Why should you read Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson?

Thursday, November 17, 2011 gc 1 Comments

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson is a great read especially for the 2011 holidays. The book is authentic, compelling, inspiring, informative, surprising, and even sad.  So sad, that you will likely cry.
Read it, if you want to feel inspired, surprised, sad, confident, spiritual, or compelled to build something great. You will enjoy.

While the book is over 600 pages, it was not enough. Steve's life was messy. He was petulant and took credit for many others work. Johnny Ives, one of Steve’s best friends, admitted that it hurt deeply when Jobs took credit for many of his designs. At times, he was unusually cruel and rude. Even though he could be a jerk, he deeply admired other great designers, spiritual leaders, and “A” players.

There are many surprises in the book such as he knew that his cancer had metastasized and would likely kill him. At times, he thought that diet and magical thinking could overcome it. He should have opted for surgery nine months earlier. Ironically, it put him in overdrive to produce the iPad. Steve was obsessed with the pursuit of great design.

I was surprised and oddly comforted that Steve was often unsure of his decisions, direction, designs, and leadership. Bad reviews would devastate him. He was human.

Walter Isaacson took an honest, authentic, and interesting look into Steve's life.

In typical Jobsonian manner, the last chapter is a "one more thing", that is mostly in the words of Steve Jobs instead of traditionally the Biographer. The words are from one of the last interviews that Isaacson did with Jobs.

Steve: you are one of the crazy ones. You definitely were able to quiet your lizard brain to consistently produce great designs.