Included with a Kindle Unlimited membership.

Read with Kindle Unlimited

List Price: $27.95 Details

Save: $9.96 (36%)

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime & FREE Returns

FREE delivery Tuesday, July 26 if you spend $25 on items shipped by Amazon

Or fastest delivery Monday, July 25. Order within 22 hrs 40 mins

Select delivery location

In Stock.

As an alternative, the Kindle eBook is available now and can be read on any device with the free Kindle app.

[{"displayPrice":"$17.99","priceAmount":17.99,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"17","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"99","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"ph9PK9BiLgQCQRsN7WFQn5M3ennlndB9p1t9WgWk%2By26aYWkOMmR5UumNks4rhWXQJbA5Cgpp5A9dbt56vB4b2pYcydxqxR8JTcS8WCvgm1UXg0%2BFa4hwbJEqOQLRRIJT09NQzqxpz0HyH6pA8%2FbrA%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW"},{"displayPrice":"$15.00","priceAmount":15.00,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"15","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"00","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"ErBsT54B6Sp8tvbPRCXTgPs%2FJlperjOIAIuEgrKae6G0MaJxcSa93yJrXk%2FSfHIpuQEfB0NMMgleleJAvFlsQcrCz3JD8%2B4vQAenaK3q3BzDTgqwMyrJK4EF1iVUBCjX%2FWqKcAv%2FWcqfsMUQn1syvBHF%2BSlCJ1Z1KlPw8Lk68w0s%2BT4kUs518GPbTUZNDme0","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED"}]

$$17.99 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Secure transaction

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Details

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Return policy: Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery Wednesday, August 10 if you spend $25 on items shipped by Amazon

Or fastest delivery Thursday, August 4

Select delivery location

Used: Very Good | Details

Sold by DS Trading Inc

Fulfilled by Amazon

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Share <Embed>

Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Other Sellers on Amazon

Added

Not added

$19.41
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: allnewbooks

Added

Not added

$25.21
& FREE Shipping

Sold by: Publisher Direct

Added

Not added

$25.54
& FREE Shipping

Sold by: MyPrepbooks

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

Follow the Author

John D. Couch

My Life at Apple: And the Steve I Knew Hardcover – July 13, 2021

by John Couch (Author), Jason Towne (Contributor)

26 ratings

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$9.95

—

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$17.99

$13.10

Kindle
$0.00 Read with Kindle Unlimited to also enjoy access to over 1 million more titles $9.95 to buy
Hardcover
$17.99

24 Used from $13.10 31 New from $17.99

Enhance your purchase

In 1978, John Couch was working as a software engineer at Hewlett-Packard when a young, ambitious entrepreneur named Steve Jobs unexpectedly showed up on his doorstep. It was Steve’s second time trying to persuade John to join him at his promising startup, Apple Computer, where he needed help building a “revolutionary computer.” John was one of UC Berkeley’s first fifty computer science graduates and a leader at HP, working under the tutelage of its iconic founder, Bill Hewlett, so Steve knew he was one of the few people in the world capable of achieving such a task. He was thrilled when John agreed to help, becoming Apple’s 54th employee and, ultimately, its first VP of Software and first VP of Education. Over time, John and Steve’s business relationship would grow into an unbreakable, decades-long friendship.

Print length

254 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Waterside Productions
Publication date

July 13, 2021
Grade level

1 and up
Reading age

16 years and up
Dimensions

6.1 x 1.1 x 9.1 inches
ISBN-10

1951805844
ISBN-13

978-1951805845
See all details

Frequently bought together

+

Total price:

To see our price, add these items to your cart.

One of these items ships sooner than the other.

