Based on more than 40 interviews with the late Steve Jobs conducted over two years—as well as interviews with more than 100 family members, friends, adversaries, competitors and colleagues—bestselling author Walter Isaacson has written a riveting biography of the roller-coaster life and 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.
Although Jobs cooperated with this book, he asked for no control over what was written. He put nothing off-limits, and as a result, 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—and his legacy—is revealing, filled with lessons about innovation, character, leadership and values.
Hardcover Book : 646 pages
Publisher: Simon And Schuster, Inc. ( October 24, 2011 )
Item #: 13-499117
ISBN: 9781451648539
Product Dimensions: 6.125 x 9.25 x 1.05inches
Product Weight: 34.0 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

As a 20-year plus Mac user, I've long admired Steve Jobs and was eager to read this book. What I didn't expect was such well-written, succinct prose that unfolds in such an organized manner. Steve Jobs was brilliant and had a wide-range of interests and many friends and contacts, so keeping all of this information corralled in a meaningful way for the reader was a major challenge, which Isaacson mastered. He tried to write a balanced biography that also explained, as much as possible, Jobs' complex personality, and I believe he succeeded.
Reviewer: Tina
This an excellant book about Steve. His life as he grew and how he saw things. He was a bit "left of center" at times, but that is just Steve. It's amazing how the writer can convey exactly the way he was. He was such a brilliant man. There will never be another person as creative and tallented as he. When he speaks of the area he grew up in and all of his surroundings, we can see it too, being from the same area. The descriptions of everything, his feelings, it's just phenominal. I can't say enough about this book. It is a must read!
Reviewer: Nancy
As the owner of a number of Apple products, I have read much about Steve Jobs over the years. This book puts into context his life and career. Having a son whose career is in industrial (exhibit) design made me really appreciate Jobs will in forcing his people to bend to his will. Being retired and not a techie makes me appreciate the simplicity of his products. Walter Isaacson, as he has done with his other books, has done a masterful job of research giving the reader a consummate sense of the man. Jobs will be missed. He really was one of a kind. The best paragraph in the book is his note to his wife on their 20th wedding anniversary. As a widower married 40 years, if you are fortunate to have a life partner this good, you celebrate!!!!
Reviewer: Howard S
This is a truly fantastic book. I really did not know much about Steve Jobs. Now I regret not having followed his remarkable career more closely. This book should be required reading for members of any company, industry, or organization that is looking improve the way it does business. I am in healthcare, and Jobs'insistance on making people from different departments and spacialties work together on projects is just what the industry needs. No fiefdoms or competing agendas were allowed. Jobs was a task master to be sure, and apparently not a very nice indivdual to deal with, but the overarching theme of the book is that for those willing and able to deal with him and work for him, they did the best work they ever could have done. And they all insist they never would have realized their full potential without him. This has been an important and life changing book for me.
Reviewer: Tom N