If you are not familiar with the name Steve Jobs, you are familiar with the name brand Apple as in Apple Computers, or I Pod, Or I Phone, or I Tunes… all are associated with Steve Job. While Steve was not the lone creator, not even really the mastermind behind actually making these things work, he is indeed the mind that made them what they are today.
Steve dared to dream things that no one thought could be, or should be dreamed. He pushed the envelope as far as it would go, nay sayers be dammed, and in some cases friends and family too… nothing stood in his way.
No one ever would claim that Steve was a layed back easy-going guy. No. He was temper mental, known to cry when he did not get his way, insist that things did go his way including color of products, and how to advertise. While you can easily argue that he was an impossible man…
he was also a brilliant man.
In this audio of Steve’s life from adoption to billionaire, Dylan Baker narrates this audio to a perfection even Steve would have to approve of.
Based on more than forty interviews with Jobs conducted over two years—as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues—Walter Isaacson has written a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.
Although Jobs cooperated and encouraged this book, Jobs waved all rights to read or approve what people said of him in this book. A no holes barred telling of an incredible man who fought his own demons all his life, dying of cancer in October 2011.
When this book first came out I did not know if I wanted to read it. I had heard that Steve was not a very likeable man and I did not want to commit the time to read or to listen to his story. Yet, it was the story itself that drew me to the book. Steve, and people like him, fascinate me. The big dreamers. The ones who step out of the box no matter what people say – see the vision and make it happen. It’s the same reason I appreciate JK Rowling so much.
I finally downloaded the audio and once I turned it on I had a hard time shutting it off. From the beginning Jobs story grabbed me, while he was rough and cruel at times, It seemed he always felt he had something to prove. And brilliant? On my word!
I was particularly fascinated by the part where he introduced the 1984 ad. It was his vision, it was risky and it only aired one time on tv, at the 1984 Super Bowl and to this day is one of the most popular commercials of our time. The clip I have below is when Steve showed the video the one time before the Super Bowl and while it is a 6 minute clip I highly encourage you watch it. It is amazing to see a young and enthusiastic Steve. He sure could bring out confidence in himself and his products.
I loved this audio and am looking for the book now to have in my collection. Brilliant and informative, I learned a lot about how the I products came to be, the ideas behind them, the Pixar/Disney battle for the top and how Steve was involved, and more. I encourage you to check this one out.
Book Journey 