Show details Hide details

Choose items to buy together.

by John Couch Hardcover
$17.99
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Get it as soon as Tuesday, Jul 26
by John D. Couch Hardcover
$10.25
Only 2 left in stock - order soon.
Ships from and sold by Zebras Books LLC.
Get it Jul 26 - 29

Owen Linzmayer
100
Paperback
49 offers from $2.18
Ken Kocienda
606
Hardcover
63 offers from $4.89
Adam Lashinsky
260
Paperback
59 offers from $1.95

Editorial Reviews

Review

“John is one of the most interesting, intelligent, and passionate people I’ve ever met. Both Steve and I viewed him as an essential part of what made Apple the most innovative company in the world, even as he remained one of our best-kept secrets. But now the secret is out. For the first time ever, John is sharing his story publicly, giving the rest of the world an opportunity to appreciate his relationship with Steve and with myself. I promise that when you’ve finished reading this book, you’ll see why John Couch didn’t just work for visionaries, he was one.” -Steve Wozniak

About the Author

John Couch is the author of the bestselling book Rewiring Education and has been recognized as one of the world’s most influential thinkers in education technology. He was Apple’s 54th employee, first VP of Software, first VP of Education, and General Manager/VP of the team that developed the Apple Lisa, the first commercial computer with a graphical user interface and mouse. He is the owner of Eden Estate Wines and, since his retirement from Apple, spends his time writing, speaking, and investing in education and technology startups.

Start reading My Life at Apple: And the Steve I Knew on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Waterside Productions (July 13, 2021)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 254 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1951805844
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1951805845
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 16 years and up
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 1 and up
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.15 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.1 x 1.1 x 9.1 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #742,782 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #225 in Computer & Technology Biographies
- #242 in Computing Industry History
- #2,504 in Business Professional's Biographies

Customer Reviews:
26 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

John D. Couch

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

5 star		67%
4 star		28%
3 star 0% (0%)		0%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star		6%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

David Lovett

If you love Apple, you need to read this book.

Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2021

Verified Purchase

This book provides an amazing inside look at Apple's history in way that I never read or seen before. The book not only sharing the inspiring story of John Couch who in his own way helped shape the Apple that we all know and love, but it provides a perspective of Steve Jobs that is unmatched to any other resource or movie I've personally have read or seen before. This book is truly a must read for anyone who loves Apple, Steve Jobs, and a story about how when we follow our passion we can help change the world.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Ddi

Great read!

Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2021

Verified Purchase

This was very enjoyable to read. Thank you for writing it. I found many of the stories fascinating. Never before told.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Rita J. Prescott

A must read for fans of Apple and Steve Jobs

Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2021

I love reading about Apple and Steve Jobs. He's one of the most inspiring people in history and I've read every book and watched every movie about him. My favorite is Jobs by Walter Isaacson and now this has become my second favorite. The main reason is that it shows a side of Steve that never really gets much attention-- a personal, caring side. The author not only worked as a VP at Apple from its earliest days, but was also personal friends with Steve and the stories of their friendship is what really brings this book to life.

The book is told in chronological order starting with how the author was recruited by Steve and became one of Apple's first employees. These early chapters give an intimate insider's perspective about how Apple was run and how the Lisa technology led to the Macintosh. These were my favorite chapters, because I am a bit of a history buff when it comes to the tech industry.

The second part of the book follows the author's time away from Apple, during the same time that Steve was away. My favorite part was John's meeting with Bill Gates and his role in the Apple vs Microsoft lawsuit.

The next part of the book follows John's return to Apple after Steve convinced him to come back and lead the education division. I loved the historical journey, but my favorite parts here were the intimate moments that Steve and John shared. This is where it showed me a side of Steve I didn't know existed.

Finally, the end of the book covered Steve's death and its aftermath at Apple. What was most interesting here was how much different Steve's leadership style was compared to Tim Cook's. I also liked all of the stuff on Apple's role in innovating education technology.

Pros
- It's very well written, one of the best books on Apple history that I've ever read
- It shows a side of Steve that you probably didn't know existed
- There are a lot of stories about Steve that you probably have never heard
- There are a lot of funny and intimate moments
- It's inspiring and will reinforce the fact that anything is possible

Cons
- Many of the Steve stories have been told before, albeit hearing it from a VP's perspective does make them far more interesting
- A couple of chapters in the middle of the book aren't really about Steve and Apple (but are still interesting nonetheless)

Overall, I really loved this book and learned a lot. I definitely recommend it.

