Steve Jobs
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.
Stats for nerds
64recommend
206mentions
194people
2011–2026years
33% recommend59% neutral9% critical
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- The Apple store chapter was my favorite part of Isaacson's book. It really solidified the "control the whole stack" approach that Steve Jobs had. That being said, I'm glad to see app developers getting their fair share back from the app store.
- I love looking at books in people's photos. Here's what I found in yours. I hope you don't mind!
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Bad Blood by John Carreyrou - A detailed account of the Theranos scandal.
The Founders by Jimmy Soni - Explores the early days of PayPal and its impact on Silicon Valley.
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight - Memoir by the founder of Nike.
Measure What Matters by John Doerr - A book about OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) and organizational success.
Business Adventures by John Brooks - Classic tales of corporate life, highly recommended by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.
Becoming by Michelle Obama - The former First Lady's personal memoir.
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch - Inspirational reflections on life and achieving dreams.
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson - A comprehensive biography of Apple's co-founder.
Chaos Monkeys by Antonio García Martínez - A look into the wild side of Silicon Valley.
Facebook: The Inside Story by Steven Levy - A deep dive into the social media giant's history and controversies.
Skunk Works by Ben R. Rich - Stories of innovation from Lockheed Martin’s legendary division.
Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke - How to make decisions under uncertainty.
Superforecasting by Philip Tetlock and Dan M. Gardner - Insights into better prediction and decision-making.
Educated by Tara Westover - A memoir about resilience and education.
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain - A raw look at the life of a chef.
Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin - A biography of the physicist behind the atomic bomb.
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant - Wisdom on wealth and happiness.
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I've read Naval's book, but not the others. Are there any in particular you really enjoyed?
- Isaacson's Steve Jobs. It's incredibly well executed in terms of writing and structure. A piece of art.
- Hello everyone!
I really enjoyed reading Androids and the other similar books below. I found it fascinating to learn the stories behind the technology I use everyday. I've been having a hard time finding books similar to it. Does any know of any other books, articles, or whatever that go into the history of operating system, video games, programming languages, or other parts of the tech industry?
Books I've Read:
* Androids: The Team that Built the Android Operating by Chet Haase
* Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made by Jason Schreier
* Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture by David Kushne
* Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
* Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different: A Biography by Karen Blumenthal
- I think you should read the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson
- This is not a glorious story of a technical team pulling out all stops to win.
It’s a company in serious financial trouble sinking and the CEO making terrible micromanaged decisions and railroading and bullying his experts.
Straight NO to working for Musk.
I loved the Walter Isaacson Steve Jobs biography but zero interest in reading this book.
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