Steve Jobs’ highly anticipated authorized biography has a new name, folks. Out is iSteve: The Book of Jobsand in it’s place is simply Steve Jobs.
Famed biographer Walter Isaacson is penning the book and he reportedly wasn’t much of a fan of the book’s former title.
The old one, iSteve: The Book of Jobs, was chosen by Simon & Schuster’s publicity department. The author, Walter Isaacson, was never quite sure about it. His wife and daughter, however, were. They thought it was too cutesy. And now Isaacson has persuaded his publisher to go with something simpler and more elegant.
Too cutesy? Perhaps. Though to us, the biblical reference was a bit groan-inducing given the religious terms often used to describe the “cult” of Apple and the plethora of allusions to Steve Jobs being Jesus etc.
The new title is much better, and indeed, more elegant.
As for the book, it will expectantly cover Jobs’ entire life. From his time as a kid in Palo Alto to the early days at Apple, to his departure from the company he helped co-found, to his time at NeXT, his triumphant return to Apple and everything all the way up to the present day.
The book naturally doesn’t rely solely on Jobs as Isaacson also took time to interview a number of Jobs’ family members, colleagues (both past and present) and even a few of Jobs’ competitors. It goes without saying that this book will provide the most comprehensive and far reaching glimpse into a man that has become notoriously secretive and private over the years.
Back in April we wrote:
While there have been innumerable books written about Jobs before, there hasn’t been an authorized biography on Apple’s co-founder since the early 80’s. Since then, Jobs has often greeted subsequent attempts to document his life with outright hostility and anger, often because they detailed moments and stories that perhaps put Jobs in an unflattering light, or perhaps, might not have even been true. Famously, Jobs banned all Wiley & Sons publications from Apple retail stores following the release of an unauthorized Jobs biography titled iCon: Steve Jobs. The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business.
In a statement about the highly anticipated book, Simon & Schuster publisher Jonathan Karp said, “This is the perfect match of subject and author, and it is certain to be a landmark book about one of the world’s greatest innovators. Just as he did with Einstein and Benjamin Franklin, Walter Isaacson is telling a unique story of revolutionary genius.”
This is bound to be a doozy.
via Fortune
Wed, Jul 13, 2011
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