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

Helps You Understand Apple's Original Culture

Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2021

Some claim Steve Jobs hired the best in Silicon Valley - he certainly set a strong culture for Apple. John Couch was one of the extraordinary talents that Steve hired in the early days of Apple - and again later.

In 1978, John Couch was working as a software engineer at Hewlett-Packard when a young, ambitious entrepreneur named Steve Jobs unexpectedly showed up on his doorstep. It was Steve’s second time trying to persuade John to join him at his promising startup, Apple Computer, where he needed help building a “revolutionary computer.” John was one of UC Berkeley’s first fifty computer science graduates and a leader at HP, working under the tutelage of its iconic founder, Bill Hewlett, so Steve knew he was one of the few people in the world capable of achieving such a task. He was thrilled when John agreed to help, becoming Apple’s 54th employee and, ultimately, its first VP of Software and first VP of Education. Over time, John and Steve’s business relationship would grow into an unbreakable, decades-long friendship.

John Couch was Apple Computer's 54th employee and VP of software. He left Apple for a while and came back when Steve Jobs returned, first as iCEO then as CEO. So has decades of experience working with Steve Jobs.

John Couch was an extraordinary software executive and so Jobs valued his employment with Apple. The book is about both John Couch's life and that of Steve Jobs. Couch started as a software manager for the HP 3000 minicomputer - far from the fledgling Apple II in architecture and customer base. While at HP, Couch is invited to meet a 21-year old Steve Jobs and is impressed with his ability to articulate a vision for the PC as a "mental bicycle". A few days later Steve Jobs comes to Couch's house to bring an Apple II, which 4-year old Kris Couch can keep if his father takes a job at Apple. Steve's power of persuasion is evident throughout the book and Couch joins Apple as Director of New Products, reporting to Steve who is VP of New Products.

He describes industry legends - investor Mike Markkula, gaming company Electronic Arts cofounder Trip Hawkins, Apple cofounder who wrote a foreword for this book Steve Wozniak, mouse inventor Doug Englebart, Apple CEO Mike Scott, developer Jeff Raskin, and more. One of the pleasures of the book is getting insights into computer industry pioneers. Apple's founders and the employees create a company culture that leads to innovation and marketing that set new heights for the computer industry.

After VisiCalc increased sales of the Apple II, Couch documents the failure of the Apple III. Then there was the revolutionary design of the Lisa. I remember seeing that computer on an Apple roadshow in Lawrenceville, NJ and being impressed with the project management app included with it. Couch goes into details about this important development, right down to describing the thumbscrews. It's illuminating that he did not feature the project management, rather the windows, icons and document management that were designed into the Lisa for office workers. Even though the Lisa was expensive, and failed in the market, Apple pivoted swiftly to create what became the Macintosh as a secret project.

The company was not afraid to keep on trying until they got the right product. In fact, the first Mac had very limited memory and I remember one of the developers telling me that had it not been for Samsung producing higher capacity memory chips the Mac might have failed too.

Couch credits Jobs with the vision he instilled in him - to create a revolutionary computer that would redefine the nature of personal computing. Couch delivered on that and the book has the best explanation of how the Lisa was developed and its importance to personal computing that I have read to date. There's a concise table that chronicles Lisa's many contributions to computing.

I once considered working at Apple in the early days and turned up for an interview only to be told I'd have to wear a pager and be available more than a standard 40-hour work week. It was the long hours and intense culture that caused Couch to resign after 5 years. After a year attempting to run a startup which failed, as so many do, Couch moved from Northern California to Rancho Santa Fe, a delightful area north of San Diego. There he could spend more time with his family and focus on his faith and church life. I am grateful that Couch in sending me a copy of the book to review signed it with a text - Ephesians 3:20 which says "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us," (NIV). Such an encourager.

