Apple:: The Inside Story of Intrigue, Egomania, and Business Blunders [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

by Jim Carlton (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Computer users who favor Macintosh products are truly enthralled with their machines. But after reading Apple: The Inside Story of Intrigue, Egomania, and Business Blunders, even the most zealous may be hard-pressed to defend the company that produces them. Here, Wall Street Journal technology reporter Jim Carlton chronicles the missteps that have befuddled the fallen giant of Cupertino between the initial and current regimes of cofounder Steve Jobs. Carlton combines a keen sense of observation with a slew of previously undisclosed facts to produce a damning history that will leave many wondering how the firm has managed to survive.

From Library Journal
How many companies were started in a garage by a couple of whiz kids, went on to a global presence with multibillion dollar sales, and within 20 years came close to bankruptcy? Meet Apple Computer. Wall Street Journal reporter Carlton follows Apple from when it produced the first Macintosh personal computer, designed for those with little or no technical knowledge. Sales rocketed and Apple became the darling of computer enthusiasts. But Carlton also points out lost opportunities along the way, involving insufficient licensing efforts, mergers allowed to fail, unwillingness to permit products to evolve, lack of interest in exploiting the Internet, and blindness to competitors. Carlton lays much of the blame with Apple's board of directors. An epilog on recent changes at Apple is being added at the last minute. Recommended for larger nonfiction collections and special libraries with an information technology clientele.?Richard S. Drezen, Washington Post News Research Ctr., Washington,
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 463 pages
• Publisher: Crown Business; 1st edition (October 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812928512
• ISBN-13: 978-0812928518
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,061,094 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good insights... lousy writing..., December 3, 1997

By A Customer

As an Apple employee I liked Jim Carlton's book because of the behind-the-scenes glimpses at a company that I love. But, geez, I've never read a book that needed a good editor more... there are literally sections that repeat themselves word for word (and how many times can we read a gushing description of Steve Jobs' "long flowing hair and rock-star good looks"? Give me a break. I also disagree with people here who say that he gives Apple a "fair shake". I found his portrayal quite biased and one-sided. Carlton's history of Apple is one that is full of major blunders that would have saved the company (his view). The reality is that, for all its missteps, Apple did a lot of things amazingly well... but you won't find that history in this biased book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent history but unneccesary negative tone, February 17, 1999

By A Customer

Aside from some negatives described below, I really enjoyed this book. Jim Carlton has obviously assembled an extensive history of Apple and it's people. You really get an inside look at Apple.

On the negative side, there are endless criticisms of Apple's blunders that are all too easy to make in hindsight.

It's also interesting to see how far Jim Carlton was off the mark in predicting Apple's demise. Since the book was completed Apple has made a tremendous turnaround. His book gives the impression that Apple's collapse was just around the corner. Now his book can be subjected to some 20/20 hindsight!

But this is still an excellent book and I highly recommend it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book gave me the answers I was looking for...and more., October 16, 1997

By	[e-mail] (Kansas City, MO) - See all my reviews

Apple Computer, in its heyday, was one of the most respected growth companies of this century. As a devoted Mac user, it's always been hard for me to comprehend how Apple managed to take one of the most innovative products of our time, the user-friendly personal computer, and fail to compete effectively long-term in the mass market.

This book gave me the answers I was looking for...and more. Not a dry corporate history book, Jim Carlton has gone to the heart of what went wrong in Apple by focusing on the personalities that shaped this company...and later led it to the brink of ruin.

The leaders of Apple could have come out of a Shakespearean play. As Shakespeare knew, hubris, or excessive pride, is the undoing of man. In the swollen egos of Apple's leaders, we see evidence of hubris with a capital "H".

Although we may fool ourselves into thinking that technological prowess and All-American competitiveness has lifted us above the men of Shakespeare's day, Jim Carlton's Apple brings us back to earth and reminds us that, above all else, it's the human element that makes or breaks a company.