Writer: Walter Isaacson
Genre: Biography
For the very first time a biography writer presented his subject in a mortal, human sort of way. So my usual disclaimer about auto/biographies that 'read it with a pinch of salt' does not hold true for this one. It’s an extremely well written book.
The man who has been adored and abhorred by millions across the world comes across as an everyday human with a special liking for design. No wonder that apple products are the sleekest in the market that is often adorned with repulsive looking gadgets. Macintosh, which started the PC revolution, to iPad, the journey is very well explained and quite interesting too. His biggest followers and harshest critics all find a mention and have aired their views about the man.
My favourite section of the book is when Jobs takes over Pixar and they come up with Toy Story. Can you imagine a Woody who is total jerk unlike the lovable character we all fell in love with. Believe it or not, the first version of Toy Story was like that and I am scared to imagine what would have happened if it remained that way! Anyway, the creators (that would be John Lasseter) with Job's backing purged the script and made Woody what he is today.
Other interesting anecdotes include Job's product launches where you see the marketing genius convincing the world that it's either his way or a bad way. Charismatic was probably coined for him. Never an Apple fan, I still have to give it to the man to make me realize that nerdy, geeky things can look beautiful too.
Grab a copy, every penny would be worth it. And yeah! that reminds me I should probably pick the other biographies that Isaacson has written.
