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Apple Confidential (Paperback)

by Owen W. Linzmayer (Author) "Thanks to a never-ending campaign by Apple's powerful public relations machine to protect the myths surrounding the company's origin, almost everyone believes that Apple was..." (more)
Key Phrases: clone makers, quarterly loss, Power Mac, John Sculley, Power Computing (more...)
4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (102 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Owen Linzmayer's Apple Confidential is subtitled The Real Story of Apple Computer, Inc., and while nobody will ever know the complete, "real" story about Apple, Linzmayer's is probably as close as they come. Having covered Apple news since 1980, he offers extensive insider details about Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, John Sculley, Gilbert Amelio, Bill Gates, and other major players whose lives were (and are) intertwined with Apple's history. And along the way, we also learn about lesser-known figures whose stories have remained hidden in the Apple myth: Ronald Gerald Wayne, for example, who was actually a partner with Wozniak and Jobs in the original incarnation of the company, but who sold his share when he realized he would be financially vulnerable if it should fail.

Linzmayer's tale does have a few drawbacks. Because he mixes a chronological narrative with chapters that focus on key points in the Apple story, he sometimes repeats himself. Case in point: the chapter "Big Bad Blunders" makes a great record of Apple's failures, but the story of the exploding Powerbook 5300s is duplicated at later points. Nonetheless, Apple Confidential is rife with gems that will appeal to Apple fanatics and followers of the computer industry. Especially enjoyable are the revelation of "Easter eggs" that are hidden in several versions of the Mac operating system; the many screen shots, timelines, and telling quotes from Jobs, Gates, Wozniak and others that populate the margins and concluding sections of each chapter; the "Code Names Uncovered" section that makes public the monikers of several secret Apple projects; and Bill Gates's 1985 letter to John Sculley and Jean Louis Gassee pleading for Apple to license Mac technology and develop a "standard personal computer." --Patrick O'Kelley

From Library Journal
For your Mac community, you can't go wrong with these titles. Linzmayer's Apple Confidential is an unofficial history of Apple and a great read. Pogue's MacWorld Mac Secrets explains all the oddities about any Mac still in use, while his iMac guide follows the format of the "Dummies" series. Poole's MacWorld Mac OS 8.5 Bible completely explains Mac 8.5, the newest operating system upgrade.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

  • Paperback: 280 pages
  • Publisher: No Starch Press; 1 edition (March 1999)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 188641128X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1886411289
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.5 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (102 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #556,000 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
Thanks to a never-ending campaign by Apple's powerful public relations machine to protect the myths surrounding the company's origin, almost everyone believes that Apple was started in a garage by "the two Steves," Stephen Gary Wozniak, 25, and Steven Paul Jobs 21. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
clone makers, quarterly loss
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Power Mac, John Sculley, Power Computing, San Francisco, Steve Wozniak, Star Trek, Jean-Louis Gassée, Apple Computer, Bill Gates, Mike Markkula, Mac Portable, Macworld Expo, New York, Gil Amelio, Jef Raskin, National Semiconductor, Workgroup Server, Big Blue, Silicon Valley, Apple Ile, Super Bowl, Michael Spindler, Newton Inc, Alan Kay, Palo Alto
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Accidental Empires by Robert X. Cringely
The Apple Way by Jeffrey L. Cruikshank
The Cult of Mac by Leander Kahney
 

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Customer Reviews

102 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (102 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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172 of 176 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Creator of the Macintosh's Opinion, May 13, 2000
By Jef Raskin (Pacifica, CA USA) - See all my reviews
Of all the books written on Apple's history, this one comes closest to accurately relating the story of how the Mac was created, and other early Apple events.

I can't personally vouch for Linzmeyer's discussion of more recent history, because I left Apple a while ago, but having seen the results of his careful research where I personally took part in the events, and having seen the massive inaccuracies in many other books, I'd bet on his.

Some other books are more exciting reads, but that's because they're partially fiction. Linzmeyer has done his homework. But don't get the impression that this book is dull; it's fun, with many interesting tidbits and historical photographs.

This is the book to read if you are interested in fact rather than legend.

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32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Gossip, History, Trivia, Legends & Lore, April 18, 2004
By therosen "therosen" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
  
This review is from: Apple Confidential 2.0: The Definitive History of the World's Most Colorful Company (Paperback)
This book combines gossip, history, trivia and the legends & lore of one of America's most fascinating companies. The story starts with the two Steves making and selling boxes to confuse the phone system into granting free calls. It chronicals the development of Apple computer from the first Apple through the Lisa, endless varities of Macintosh and today's iPod. Throughout the story, the massive ups and collosal failures of this American instution are laid bare.

