Customer Reviews

Inside Apple: How America's Most Admired--and Secretive--Company Really Works

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

...which is saying something. I haven't done that since I was a teenager and I'm in my forties. To compare this book to Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs, which is arguably the best biography I've ever read, would not be fair; although everyone is going to do that. I struggled with the comparison myself.

Bottom Line: These are two very different books, and this is a great compliment to Job's biography.

Did I learn anything ground breaking? I had hoped to, but I'm not sure I did. (Especially in the "Secrecy chapter - I wanted more!) Still, I did learn a LOT of small things that, added together, made the book feel groundbreaking. I've highlighted several passages in my kindle edition, but I feel like it would be cheating to share more than one with you. My personal favorite has to do with Apple's seeming lack of career paths for their employees; it goes like this:

"...what if it turns out that all that thinking is wrong? What if companies encouraged employees to be satisfied where they are, because they're good at what they do, not to mention because that might be what's best for shareholders?" Well, what if? The Peter Principle is hard to fight against; even more difficult to compete with are the ambitions of people. Adam mentions a saying that I've heard before, "Everyone inside Apple is trying to get out, and everyone outside is trying to get in."

Well, I'm both of those. After reading this book, I still would love to work for Apple; and I'd hate it too. What an exquisite company!
Most revealing to me is that while employees who are entrepreneurs "typically don't stick around for more than a couple of years," the company still manages to thrive in an oddly entrepreneurial way. At the same time, these entrepreneurs had "rich, productive experiences at Apple, where there ... was room for only one..."

Last, there is some speculation and discussion about the struggles Apple will have in keeping it's culture. The consequences of Steve Job's intense involvement followed by his rapid second departure will only really be understood over time - a _lot_ of time. Yet, I found this discussion to be better than any I've read on the web. At the same time, what human could possibly read all that has been written about Apple since late last year?

Despite my desire not to succumb to comparing this book with Isaacson's, I'll end with that comparison: The biography was bigger and the best in its class, and while this book is a quick, easy read, it is the first _real_ book in its class. I probably won't read the biography again, except for reference; I see myself reading Lashinsky's book again and again, cogitating on the philosophies and learning more during each read.

If I could, I'd give the book 4.8 stars, but since I have to round, I don't begrudge it the five stars that I expect most will give. You did a decent job with this book, Mr. Lashinsky, and I'm happy to recommend it.

This marks the third incarnation of Mr. Lashinsky's "inside" look at the workings of Apple. The Fortune Magazine article was quite good, considering the format limitations. However, as he expanded the story, first in to a short ebook and now the full length version, cracks began to show in the material. What was informative and precise, in short form, began to read as rehashed and bloated, in longer form. Simply put, "Inside Apple" is merely a magazine article which has been padded in to a book.

Now, that's not to say it's a bad read, by any means. Mr. Lashinsky has compiled a commendable briefing on the basics of how Apple operates. He has also added a great deal of analysis and varied opinions, which raise some valid concerns. However, if you have read just about any of the books previously written on Apple/Jobs, you've unquestionably encountered the same stories, concepts, and "inside" information before. What you really have here is a summary of key points from all that has been written about the subject before.

So, a good read, if you want a quick run through of the basic ideology, with some critical analysis thrown in. Just don't expect to find anything particularly new or shocking.

Adam Lashinsky's Inside Apple is likely to be closely read inside and outside the company. Scheduled to be released this week, it's the most important Apple book since Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs and is, in many ways, the perfect companion to the Jobs biography.

If Isaacson's was the Time Magazine or People Weekly version of the Apple story, what Lashinsky delivers -- appropriately enough, given the magazine he works for -- is the Fortune version.

Lashinsky's goal was to understand the company Jobs built as a business. But unlike, Isaacson, Lashinsky didn't have Jobs' cooperation. Nor did the company make any Apple executives or employees available. So like a correspondent debriefing refugees at the border of a war zone, Lashinsky interviewed scores of collaborators, competitors and former employees after they left the confines of Apple's closely guarded Cupertino campus.

The result is a deep dive into an extraordinary enterprise that has disrupted one industry after another while ignoring -- if not deliberately breaking -- most of the rules of modern business management.

This book is surely an 'ok' read, but don't expect too much. It shows that the basis was a magazine article and the expansion into a book (albeit a short one) has not improved the material.

