I typically don't enjoy reading biographies but this book was so riveting that I had trouble putting it down! I would describe it as one of the better (if not the best) non fiction book that I can recall reading in a very long time.
If you don't believe me, trust the experts. Steve Jobs by Water Isaacson has been recently nominated by Amazon as a contender for "The Best Book of 2011" award. For more information on the Top 100 contenders, here is the link.
Apart from gaining an insight to the otherwise unknown life of the legendary Steve Jobs, I also found myself becoming much more appreciative of the iPhone and iPad devices which I'm sure that everyone would agree are simply life transforming devices which most of us would now have trouble living without.
Being a Intel and Windows person from the day I started using computers, I've neither been caught up with the Apple "We are the Rebels" siren call nor have been particularly attracted by its design or aesthetic plus points to want to make myself go through the trouble of working on a Apple desktop in a predominantly Windows world. However, by the end of the book, I found myself itching to get my hands on an iMac so that I can see for myself the "close integrated hardware and software" vision that Steve so adamantly held close to his heart.
Beyond the magical transformation that I've just described, this book of about 700 pages have also for very special reasons (which I would not further elaborate in this post) touched me on a much deeper and personal level. :D
I hope that you will enjoy reading this book as much as I did.
Jamie's Rating: 5 out of 5 (Must read)
About the Book
Based on more than forty 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 twenty-first 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 nor even the right to read it before it was published. 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.
Where to get it
1. Popular in Singapore (Get additional 20% discount if you are a Popular member)
2. Shell Gas Station
3. The Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Steve-Jobs-Exclusive-Biography-Walter-Isaacson/9781408703748
