I've been curious to read Becoming Steve Jobs ever since I reread the authorized biography. Written by two journalists, it basically asks the question, if Steve Jobs really was a complete ass - a narrative he helps to feed in the Isaacson biography, how did he manage to help create and run two companies that really did change the world - Apple part II (the Mac, iPod, iTunes, iPhone, and iPad), and Pixar.
The authors of Becoming Steve Jobs don't shy away from mentioning all the really asinine things Jobs did and continued to do, but they also detail how he evolved, learning from his failures at Apple and Next, becoming an effective and visionary leader. A big change they feel occurred at Pixar, where Jobs met and worked with Ed Catmull, who showed him how to manage creative people (the mentor he never had), without stifling them. Catmull's book, Creativity Inc is also a must read.
In the end, the authors feel Jobs used those things he learned from his failures, and his time at Pixar, to take Apple to amazing heights. So if you hate Steve Jobs, you should read this book, and if you love Steve Jobs, you should read this book. A big thumbs up.
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Becoming Steve Jobs: The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader Audio CD – Unabridged, March 24, 2015
by
Brent Schlender
(Author),
Rick Tetzeli
(Author),
George Newbern
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Brent Schlender
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Rick Tetzeli
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Print length13 pages
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LanguageEnglish
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PublisherRandom House Audio
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Publication dateMarch 24, 2015
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Dimensions5.09 x 1.56 x 5.84 inches
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ISBN-109780804127790
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ISBN-13978-0804127790
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Steve Jobs is the person who most inspires the new generation of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. In this deeply-researched book, you'll find the most honest portrait of the real Steve Jobs." --Marc Andreessen
“One of the best things Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli do in writing about Jobs is undoing the ‘lone genius’ myth, and complicating his persona.” --Anil Dash, CEO of ThinkUp
"The book about Steve Jobs that the world deserves. Smart, accurate, informative, insightful and at times, utterly heartbreaking....Becoming Steve Jobs is going to be an essential reference for decades to come." --John Gruber, Daring Fireball
“Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli render a spectacular service with this book, giving fresh perspective on Steve Jobs’ journey from inspiring but immature entrepreneur into an inspired and mature company-builder. Most important, they capture Jobs’ resilience, his refusal to capitulate, his restless drive to stay in the game, his voracious appetite to learn—this, far more than genius, is what made him great. Becoming Steve Jobs gets the focus precisely right: not as a success story, but as a growth story. Riveting, insightful, uplifting—read it and learn!” --Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, co-author of Built to Last and Great by Choice
“Becoming Steve Jobs is fantastic. After working with Steve for over 25 years, I feel this book captures with great insight the growth and complexity of a truly extraordinary person. I hope that it will be recognized as the definitive history.” --Ed Catmull, president, Disney Animation and Pixar
“What makes their book important is that they contend — persuasively, I believe — that . . . [Jobs] was not the same man in his prime that he had been at the beginning of his career. The callow, impetuous, arrogant youth who co-founded Apple was very different from the mature and thoughtful man who returned to his struggling creation and turned it into a company that made breathtaking products while becoming the dominant technology company of our time." --Joe Nocera, The New York Times
"Highly recommended." --Philip Elmer-DeWitt, Fortune.com
"Square would not exist without the work and persistence of Steve Jobs. I am forever grateful. Amazing read." --Jack Dorsey
"Will quicken the pulse of even obsessive Apple watchers . . . a layered portrait of the mercurial Jobs, whose style and personality . . . were constantly evolving, right up to his early death." --Brad Stone, NYT Sunday Book Review
“A fascinating, insightful book that does a great job capturing what and who the man inside the public mask actually was. I’m pleased someone got to write it. It needed writing. Previous titles failed. Highly recommended.” –Jonny Evans, ComputerWorld
“Becoming Steve Jobs especially shines when it serves up opportunities to get a fresh look at Jobs’ passion for always sticking to the intersection of technology and the humanities that animated his work.” –Andy Meek, BGR
“Schlender is one of the very few journalists whom Steve Jobs favored with his trust over decades of coverage….only in Becoming Steve Jobs do I recognize the complexity and warmth that I saw first-hand in Jobs, particularly in the last few years of his life.” –Steven Levy, Backchannel
