As the new movie, Steve Jobs, rolls out in theaters everywhere, my interest in the Apple story has resumed. This new movie, with a screenplay by Aaron Sorkin (remember The West Wing on TV, same writer) promises to be excellent but does not attempt to tell the whole story. If you walk out of the theater wondering what happened before or after those product introductions, here are mini-reviews of several books that, in whole or in part, cover the Apple story in whole or in part. (sic)
Following Steve’s passing in 2011, both Time and Fortune magazines published books from the articles they each published over the years about Steve Jobs and Apple Computer. Both of these books make light and enjoyable reading and actually complement each other.
Fortune: The Legacy of Steve Jobs 1955-2011, A Tribute From the Pages of Fortune Magazine (2011, Fortune Books) includes reprints of seventeen articles from Fortune Magazine plus a timeline of Apple’s ups and downs over the years.
Time: Steve Jobs, The Genius Who Changed Our World (2011, Time Books) seems to be content from part articles massaged into tributes, plus four article reprints. Ironically the first page has a picture of an Apple I mounted to a piece of plywood with a keyboard and power. The ironic part is that Steve Jobs had nothing to do with the conception of the device that started Apple Computer. What came to be called the Apple I was designed and built so that Steve Wozniak could impress his friends at the Homebrew Computer Club. The Woz was the self-taught genius designer behind both the Apple I and the Apple II, the product that made Apple Computer a Fortune 500 company. What Steve Jobs brought to the table was the business drive to create the company and insight to know that the Apple II should have a built-in keyboard and a stylish plastic case.
The next two books were reviewed in the December, 2011, issue of DACS.doc so I will not repeat other than to say that both tell important parts of the Steve Jobs story.
Revolution in The Valley, the Insanely Great Story of How the Mac Was Made by Andy Hertzfeld (O’Reilly Media, 2005)
Return to the Little Kingdom, How Apple and Steve Jobs Changed the World by Michael Moritz (The Overlook Press, 1984 & 2009; Prologue and Epilogue 2010)
Just one little note: Michael Moritz was recruited by Steve Jobs to be Apple’s official historian. This was during the development of the original Macintosh, so he had exclusive extraordinary access. Of course in typical Steve Jobs fashion, Jobs fired Moritz just before the launch. In the irony typical of such things, that makes Little Kingdom a great source.
The last book in this batch is from one of my favorite authors, Steven Levy: Insanely Great, The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer That Changed Everything (2000, Penguin Books)
Originally published in 1994 and then updated twice, Levy wrote about Jobs and the Macintosh with the benefit of time. Insanely Great covers the development and early evolution of the Mac from the perspective of Levy’s own experiences with Jobs plus the usual interviews, and the Apple and the Macintosh community. All this starts with a preview in late 1983 of the original Mac when Levy worked at Harper’s, was an established writer on technology, and had just completed his seminal book on the computer revolution, Hackers (1984). Each re-release of this book includes an afterword with then-new information, like the development of the PowerMac. Levy’s books are all highly recommended.
Lately I’ve started reading Walter Isaacson’s book, Steve Jobs (2011, Simon and Schuster), which is the “official” authorized biography. It’s long, over 600 pages including the index, sources and notes. Look for a review in a couple of months.