“Steve Jobs”, a biography by Walter Isaacson is one of the most talked about books which promises to unveil the mystery that surrounds Steve Jobs. How he lived his life, conducted his business and handled pancreatic cancer. A book which is due to release today

Originally the book was scheduled to release on 21st November, but due to Steve Jobs' death on 5th Oct the date was re-scheduled.

Isaacson, the biographer of the book had close access to Steve Jobs, his family, his fascinating life and his infamous opinions on Microsoft, Bill Gates, Larry Page, Facebook etc.

Isaacson gave a sneak peak into the book in a recent interview with CBS on '60 Minutes'. Isaacson shares that Jobs' wife, Laurene Powell advised the author to be “honest with his failings as well as strengths. There are parts of his life and his personality that are extremely messy. You shouldn't white wash it. I'd like to see that it is all told truthfully.”

So if you are all set to order the book for yourself, or perhaps already have, then here's some interesting stuff that you will find in it:



Jobs As A Person

According to Isaacson, Jobs was also prone to bursts of anger and brutal honesty. "He was very petulant, he was very brittle, he could be very, very mean to people at times," shares Isaacson.

"Whether it was to a waitress in a restaurant or a guy who had stayed up all night coding, he could really go at them and say, 'You're doing this all wrong, it's horrible." (Catherine Smith, The Huffington Post)


Jobs & His Battle With Cancer

When Jobs found out about his cancer, he refused to get himself operated and instead tried vegan diet, acupuncture, herbal remedies and even consulted a psychic.

“'I really didn't want them to open up my body, so I tried to see if a few things would work.' he told me years later with a hint of regret.” writes Issacson.


Jobs & Android

Isaacson reveals that when HTC introduced Android in 2010, Jobs was pretty upset about some of the popular iPhone features in it and decided to sue. “I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong.” Jobs said. “I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product. I'm willing to go thermonuclear war in this.”

According to the book, Jobs later met Schmidt at Palo Alto, California and refused any kind of settlement in the lawsuit. “I don't want your money. If you offer me $5 billion, I won't take it. I've got plenty of money. I want you to stop using our ideas in Android, that's all I want." Isaacson wrote that the meeting resolved nothing. (Associated Press)


Jobs & Bill Gates

"He'd be a broader guy if he had dropped acid once or gone off to an ashram when he was younger." Jobs once shared his views on Bill Gates.

Gradually he developed a grudge against the founder of Microsoft and shared, “"He really never knew much about technology, but he had an amazing instinct for what works,' he said. But Jobs never reciprocated by fully appreciating Gates' real strengths. 'Bill is basically unimaginative and has never invented anything, which is why I think he's more comfortable now in philanthropy than technology. He just shamelessly ripped off other people's ideas.'" reports The Huffington Post.






Jobs, LSD & Music

“Jobs’ dabbling in LSD and other aspects of 1960s counterculture has been well documented.

In the book, Jobs says LSD “reinforced my sense of what was important — creating great things instead of making money, putting things back into the stream of history and of human consciousness as much as I could.’’

"He also revealed that the Beatles were one of his favorite bands, and one of his wishes was to get the band on iTunes, Apple’s revolutionary online music store, before he died. The Beatles’ music went on sale on iTunes in late 2010.” (Associated Press)

“According to Mr. Isaacson, his interviews with Mr. Jobs were occasionally punctuated by music listening sessions in Mr. Jobs' living room. During one interview, Mr. Jobs played music from his new iPad 2, cycling through the Beatles, a Gregorian chant performed by Benedictine monks, a Bach fugue and “Catch the Wind” by the Scottish musician Donovan.

Mr. Jobs' personal affinity for music, and his friendships with musicians, helped him maneuver deals to build the iTunes library and special versions of the iPod. It also moved into his private life at times, Mr. Isaacson writes. After Mr. Jobs learned he had cancer, he exacted a promise from Yo-Yo Ma to play at his funeral.” (Steve Lohr, The New York Times)


Jobs & His Family


Steve Jobs was adopted and was a frequent visitor at a Mediterranean restaurant that was co-incidentally owned by his biological father.

“The two eventually met. 'It was amazing,' Jobs later said of the revelation. 'I had been to that restaurant a few times, and I remember meeting the owner. He was Syrian. Balding. We shook hands.' Nevertheless, Jobs still had no desire to see him. 'I was a wealthy man by then, and I didn't trust him not to try to blackmail me or go to the press about it.”

“I wanted my kids to know me,” Jobs said in his final interview with Isaacson. “I wasn’t always there for them and I wanted them to know why and to understand what I did.”






I am sure by now you must be dying to lay your hands on this much anticipated book. You can head over to Amazon for your copy...and do share your feedback with us.