Jeffrey S. Young

This book chronicles the life of Steve Jobs through the early part of the 2000's. It talks about everything from his estranged daughter, his unique lifestyle, the founding of Apple and his forced exit. Where the book was most interesting (to me) was when Jobs returned to Apple and how his approach had changed. He was still driven and passionate about his goals for Apple but he was more aware of the management aspects of his role as CEO.
iCon demonstrates how the flawed but driven man show more reshaped the world of technology. The book further demonstrates that, with his passing in Oct 2011, Steve Jobs will be sorely missed by Apple and the world of technology. show less

“An unauthorized and unflinching portrait of the phenomenon behind Apple” says the back cover. Unauthorized, it definitely is, but I am not sure about the unflinching part, because the book does not reveal anything that an Apple enthusiast doesn’t already know.

The book sketches Steve Jobs’ intriguing life. It begins with RSJ’s (RSJ stands for Real Steve Jobs. If you don’t know what I am talking about, visit this site.) birth and sheds light on his childhood, his college days, show more founding of Apple, and RSJ’s and Apples’ growth. It doesn’t show the readers a personal side of RSJ. It only paints RSJ through events that happened in the public. List of events in RSJ arranged in chronological order interspersed with conversations with a few people - that’s what the book is about. The book paints a contradicting picture - it quotes a few people saying working with Steve Jobs was a nightmare, some people say he was a terror, the book also describes Jobs as a charismatic figure, who improvised on all his speeches and held the audience captivated.

A biography need not be just a journal of events in a lifetime. Readers want to know about RSJ from a different perspective, his human side, if I can say that. Boardroom meetings, RSJ’s charismatic talks in MacWorld meetings, his break-up, his addiction with Zen - all this is available elsewhere too. What a biography should give something that is hidden from the public. This book can probably be forgiven because it says it is unauthorized. If not from Steve’s mouth himself, but a different perspective could have been given by including conversations from more people who have worked with Steve.

My expectations from this book was different from what the book actually gave me. I was expecting to know how Jobs managed Apple, his management tactics and his style of working. I was expecting a peephole to Apple’s world through RSJ’s eyes. This is not what I got. In fact, there is hardly any mention of how Jobs built this company and took it to where it is now. This book is like reading lots of Page 3 articles on Steve Jobs. How much of Page 3 can you take in, anyway? This book has nothing that I could take back home. It only leaves me more knowledgeable about Steve Jobs. Were my expectations flawed? May be.

If you want to know Steve Jobs better, pick this up. If you expect to know how Steve Jobs managed Apple, this is not the book for you. show less

This is an unauthorised book about one of the most influential computer superstars in our fledgling industry of digital development. What made me want to read it was when I heard Steve Jobs kicking up a fuss about the publication of the book, which of course promptly promoted more publicity. Even if you are not interested in reading about the history of the development of computers from the mid 70s onward, this is still a very readable look at a man who knows how to stage show and promote show more new ideas and products. He is evangelical but is no angel. This tome has been written from the viewpoint of many 'acquaintances'. It is not terribly flattering most of the time but it is an interesting take on a period of history that has so influenced how we live and work with computers today. show less

Steve Jobs' biography till the ouster from Apple and establishment of NeXT. This book is has lot more details about the initial years of Apple than in Walter Isaacson's official biography. Apart from life of Steve Jobs,the book sheds light on the evolution of personal computing and hegemony of IBM, which I think was quite interesting.