The book now focuses more on Couch's life - useful info on how to run a faith-based school nonprofit board. He'd learned a core Apple value - have a clear vision. The book describes a Leadership by Vision model that Couch had created at Apple. From afar, Couch watches with disappointment how Steve Jobs has to resign from the company he co-founded.

However, Apple wanted Couch back - however the tenure of Gil Amelio left an unattractive culture so at this stage he did not rejoin the company. Instead he returned to Silicon Valley and became an Entrepreneur in Residence at the Mayfield Fund, a venture capital firm. That led to an offer to become the CEO of Pangea Systems, a bioinformatics firm, which was renamed DoubleTwist. Just when he had accepted Steve Jobs, reinstated at Apple, asked Couch to join him. In 2002, DoubleTwist was sold to Hitachi and Couch resigned to rejoin Apple.

He was welcomed by Jobs "Welcome home, John". This is one of many good memories of Jobs, peppered through the book. Whereas Jobs called some people "bozos" - Couch was far from that category. So the Steve Jobs viewed in the book is very much as observed by one who is capable of achieving Jobs' vision. Those interested in marketing to a specific segment, in this case the education segment, will see close up how Apple was organized to serve schools and teachers. It is interesting to see the ebb and flow - some times Apple has been the leader - other times competitors have jumped in - just as now when Chromebooks are popular. There's a wonderful section on the "education reform" movement. Couch's experience in Rancho Santa Fe proved useful as he became VP of Education at Apple, navigating tricky cultures.

Couch gets back to Apple's technology - it's decision to switch to MacOS based on the UNIX operating system, for example. The book then has two chapters on Steve Jobs - first as how he led as a visionary, then a personal look from Couch's perspective. There's a review of Apple and then some closing thoughts on how Apple's technology has helped people during the COVID pandemic as schools closed and online learning became widespread.

Engineering managers will enjoy the insights into Apple's culture, leaders and relationships. The book is not very technical, so many can enjoy it, but if you do get bogged down in the details of Lisa development just skip that part. Anyone who needs to lead by vision will enjoy the tradeoffs that Couch describes. Anyone thinking of leaving Silicon Valley for calmer pastures can be inspired by the book. This book is a great addition for the archives of computer history.

Disclosure & credentials: I received a free review copy from the author, John Couch, who I met once when I worked at General Magic with many developers of the original Apple Macintosh. Steve Jobs replied to a letter I sent to him when I wanted to work at NeXT in its early days inviting me to an interview. I subsequently met Steve Jobs when he was CEO at NeXT.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

JT

More than a book about Steve...

Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2022

First hand accounts about what business leaders did in the past, give us lessons for today's environment. John gives us his account about his career and his times at Apple. There are so many valuable business lessons in this book - literally a mini-MBA: Get everyone going in the same direction toward one mission, keep things simple and measurable, launch fast and iterate. Written in a conversational style which allows the reader to take the "pearls of wisdom" from his experience.

Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2022

Listening to the story of one man's journey through the years at Apple, you see more than just John's story. You see how someone on the inside viewed Steve. The writer tells you about himself, while revealing much about Steve at the same time.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

M. Khan

A beautifully sincere retrospective

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 6, 2022

Verified Purchase

Got to learn about Apple's early day pirate adventures through the words of an experienced, visionary and humble leader, John Couch.
Lovely storytelling, dotted with some back stories on corporate challenges, most importantly sincerely paying tribute by enlightening the reader on "the Steve I knew". Just reading this book made me wish I could work at Apple or have a leader like John!

See all reviews

Buy new: $17.99$17.99 FREE delivery: Tuesday, July 26 on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon. Ships from: Amazon.com Sold by: Amazon.com

Buy used: $15.00

Other Sellers on Amazon

Follow the Author

My Life at Apple: And the Steve I Knew Hardcover – July 13, 2021

Enhance your purchase

Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Editorial Reviews

Review

About the Author

Product details

About the author

John D. Couch

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries

Buy new:

$17.99

FREE delivery: Tuesday, July 26 on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon.

Ships from: Amazon.com

Sold by: Amazon.com

Buy used:

$15.00