“If you’re interested in learning more about Steve Jobs’ life, business strategies, successes and failures, the Becoming Steve Jobs book is certainly worth your time.” --Jeremy Horwitz, 9to5Mac
“Reveals lesser-known aspects of Jobs’ life . . . That’s really where Becoming Steve Jobs shines. It offers a unique take on the decisions (mistakes) Jobs made during his time at NeXT and Pixar.” —Harrison Weber, Venture Beat
“In some ways, this biography can be likened to a college level course in "Jobsology," one that through new information provides adequate insight to flip established doctrine on its head. . . Schlender and Tetzeli proffer a measured and deliberate chronicling of Jobs' peaks and valleys painted in the words of those who knew him best. It is a record of an incredible life that has until now only been accessible through the prism of the media and what Jobs himself would allow. It forces us to think different.” –Mikey Campbell, Apple Insider
“Becoming Steve Jobs does not absolve the protagonist of his foibles, but shows that his accomplishments were indeed legion.” –The Economist
“For a deeply felt account . . . of the qualities that earned Jobs the abiding respect and love of his closest associates… the Schlender and Tetzeli book is the best that’s currently available.” —Michael Cohen, TidBITS
"Detailed and thorough...full of intimate and personal anecdotes from Jobs' life that demonstrate how he evolved from the Steve Jobs that was ousted from Apple in the early 1990s to the man that lead the company to release its most revolutionary products." -- Lisa Eadicicco, Business Insider
“One of the best things Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli do in writing about Jobs is undoing the ‘lone genius’ myth, and complicating his persona.” --Anil Dash, CEO of ThinkUp
"The book about Steve Jobs that the world deserves. Smart, accurate, informative, insightful and at times, utterly heartbreaking....Becoming Steve Jobs is going to be an essential reference for decades to come." --John Gruber, Daring Fireball
“Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli render a spectacular service with this book, giving fresh perspective on Steve Jobs’ journey from inspiring but immature entrepreneur into an inspired and mature company-builder. Most important, they capture Jobs’ resilience, his refusal to capitulate, his restless drive to stay in the game, his voracious appetite to learn—this, far more than genius, is what made him great. Becoming Steve Jobs gets the focus precisely right: not as a success story, but as a growth story. Riveting, insightful, uplifting—read it and learn!” --Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, co-author of Built to Last and Great by Choice
“Becoming Steve Jobs is fantastic. After working with Steve for over 25 years, I feel this book captures with great insight the growth and complexity of a truly extraordinary person. I hope that it will be recognized as the definitive history.” --Ed Catmull, president, Disney Animation and Pixar
“What makes their book important is that they contend — persuasively, I believe — that . . . [Jobs] was not the same man in his prime that he had been at the beginning of his career. The callow, impetuous, arrogant youth who co-founded Apple was very different from the mature and thoughtful man who returned to his struggling creation and turned it into a company that made breathtaking products while becoming the dominant technology company of our time." --Joe Nocera, The New York Times
"Highly recommended." --Philip Elmer-DeWitt, Fortune.com
"Square would not exist without the work and persistence of Steve Jobs. I am forever grateful. Amazing read." --Jack Dorsey
"Will quicken the pulse of even obsessive Apple watchers . . . a layered portrait of the mercurial Jobs, whose style and personality . . . were constantly evolving, right up to his early death." --Brad Stone, NYT Sunday Book Review
“A fascinating, insightful book that does a great job capturing what and who the man inside the public mask actually was. I’m pleased someone got to write it. It needed writing. Previous titles failed. Highly recommended.” –Jonny Evans, ComputerWorld
“Becoming Steve Jobs especially shines when it serves up opportunities to get a fresh look at Jobs’ passion for always sticking to the intersection of technology and the humanities that animated his work.” –Andy Meek, BGR
“Schlender is one of the very few journalists whom Steve Jobs favored with his trust over decades of coverage….only in Becoming Steve Jobs do I recognize the complexity and warmth that I saw first-hand in Jobs, particularly in the last few years of his life.” –Steven Levy, Backchannel
“If you’re interested in learning more about Steve Jobs’ life, business strategies, successes and failures, the Becoming Steve Jobs book is certainly worth your time.” --Jeremy Horwitz, 9to5Mac
“Reveals lesser-known aspects of Jobs’ life . . . That’s really where Becoming Steve Jobs shines. It offers a unique take on the decisions (mistakes) Jobs made during his time at NeXT and Pixar.” —Harrison Weber, Venture Beat
