12-07-2011, 11:48 AM

Steve Jobs biography tops Amazon bestsellers for 2011

Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs biography has topped Amazon's bestselling book list for 2011, a new chart shows. Amazon has not said how many copies of the title it has sold so far, but the achievement is significant just based on the length of time the book has been available. It only went on sale October 23rd, moving 379,000 copies in its first week....

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12-15-2011, 09:23 PM

I have been listening to it in the car on my way to work ... it is pretty good ;-)

12-16-2011, 01:06 PM

Originally Posted by pwfletcher

I have been listening to it in the car on my way to work ... it is pretty good ;-)

I agree! Dylan Baker is an excellent narrator!

12-19-2011, 12:14 AM

Read the physical book... I guess I wanted to own a hard copy of it rather than have it on my iPad. Which seemed almost counterintuitive...

12-19-2011, 03:14 AM

Originally Posted by OneMoreThing...

Steve Jobs biography tops Amazon bestsellers for 2011



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I got a feeling I'm getting this for Xmas so looking forward to having a read if I do.

RIP Steve

12-21-2011, 07:55 PM

Have it on my iPhone, iPad & a hardcopy version

12-21-2011, 08:01 PM

One of my employees just got me a hardcover edition signed by the author!

12-23-2011, 11:35 PM

This is a fantastic book that every Mac fan should read! It's NEVER boring and you learn so much about Steve Jobs you'll feel like you know him when you finish it.

He was quite a complex and unpredictable character that's for sure! A hippie who became one of the most successful capitalists in the world, a Zen Buddhist who was obsessed with technology, etc.

My favorite part was where he went around testing everybody in engineering by looking at their projects and saying 'This is ****." Some of them went home and whined and became 'Jobs haters' but apparently those who argued with him and defended their designs got promoted! Quite an unconventional way to test your team.

It's funny how he referred to many people as either 'gods' or 'shitheads'! The author humorously notes how some of those who were 'gods' tended to worry about screwing up and becoming 'shitheads'!

It's a perfectly written book that tells you everything you wanted to know about Jobs (at least it did for me) and then some! Isaacson doesn't sugarcoat anything and keeps up a brisk pace while maintaining the intimacy and attention that a particular event deserves.

He is also very good at getting people to talk.

There are so many frank comments from Jobs and his associates that you just know they are all going for broke and really speaking their minds.

Still if the many 'Jobs haters' out there would just read the thing with an open mind (probably impossible with that crowd) they might realize that there was a beautiful method to his madness and that his defense of a 'closed' system (where the user experience can be carefully crafted to insure that it's smooth and pleasurable) is actually really solid.

The man wasn't trying to be Darth Vader he was simply obsessed with insuring the best user experience possible.

It's also great to get a 'fly on the wall' perspective for groundbreaking meetings and deals that changed the world. Many of these events were passionate, brutal arguments and a real test of wills. Still, one can only marvel at the ability of Jobs to get his way so often.

There are many interesting comments from Bill Gates and a whole host of major power players in the tech and media industries.

This is really one of the BEST books I've ever read. It's gotten me in trouble more than a couple of times already when I lost track of time while reading it!