Don't bother with the abridged version

I think this may be a good book. I can't tell. I chose the abridged version, and it is so terribly edited as to be awful. That is, it feels like whoever did the abridging went in with an axe and whacked away here and there, leaving all the cut edges exposed and bleeding. The result is a story that jumps from topic to topic, with some whole chapters cut down to a few sentences. If I were Steve Jobs, I'd say "this sucks".

Go for the full version; overall, the writing is good and the reader is good and the story seems interesting. It's just too bad the abridgement was so sloppy.

14 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Good Book... wish I got the unabridged version

When I ordered this book, I thought "how many hours of Steve Jobs do I need"?
Turns out, I could have used more. Very enjoyable.

7 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Even Abridged, this was PLENTY of Steve Jobs

Any additional comments?

This is not a book I would have normally selected. I read it for a book club at my job. I found it pretty tedious at times, and was immensely glad I had the abridged version. It was plenty of Steve Jobs. I know I would not have wanted to work for or even know the man. I think the abridged version very much skimped on his relationships with his wife and kids, and perhaps that would have been interesting. (If that is your area of interest, do not go with the abridged.) Mostly it was about his work and what an intolerable jerk he was there. The book seems to reinforce the belief that you have to be a jerk to be successful, which I find annoying. It had its interesting moments. I felt old when they discussed the infancy of PCs and I realized I was around then.
My favorite part was one meeting he had after a failed product release. He gathers the people on the project around and asked what the product was supposed to do. So they tell him and he shouts, “So why the f*** doesn’t it do that?” I’ve been at sunset reviews at work where it would have been very satisfying to ask that. One of the few times we touch on Jobs' personal life is in the story of his biological father and how Jobs had unknowingly already met the man. I found that very interesting. But let’s be real. Steve Jobs was a jerk and that gets old after a while.

2 persone l'hanno trovata utile

LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!

Wow! What an amazing book! Steve Jobs is such an inspiration! He makes me want to do the best at everything I do. What a great man!!!!

1 persona l'ha trovata utile

Unflinching biography

One of the best biographies I’ve ever read. Isaacson paints a portrait of Steve Jobs that is a testament to his genius, yet shows his struggles at relating to those whom love him the most — his family. A comprehensive and inspiring biography, and also a reminder to love your children.

Listen for sure!

A fairly balanced cover of Job’s life. I was hooked from the start right till the end.

Great story and writing about a true Visionary

Love this book, along with Da Vinci. Don't have any apple products, but greatly admire Steve Jobs and his ability to bring Art and Tech together. Walter Isaacson is certainly an amazing writer!

Inspiring and interesting but has a few flaws

I think Steve Jobes was one of the smartest people in the tech industry. His innovations still have their mark on the tech world and probably won't fade away anywhere soon. I think the first half of the book is the weaker part with not much interesting information IMO. The second part starts when Steve taking back the CEO chair and continues with all the innovative devices he and Apple brought to the world. While listening to the book I thought to myself "Jobs was a jackass, a big one" but I think the last chapter or so made me feel I'm accepting Jobs the way he is. It's focusing on why Jobs was so rude to people and how he saw Apple as a company compared to others and his vision.
Other than that I didn't like the narration. It felt very robotic most of the time and I didn't feel like the narrator is telling the story like it should been told.

I recommended only if you can go through the first half of the book without loosing it and of course if you a die hard Apple fan

Aweinspiring story

Very true to life story of the great man. Steve was in a class on his own and the book is very detailed and lucid.

not as inspired as I thought I would be

too many dates and details, technical descriptions, etc. probably all true, overall a very documentary-style type of biography, but kind of boring for my personal taste.