Synopses & Reviews
According to F. Scott Fitzgerald, there are no second acts in American life. Apparently he forgot to tell Steve Jobs.
Jobs rose from an outcast high school electronics nerd to become the driving force behind Apple and avatar of the computer revolution, only to be driven from the company in failure and disgrace. Then, having endured repeated personal and professional disasters, he went on to make an indelible mark on the entertainment industry, reclaim the throne at Apple, and, with the extraordinary success of the iPod, regain his reputation as arguably the greatest innovator of the digital age.
iCon takes a look at the most astounding figure in a business era noted for its mavericks, oddballs, and iconoclasts. Drawing on a wide range of sources in Silicon Valley and Hollywood, Jeffrey Young, author of the first-ever Jobs biography, and coauthor William Simon provide new perspectives on the legendary creation of Apple in a Silicon Valley garage and detail Jobs's meteoric rise as the prototypical digital wunderkind and the devastating plunge that left him not only out of Apple, but out of the computer-making business entirely.
Act two begins with Jobs displaying his talent for bedeviling business associates and making enemies along the way. Still stinging with embarrassment after his crash from the heights, he waged a tough negotiation with George Lucas for the purchase of the legendary filmmaker's computer animation businessat one-third of the asking priceand pressured his "partners" into settling for a modest percentage of what would become Pixar, keeping the remainder for himself.
This unflinching and completely unauthorized portrait reveals both sides of Jobs's role in the remarkable rise of the Pixar animation studio, from Toy Story and the string of hit movies that delighted audiences around the world to his rocky alliance with Disney. It also re-creates the acrimony between Jobs and Disney's Michael Eisner, which ended the once-close relationship between the two companies.
The most dramatic, and, no doubt, most satisfying of Jobs's achievements during his rise from the ashes was his recapture of Apple, ten years after being booted out of the company, in a coup that only he could have orchestrated. The authors examine the takeover and Jobs's reinvention of the company with the very popular iMac and his transformation of the industry, and again the culture, with the revolutionary iPod.
Complete with a preview of Jobs's third act, iCon is must reading for anyone who wants to understand how the modern digital age has been formed, shaped, and refined by the most influential figure of the agea master of three industries: movies, music, and computers. It is about understanding the future by understanding the past and present of the Digital King, Steve Jobs.
Review
"[T]he secret life of maybe the most influential person in technology. Who else can you think of that has put his stamp on three industries computers, music, and movie animation? Once you start reading, you won't want to put it down." Kevin Mitnick, author of The Art of Deception and The Art of Intrusion
Review
"...Young and Simon...have done a memorable job compiling the biography of Steven Jobs....[T]his book is a fascinating read...." John Toole, executive director and CEO, Computer History Museum, Mountain View, California
Review
"You won't want to miss this absorbing behind-the-scenes story." Steve Westly, former senior vice president, eBay
Review
"If technology was a competitive sport, Steve Jobs would be a combination of an NBA misbehaving superstar and an NHL player who high-sticks opponents whenever he thinks they've treated him badly. But he'd also be MVP. Fascinating and unforgettable." Carol Mitch, Best Damn Sports Show Period
Synopsis
Based on hundreds of interviews, the most up-to-date and totally unauthorized life of Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple.
Synopsis
Lightning never strikes twice, but Steve Jobs has, transforming modern culture first with the Macintosh and more recently with the iPod. He has dazzled and delighted audiences with his Pixar movies. And he has bedeviled, destroyed, and demoralized hundreds of people along the way. Steve Jobs is the most interesting character of the digital age.
What a long, strange journey it has been. With the mainstream success of the iPod, Pixar's string of hits and subsequent divorce from Disney, and Steve's triumphant return to Apple, his story is better than any fiction. Ten years after the leading maverick of the computer age and the king of digital cool, crashed from the height of Apple's meteoric rise, Steve Jobs rose from ashes in a Machiavellian coup that only he could have orchestrated and has now become more famous than ever.