The layout is interesting as well. As characters are introduced, the reader frequently wonders "What happened to them?" More often than not, the question is answered in a sidebar. This showed that Apple wasn't just a great product developer, but also a great developer of silicon valley talent.

The book details the extremes of the players personalities:
- How Jobs agreet to split the proceeds of an Atari deal with Woz, only to keep 90% of the income himself.
- How Woz forced the company to go public early by sharing his stock with too many employees.
- How Gasse talked folks out of liscencing the technology until it was too late.
- How several successive CEOs tried in vain to save the company.

The book also details some lesser known stories from Apple's storied past:
- How the 1984 commercial almost never made it.
- How the company decided to abandon Copland. (& Why!)
- How the company got sued by Carl Sagan, and how they dug their ditch a little deeper.

There's a lot of "Hows" here, which really shows how deep the author gets into the company's history and soul. You come away with not just a knowledge of the people, but their personalities and why exactly things turned out the way they did.

This book is excellent reading for anyone interested in the world of technology, and an absolute must for fans of Apple.

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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best business books ever written, March 25, 1999
This is a must-have book for any fan of Apple. It's possibly the most thorough - yet still readable - history of the company. It mixes business facts, behind-the-scenes secrets, and pop culture tidbits beautifully. Along the way, you'll learn the ins and outs of other computer companies (Microsoft, IBM, AOL, NeXT, Power Computing, Xerox PARC, etc) and a lot about the history of the industry in general and the players in particular.

Linzmayer is the author of "The Mac Bathroom Reader," and knows what he's talking about. Not only does "Apple Confindential" add more history that wasn't in that volume, but it's redesigned, updated to this year, and includes Steve Jobs' return and the iMac success.

In a word, breathtaking: It has quotes from everyone involved, timelines, products lists, a history, a little opinion, analysis, stock info, classic pictures. It's all here.

I'd write more, but I'm going to read it again. And I now know what to give other Apple fans for gifts.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Great History of Apple
This is a great book that talks about the History of Apple Computer. I couldn't put it down and it was fun walk down memory lane of Apple computers and tech history.
Published 12 months ago by Paul Scott

5.0 out of 5 stars Great reading
This book contains all the informations a mac lover like me need to know to understand how the Apple has born. This is a very nice reading for me, I've readed it in few days. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Luca Bedini

3.0 out of 5 stars Not too bad.
Don't just buy the book because you love Apple or the review is good. Go to local book store and see the book yourself first before buy one.
Published 23 months ago by Anonymous from NJ, USA

5.0 out of 5 stars Really thorough
This is the most thorough book on Apple's history that I've ever seen, can't wait for Apple Confidential 3.0
Published on March 28, 2007 by C. Miller

4.0 out of 5 stars well-written and well-researched
After reading the insufferable iWoz, I wanted a book about the early days of Apple that didn't suck. A friend gave me Apple Confidential 2. Read more
Published on March 26, 2007 by Nadyne Mielke

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent source of Apple history and still very enjoyable.
Second edition contains all of new additions to iPods to new Mac OS X versions, codenames and features. It is also very fond memorabilia for old Apple users!
Published on January 9, 2007 by Rodrigo De Vincenzo Monteiro

5.0 out of 5 stars Jed Davis, Athletic Director/Girl's Basketball Coach, Filmmaker
This book is a very detailed and thorough history of Apple Computer. Two major points come out of thie book: First, for those of us who live by the Mac, it is shocking to read the... Read more
Published on April 23, 2006 by Jed Davis

5.0 out of 5 stars The real story behind the myth of Apple
While I have rarely used Apple products, I know people who are evangelical about them. To such people, Gates and his group are evil incarnate and Jobs and his group is pure and... Read more
Published on March 17, 2006 by Charles Ashbacher

5.0 out of 5 stars Good read
I am a self-proclaimed geek who recently switched over to mac. I enjoyed this book and it offered a lot of insight into the company that I look up to. Read more
Published on February 24, 2006 by Jason Saldarriaga

5.0 out of 5 stars For All Big Apple Fans
If you are a mac zealot or the friend/relative of one, this is a must buy (although now buying the newer 2.0 edition is more appropriate). Read more
Published on February 17, 2006 by David Kopec

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