Synopses & Reviews
#1 New York Times Bestseller
There have been many books — on a large and small scale — about Steve Jobs, one of the most famous CEOs in history. But this book is different from all the others.
Becoming Steve Jobs takes on and breaks down the existing myth and stereotypes about Steve Jobs. The conventional, one-dimensional view of Jobs is that he was half-genius, half-jerk from youth, an irascible and selfish leader who slighted friends and family alike. Becoming Steve Jobs answers the central question about the life and career of the Apple cofounder and CEO: How did a young man so reckless and arrogant that he was exiled from the company he founded become the most effective visionary business leader of our time, ultimately transforming the daily life of billions of people?
Drawing on incredible and sometimes exclusive access, Schlender and Tetzeli tell a different story of a real human being who wrestled with his failings and learned to maximize his strengths over time. Their rich, compelling narrative is filled with stories never told before from the people who knew Jobs best, and who decided to open up to the authors, including his family, former inner circle executives, and top people at Apple, Pixar and Disney, most notably Tim Cook, Jony Ive, Eddy Cue, Ed Catmull, John Lasseter, Robert Iger and many others. In addition, Brent knew Jobs personally for 25 years and draws upon his many interviews with him, on and off the record, in writing the book. He and Rick humanize the man and explain, rather than simply describe, his behavior. Along the way, the book provides rich context about the technology revolution we all have lived through, and the ways in which Jobs changed our world.
Schlender and Tetzeli make clear that Jobs's astounding success at Apple was far more complicated than simply picking the right products: he became more patient, he learned to trust his inner circle, and discovered the importance of growing the company incrementally rather than only shooting for dazzling game-changing products.
A rich and revealing account that will change the way we view Jobs, Becoming Steve Jobs shows us how one of the most colorful and compelling figures of our times was able to combine his unchanging, relentless passion with a more mature management style to create one of the most valuable and beloved companies on the planet.
Review
"What makes their book important is that they contend — persuasively, I believe — that...[Jobs] was not the same man in his prime that he had been at the beginning of his career. The callow, impetuous, arrogant youth who co-founded Apple was very different from the mature and thoughtful man who returned to his struggling creation and turned it into a company that made breathtaking products while becoming the dominant technology company of our time."
Joe Nocera, The New York Times
Review
"Will quicken the pulse of even obsessive Apple watchers....a layered portrait of the mercurial Jobs, whose style and personality...were constantly evolving, right up to his early death."
Brad Stone, NYT Sunday Book Review
Review
"A fascinating, insightful book that does a great job capturing what and who the man inside the public mask actually was. I'm pleased someone got to write it. It needed writing. Previous titles failed. Highly recommended."
Jonny Evans, ComputerWorld
Review
"Becoming Steve Jobs does not absolve the protagonist of his foibles, but shows that his accomplishments were indeed legion."
The Economist
Review
"Detailed and thorough...full of intimate and personal anecdotes from Jobs' life that demonstrate how he evolved from the Steve Jobs that was ousted from Apple in the early 1990s to the man that lead the company to release its most revolutionary products."
Lisa Eadicicco, Business Insider
About the Author
Brent Schlender is one of the premiere chroniclers of the personal computer revolution, writing about every major figure and company in the tech industry. He covered Steve Jobs for the
Wall Street Journal and
Fortune for nearly 25 years.
Rick Tetzeli, executive editor of Fast Company, has covered technology for two decades. He is the former deputy editor of Fortune, and editor of Entertainment Weekly.