Steve Jobs: his life, his work.
Simply called Steve Jobs , the biography of the computer genius is already breaking sales records. In the United States, it sold 379,000 copies in its first week on the market. In France, too, it’s been a smash hit.
The first and only authorized biography of Jobs, it reveals a complex and fascinating character. Like no one before him, Walter Isaacson had access to Steve Jobs in some 40 interviews, from 2009 until a few weeks before his death. This biography, written by the former editor-in-chief of Time Magazine and former managing director of CNN, reveals that Jobs was no choirboy. A computer genius, he was nonetheless temperamental, unpredictable, hard on his employees, capable of yelling as well as bursting into tears in the middle of a meeting to make his point.
Revered during his lifetime, especially at the end of his life, and elevated to mythical status after his death last October, Steve Jobs may have been a genius, but he also had an unexplored dark side. This biography tells the story of Steve Jobs’ life and incredible journey. From his birth in 1955 and his adoption to his death on October 5 at the age of 56. While his private life is not concealed, notably the birth of a daughter, Lisa, in 1978, whom he disowned for a long time, or his marriage to Laurene Powell in 1991, from whom he had three children, it is Steve Jobs’ professional career that is the focus of these 677 pages. The creation of Apple in 1976 in a garage with Steve Wozniak, the launch of the Macintosh in 1984, the ousting of Steve Jobs from Apple in 1985, the creation of NeXT and then Pixar in 1986, the return to Apple in 1997 with the launch of the iMac, the iBook and then the iPod in 2001, the iPhone in 2007 and the iPad in 2010… Everyone knows the milestones in Jobs’ career, but this book tells the story behind the scenes. It’s the fruit of meticulous investigative work, enriched by numerous interviews with the main protagonists in Steve Jobs’ life.
Despite its thickness, the book reads in one sitting. It’s full of anecdotes and revelations, such as the affair Steve Jobs had with singer Joan Baez for several years. Or the birthday party Yoko Ono organized in 1984 for her son Sean Lennon’s 9th birthday. Another interesting aspect of this book is that, in addition to the story of Steve Jobs and Apple, it tells the story of the entire world of consumer microcomputing. We learn how home computers were born, the mouse, icons, the graphic interface of our virtual desktops and so on. Discoveries that have revolutionized the way we work, play and live. Not to mention the creation of the iPhone and iPad. This biography gives you the full measure of Steve Jobs’ contribution to our daily lives.
In short, whether you like Steve Jobs or not, this book is undoubtedly the best way to understand the man and the media personality that the former Apple boss was. But that’s not all. Lots of details about his entourage from an early age, including the future big names of today’s IT world. Steve Jobs’ life was worthy of a Hollywood movie, so if you haven’t read his biography, you’ll no doubt have the opportunity to see his biopic in the cinema before long.
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
Editions JC Lattès
667 pages
25 euros
Julien Tissot
[email protected]
Cette publication est également disponible en : Français (French)