“In some ways, this biography can be likened to a college level course in "Jobsology," one that through new information provides adequate insight to flip established doctrine on its head. . . Schlender and Tetzeli proffer a measured and deliberate chronicling of Jobs' peaks and valleys painted in the words of those who knew him best. It is a record of an incredible life that has until now only been accessible through the prism of the media and what Jobs himself would allow. It forces us to think different.” –Mikey Campbell, Apple Insider
“Becoming Steve Jobs does not absolve the protagonist of his foibles, but shows that his accomplishments were indeed legion.” –The Economist
“For a deeply felt account . . . of the qualities that earned Jobs the abiding respect and love of his closest associates… the Schlender and Tetzeli book is the best that’s currently available.” —Michael Cohen, TidBITS
"Detailed and thorough...full of intimate and personal anecdotes from Jobs' life that demonstrate how he evolved from the Steve Jobs that was ousted from Apple in the early 1990s to the man that lead the company to release its most revolutionary products." -- Lisa Eadicicco, Business Insider
About the Author
BRENT SCHLENDER is one of the premiere chroniclers of the personal computer revolution, writing about every major figure and company in the tech industry. He covered Steve Jobs for the Wall Street Journal and Fortune for nearly 25 years.
RICK TETZELI, executive editor of Fast Company, has covered technology for two decades. He is the former deputy editor of Fortune, and editor of Entertainment Weekly.
RICK TETZELI, executive editor of Fast Company, has covered technology for two decades. He is the former deputy editor of Fortune, and editor of Entertainment Weekly.
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Product details
- ASIN : 0804127794
- Publisher : Random House Audio; Unabridged edition (March 24, 2015)
- Language : English
- Audio CD : 13 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9780804127790
- ISBN-13 : 978-0804127790
- Item Weight : 15.2 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.09 x 1.56 x 5.84 inches
-
Best Sellers Rank:
#2,741,521 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,784 in Computers & Technology Industry
- #4,352 in Culinary Biographies & Memoirs
- #7,330 in Business Professional's Biographies
- Customer Reviews:
Customer reviews
4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
1,045 global ratings
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Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2018
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12 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2019
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A cloud of myth and mystery surrounds one of the most successful businessmen of our times. Mostly because he was an ordinary guy and very private with his personal time. Authors Rick Tetzeli & Brent Schlender have been careful in their research and balanced in their assessments. This is a great read. It doesn't make Jobs out to be a hero, a villain nor superhuman and neither does it trash him because of his well-publicized temper or mis-steps early in his career. The authors simply lay out the facts and essential background and turn Jobs into the ordinary guy he always was. I note that some of Steve's colleagues from the early days of Apple take offense at the authors' comments about the early Apple - they complain the books trashes the early machines and give short shrift to the early days in Apple. I do not read it this way. It's a good balanced biography. You'll come out liking Jobs more than you did when you watched the movie - you may have admired him after Isaacson but you'll feel you walked a little way in hs moccasins after Tetzeli & Schlender. I have a friend who said they have more respect for Bill Gates because at least he's giving away his money to do some real good around the world and is not just hoarding it to make more. But I respect Steve Jobs because he didn't just ride a wave, he made all our lives better and changed society into the bargain: Apple, Pixar, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Mac's, Mac/OS, iPod, iTunes, iPhone ... not a bad start for changing my world!
3 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2018
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I had already read the book about Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, so hesitated to buy this one. But after reading so many good reviews, I decided to. And I'm so very glad I did. While some parts were understandably repetitive, this one seems to explain the man he was so well. And left out a lot of the bad language of the other one. What stands out the most is that Steve grew and matured to a person that cared about you and me, and truly wanted to make the world for us better. When the iPod came out, Being frugal, I didn't want to buy songs, even at 99 cents. So bought an MP3 that allowed me to record songs from the radio. I enjoyed it. Later I bought a tiny iPod Nano and couldn't believe the improvement in the sound. I still have it and now also have the iPod Touch. I love both. Music is very important to me. So reading about the person who helped found Apple means a lot. Steve Jobs cared about the ordinary people and brought us joy. He had many flaws but in my opinion was a very good person, loved by so many.