It gives an interesting first view into the company but fails to deliver any real interpretation or deeper insight into the company or the main players. Most of the facts and stories at best give a 'meh - already heard or read this somewhere else' feeling. Lots of information from well-known news stories or even from the Isaacson Jobs bio.

Seems like this was a quick revamp to monetize on old material after the renewed interest in Apple/Jobs and the success of the Isaacson biography...

I pre-ordered this book based on the hype it had created before the launch and going by the author's bio. However, it fails miserably to deliver on the promise. If you have read the Steve Jobs biography and generally read Apple related news stories once in a while then there is very little information you'll find in this book. Most of the content has been a rehash of various news stories rather than based on employee interviews and actual insider account.

I'd not recommend this book. If you have not read the Steve Jobs biography, I'd highly recommend that rather than this book.

You can tell as soon as you look at this book that it was not the work of a design-snob Apple disciple. The book jacket imitates the aluminum sheen and glowing logo of the MacBook. But it's just... ugly. The Apple leaf on the title is inexplicably green. The orange subtitle is more reminiscent of Amazon than Apple. Flip through the pages, and the typeface seems subtly out of sync with the rest of the book design.

This first impression illustrates the best and the worst things about this book. Adam Lashinsky is no fanboy; he is able to be dispassionate, skeptical, and curious about his topic. But his book desperately needs the same curation and focus that he lauds Apple for.

The core thesis of the book is sound. Apple's management principles are diametrically opposed to most of the conventional wisdom and literature of management, and this difference is the key to the company's runaway success. The book is full of many interesting anecdotes and details, and some intriguing predictions.

Unfortunately the book needs an editor to take an axe to it, and simplify, simplify, simplify. Lashinsky rambles and repeats himself. It's sometimes hard to discern the points he's trying to make. A Steve Jobs keynote it's not.

I got to see the author on his book tour. In person he gave very much the same impression: he stood up there with his Dell laptop, flipped through a disjointed series of colorful slides, interrupted himself and went off on tangents. I was pleasantly surprised to win a free copy of the book at the end of his talk, but also a little skeptical given his performance. It turned out my gut feeling was spot-on.

Wait for Inside Apple to come to your local library, or borrow it from a friend. I know I would have been disappointed had I paid the hardcover price.

- sent from my MacBook Air

This isn't the definitive Bio to SJ, Issacon's is. But I have learned several tidbits about Steve and the innerworking of the company. But the biggest + is that you learn about Tim Cook, the new leader of the Apple Empire. A must read for an Apple Fan and how it will be after the death of Mr. Jobs.

"Inside Apple" is one of the best books regarding the famed maker of iPods, iPhones and Macs i've ever read. This book explores the secretive nature of the Cupertino California company and highlights things the general public has never known about the development of their products. (The iPad was created before the iPhone?!) This is a well written book and a great read for any Apple fan.

This book along with "Inside Steve's Brain" by Leander Kahney are the best books about Apple Computer Inc. I have found. The two books together will give you the best look inside the company and Steve Jobs that I have yet to find.

Lashinsky is one of the preeminent technology interviewers in Silicon Valley today-- and he tackles Apple Inc the same way he interviews CEOs. His books is laced with plenty of Steve Jobs anecdotes and quips but is by no means a book just about Steve Jobs (nor do I expect it was intended to be).

Instead, the author tackles every angle he can to expose how Apple functions as a corporate entity, no small task for one of the largest and most secretive institutions in the world. Indeed, one comes away with the distinct notion that Apple is an institution. Lashinsky is like a astronomer who cannot see into the black hole of Apple, instead he interviews all around the exterior of the company to paint a picture of the negative space you cannot see.

Tremendous detail on a culture built around egoless teams who compete ruthlessly with each other all in pursuit of the best product that can be made. They raid each others staffs, erect secret rooms and treat even their closest co-workers on a need to know basis. His rich detail on industrial design and the unbelievable lengths Apple goes to create the exact image of a product, of a company is fascinating and scary.

He also provides an interesting, though short, comparative analysis of the culture of Silicon Valleys other current titan Google. Apple- a top down, execute at all costs, do your job mentality and Google the freewheeling, imagination run wild employee-centric company.

I particularly like how he posits suppositions about what the implications for Apple might be based on these observations. He is careful not to be declarative in his statements, but rather lay out what might happen now that Jobs is gone, and of course only time will tell. Most of all he makes no value judgements on if Apples corporate management structure is better or worse than traditional corporate America- but it is distinctly different. I hope he writes a follow up book or article in 10 years. A great and quick read that flows well.