Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography

Just completed exclusive biography of Steve jobsMy major takeaways1) he was rebel and control freak by heart.2)he was against hackers3) believed in end to end integration (less scope for third party guys to crack)4)he considered himself a pirate against big brother IBM when he started ,watch 1984 adBut in the end apple became one and started controlling all aspects of the user and locking the customer with iTunes and iCloud account ( sunk cost effect, and almost impossible to migrate)5)his animation company Pixar was so good that he ended up becoming the largest shareholder with 7% stake in Disney when they bought Pixar ( his negotiation skills were that good)6) his wife made sure that even his coffin was designed by the same guys at apple and had no screws in them .7)His last words were 'oh wow' seeing his complete family just before going unconscious forever.He was an institution by himself!My last takeawayWill be cautious to buy any apple product as I know will never be able to come out of that ecosystem forever ♾️.

Once in a lifetime, you must read this book

What a great book !!This is one of the best biography I've read yet. The writing style of author keeps reader spellbound like a movie, although its almost 600 pages long but never bores. Every facets of Steve Jobs life was detailed in this biography. A great book by author and a must read for anyone interested in technology, history, biography, leadership.Now, about Steve Jobs, he was the Villain and Hero of his own story. A not so great or humble human being, who didn't accept his daughter for a long time, bashes his colleagues / subordinates / zero appetite to respect other's opinion or emotions or feelings. On the other hand, he was a great leader, business innovator who built great companies from scratch and definitely raised from ashes (Apple & Pixar).How, under his leadership, Apple built first iPod, multi touchscreen phone, then Tablet and paved a way for other companies to follow. The way he built an integrated Apple ecosystem which is still very relevant even today and everybody aspire to use its product once in a while. Even the might of Android developed by Google or Microsoft were not able to leave Apple behind in the tech race. Steve Jobs dream to create a Company which will change the world and put a dent in the Universe is still at work and moving ahead undeterred.

It’s one of the best book and the most important one which I have read in longest time. Truly inspiring.

I’ve always admired Steve as a celebrity. And had a fascination of his life what it would have been to be him. I think that this book has given me genuine picture of it.

The book is written in such a way that you will feel that you are in the world of Steve jobs. A bit lengthier book but completely describes the character of Steve Jobs and the side which we don't Know.

Great read, goes into the history of what we all take for granted today. Steve's charisma is translated amazingly, such that the book itself is charming.

Never thought that a biography would be the book I would fall in love with ..by far the best book I have ever read.

Apart from being an interesting read, for me it was also an eye-opening experience regarding my naive belief that I was someone 'in at the start of contemporary computing'. In 1974, I was employed by the John Lewis Partnership and worked on IBM 360/50 and 370/135 mainframe computers. I really did believe I was at the forefront of computing and yet, in California, Jobs and his compatriots were already producing computers that would make the leviathans I was blissfully serving, completely redundant. They probably didn't realise it but they were inventing disruption technology that would change computing from being an unwieldy corporate tool into a personal device to be used whether you worked for a company or just wanted to play games at home. IBM, Burroughs, Univac, NCR,CDC and Honeywell had to either reinvent themselves or disappear over the following years. Most people can remember the early Apple products, some will remember playing Atari Pong in the pub and more, products such as the early home computers. This book takes you back to the genesis of these inventions which came about not just through genius hardware and software engineering but also from enthusiastic use of LSD and transcendental meditation.A surprising man for a surprising time.

Quality from start to finish. How a biography should be and even turned me into an Apple convert. The story of a driven man who probably did manage to put a dent in the universe (time will tell).Snippets:Believed first and foremost in making great things before making money. Pretend to be completely in control and people will assume that you are. The goal of starting a company is to make something you believe in and that will last, not to get rich. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication - "less but better". To be truly simple, you have to go really deep. Design must reflect a product's essence. Good execution is as important as a great idea. A-players like to work together, not tolerate B-players. You can't afford to tolerate the B-players. Even the aspects that remain hidden should be done beautifully - a great carpenter isn't going to use lousy wood for the back of a cabinet just because it isn't seen (how many CEO's behave like that as opposed to finding cost-cuts?). Don't accept "no" for an answer, even if it means adopting a "reality distortion field". Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do. People who know what they're talking about don't need PowerPoint. If something isn't right, you can't just ignore it and say "we'll fix it later" - that's what other companies do! Motivations really matter - if you don't love music, don't create a music product. The best way to begin a speech is to say "let me tell you a story", because nobody wants a lecture. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way to avoid the trap of thinking that you have something to lose: memento mori. "Here's to the crazy ones".

As an 'Apple Fanboy', this was a book on my reading list for several months, and it leapt off when it was on sale for 99p at a rainforest-inspired online store.Perhaps one of the longest books I have read, it did take some time getting into, but I found it well-paced, covering all the key milestones.Including; birth, incorporation of Apple, creation of the first Apple computer, removal from Apple, Steve's return, launches of other key products and Steve's sad decline in health.Things have certainly changed for Apple since Steve is no longer with us, and it's clear to see why. Steve's passion for a 'product first' mentality was never copied by Microsoft or other tech giants, which made him unique not just then but has not been copied since.After reading, I don't view Steve with the same rose-tinted glasses as I had before, but he would undoubtedly be one of the people I would invite to dinner if I could choose.A highly recommended read for anyone who wants to get close to being in the head of one of the greatest visionaries the world has seen.

It's almost 6am and that's not because I've woken up early to start writing this review. Try as I might, once I pass a certain threshold, say, the 70% or 80% mark in a phenomenal book, I become physically incapable of falling asleep until I finish reading it. This is one of those books.Like he did with Franklin and Einstein, Isaacson has done a masterful job of weaving the myriad, intertwining threads of a lifetime into a cohesive and coherent narrative. I can only begin to fathom the colossal amount of work that went into organising the contents of 40+ interviews into robust prose such as this.Steve Jobs was a complicated, conflicted, genius, he was an abusive, unpredictable, visionary pioneer. Narcissistic and egotistical, but also determined and passionate about moving humanity forward. In brief, Jobs was a lot of things.Prior to my reading this book, I did not fully grasp the degree to which Jobs and his company revolutionised so many industries, ranging from personal computers to music to tablets and software.Coming out of this book, I'm still uncertain as to whether I should view Steve as flawed hero or a likeable villain -- but perhaps the hallmark of a truly great biography is that it conveys the true depth of every individual, one which surpasses unidimensional categories and value judgements.Massive, massive recommend from me!

Walter Isaacson has done an incredible job writing this book. It seems accurate and candid. This is no sycophantic tribute. However, it is still a tribute the the genius and vision of a remarkable man and what he created by sheer determination, obstinacy and self belief. It is people like Steve Jobs who change the world and make our lives so much better. I did not really know much about him, and my only Apple product at the time of reading this biography, was my trusty old ipod. After reading this book, I am full of admiration for the genius of this man and the incredible legacy he has left behind for us all. I was fortunate, in that we chose it for our Self Development bookclub, and were therefore able to stretch it over 5 sessions. It allowed us to do justice to the book.