3 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2020
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I read this book after Walter Isaacson’s book, along with notes about Jobs from Ed Catmull, Bob Iger...
Brent (author of this book) did a great job at analyzing how Jobs transformed over the years. But this isn’t a complete biography, this doesn’t mention much about his personal life which made him what he is, unlike Walter’s book.
Also, Brent mentions that his girlfriends left him because they were expecting more from him, this is completely wrong if you read Walter’s book.
Tim Cook said that Walter’s book did “tremendous disservice” ... maybe Cook doesn’t want to read anything bad about Jobs because of his relationship with him. But overall, Walter’s book even exaggerated the good side of Jobs, while this book showed us the transformation.
This book is great, but not comprehensive... to know what and why about Jobs, I would highly recommend Walter’s book... also I didn’t learn much new after reading this book. Jobs was a great man.
Brent (author of this book) did a great job at analyzing how Jobs transformed over the years. But this isn’t a complete biography, this doesn’t mention much about his personal life which made him what he is, unlike Walter’s book.
Also, Brent mentions that his girlfriends left him because they were expecting more from him, this is completely wrong if you read Walter’s book.
Tim Cook said that Walter’s book did “tremendous disservice” ... maybe Cook doesn’t want to read anything bad about Jobs because of his relationship with him. But overall, Walter’s book even exaggerated the good side of Jobs, while this book showed us the transformation.
This book is great, but not comprehensive... to know what and why about Jobs, I would highly recommend Walter’s book... also I didn’t learn much new after reading this book. Jobs was a great man.
One person found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2020
Verified Purchase
I lived through the history of the development of the Apple products and the development of Steve Jobs. Not as Apple employee, but as an Apple customer. I ws introduced by a friend to the Apple II. And I bought most of the Apple products, but not necessarily the first version. It was fascinating to read about how the products came to be and all the problems with its development. And I like the descriptions of the Introduction presentations that Save Jobs gave for each one of them. I went to youtube and watched the videos of Jobs presentations for their Introduction. The authors had a 25 year history of watching Steve and interviewing him. Walter Isaacson had only a couple of years interviewing Steve's friends and employees. Both books were good, I just happened to like this one much better.
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Top reviews from other countries
Ian Davies
5.0 out of 5 stars
Insightful and engaging
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 10, 2016Verified Purchase
Easily the most comprehensive, well-researched, well-written and *objective* biography of Steve Jobs I've read. Much better than the authorised version by Walter Isaacson, unfortunately. Really gets to the detail of how and why Jobs came to be where he was, and how the skills and insights he had - many present very early on in his career, albeit in rough or unfocussed form - were sharpened and refined over time.
Benefits greatly from the authors' experience and technical literacy to properly understand the subject matter, whilst presenting a complex and often convoluted sequence of events in a clear and engaging way. Highly recommended.
Benefits greatly from the authors' experience and technical literacy to properly understand the subject matter, whilst presenting a complex and often convoluted sequence of events in a clear and engaging way. Highly recommended.
3 people found this helpful
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utk
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 1, 2015Verified Purchase
Had so much more depth than Walter I's biography: delves deeply into the shades of grey rather than using broad strokes to rehash the same stories told by every Jobs biographer. Reading the book, you will find that those milestones, which were the support beams for other stories, fade into the background, and the intent and the motivations of Steve come through with a much sharper focus. Must read, even / especially if you have read the others.
2 people found this helpful
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Nick
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointed
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 2, 2015Verified Purchase
Got this this because of the good reviews. Sorry to say I find it lacking, the first chapter did little to inspire me to read on, although I did. The writing style I have found to be one that is hard to follow. Whilst there is a lot of good information, the writing style and lack of material to invigorate the reader has left me rather disappointed.
2 people found this helpful
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Rob S
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating Read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 10, 2020Verified Purchase
A great insight into the maturation of one of the leading lights of the tech industry. The story is told in a compassionate yet honest tone that makes this a compelling and enjoyable read.
Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 12, 2018Verified Purchase
I haven't read the official biography by Walter Issacson but I liked this one and I discovered a Steve Jobs that I could never imagined.
One person found this helpful
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