving the impression that he had a huge list of events that he wanted into the book at all costs; some of these random side stories provide a good chuckle, while others deter.

Narration was good, excluding the occasional changes in volume.

You can tell the words were his own

The content in the book was interesting. You could really tell that the words were Wozniak's, and not just a ghostwriters, i like that a lot. The voice of the reader was annoying. His voice really bothered me, i much prefer the author to read.

Overall pretty good

My only complaint is the narrator doesn't keep a steady tone of voice throughout the book. There are many spots where the audio will get louder for a few sentences (obviously rerecorded segments) and it can get a little annoying. Besides for this, good book.

Woz is the BEST!

Wozniak speaks in a real world tone, and tells it like he sees it. He clears up some misconceptions about his past, and he entertains you along the way. He leaves out a lot of female drama along the way, and speaks to the aspects of his life that have made him such an interesting man. He never down plays his contributions, he takes pride in them as he should. He explains the very essence of being an engineer's engineer, and explains how he loves to prank... True Woz from Woz, get it read it, love it!

Awesome, endearing, what an awesome human being.

One of the great minds of our time. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs owe it all to this humble and caring soul. He could not have done what he did without his ruthless friend Steve, and he knew that. But that heartless business genius Jobs and Gates created a world for 'Woz' to great he own world in and free software and ideas flow free and shared without the money, because the greedy business man unwittingly caries us on their back no charge. Well played 'woz' well played. Jobs was the scarry intimidating face, but the true Wizard of Oz behind the curtain was Woz the great and powerful 'humble'

A fascinating look at Woz's life!

Really good overview of Steve Wozniak's life and accomplishments. He comes across a little arrogant in this book, but in a personable, lovably innocent way. The book is written in a very informal, conversational style. For example, the book is peppered with "Wows!" and "Oh my gosh!" The narrator does a very good job of conveying this style to the listerner.

Woz's stories on developing the Apple I and II computers as well as the remote control for his CL9 venture can get a little mired in technical detail. But for a former electrical engineer, there was serious nostalgia as he talked of circuits, gates, binary numbers and chips. If you are an Apple fan or interested in computer engineering, I highly recommend iWoz!