In this encore to his classic 1987 unauthorized biography of Steve Jobs a major bestseller Jeffrey Young examines Jobs' remarkable resurgence, one of the most amazing business comeback stories in recent years. Drawing on a wide range of sources in Silicon Valley and Hollywood, he details how Jobs put Apple back on track, first with the iMac and then with the iPod, and traces Jobs' role in the remarkable rise of the Pixar animation studio, including his rancorous feud with Disney's Michael Eisner.
- Written with insider scoops and no-holds-barred style
- Based on hundreds of highly unauthorized interviews with Jobs' nearest and dearest
- New information on the acrimonious parting between Eisner and Jobs, the personal vendetta behind the return to Apple, and the future of iPod and the music industry
Synopsis
iCon takes a look at the most astounding figure in a business era noted for its mavericks, oddballs, and iconoclasts. Drawing on a wide range of sources, Jeffrey Young and William Simon provide new perspectives on the legendary creation of Apple, detail Jobs’s meteoric rise, and the devastating plunge that left him not only out of Apple, but out of the computer-making business entirely. This unflinching and completely unauthorized portrait reveals both sides of Jobs’s role in the remarkable rise of the Pixar animation studio, also re-creates the acrimony between Jobs and Disney’s Michael Eisner, and examines Jobs’s dramatic his rise from the ashes with his recapture of Apple. The authors examine the takeover and Jobs’s reinvention of the company with the popular iMac and his transformation of the industry with the revolutionary iPod. iCon is must reading for anyone who wants to understand how the modern digital age has been formed, shaped, and refined by the most influential figure of the age–a master of three industries: movies, music, and computers.
Synopsis
An unauthorized and unflinching portrait of the phenomenon behind Apple"My books are about the secret lives of hackers. This book is about the secret life of maybe the most influential person in technology. Who else can you think of that has put his stamp on three industries–computers, music, and movie animation? Once you start reading, you won't want to put it down."
—Kevin Mitnick, security consultant, www.mitnicksecurity.com author of The Art of Deception and The Art of Intrusion
"Assembling the artifacts and stories to showcase the achievements of man is the work of museums like ours. But history also relies on authors like Young and Simon, who have done a memorable job compiling the biography of Steven Jobs from conversations with the people who have been players with this extraordinary technology pioneer. And this book is a fascinating read as well."
—John Toole, Executive Director and CEO Computer History Museum, Mountain View, California
"During the high-tech boom years when Steve Jobs gained global recognition, I was on the Silicon Valley scene to witness his rise to fame. We all admired his genius and became aware of his flaws, as well. You won't want to miss this absorbing behind-the-scenes story."
—Steve Westly, California State Controller former senior vice president, eBay
"If technology was a competitive sport, Steve Jobs would be a combination of an NBA misbehaving superstar and an NHL player who high-sticks opponents whenever he thinks they've treated him badly. But he'd also be MVP. Fascinating and unforgettable."
—Carol Mitch, Best Damned Sports Show Period
About the Author
Jefferey S. Young, one of the founding editors of
MacWorld magazine, first met Steve Jobs in 1983. He is the author of the classic unauthorized biography
Steve Jobs: The Journey Is the Reward. Young began his career as a reporter with the
Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, and, after
MacWorld, wrote for the
Hollywood Reporter and worked for
Forbes in the 1990s as its contributing editor from Silicon Valley, writing profiles and business pieces, including a very influential profile of Microsoft's Steve Balmer. In 1997, he cofounded Forbes.com. Young is also the author of
Forbes Greatest Technology Stories. He lives in northern California.
William L. Simon is coauthor of Kevin Mitnick's The Art of Deception and The Art of Intrusion, both published by Wiley, as well as the award-winning author of more than twenty other books. He lives in Rancho Santa Fe, California.
Table of Contents
Prologue.
PART ONE: Flowering and Withering.
- Roots.
- A Company Is Born.
- Let's Be Pirates!
- Learning to Fail.
PART TWO: New Beginnings.
- The NeXT Step.
- Show Business.
- Master of Ceremonies.
- Icon.
PART THREE: Defining the Future.
- Mogul.
- Breaking New Ground.
- iPod, iTunes, Therefore I Am.
- Clash of the Titans.
- Showtime.
Epilogue.
Acknowledgments.
Notes.
Index.