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A review by herzog
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
3.0
This book is well written, and told from a unique point of view that few others could have told. Isaacson knew Jobs through it all, and tells lots of charming anecdotes and stories. It's all there and mostly factually accurate.
What tainted this book for me was Isaacson's very obvious buy-in to the closed ecosystem argument. Throughout the book, Isaacson makes it clear that his view is in 100% agreement with Jobs, that open products and ecosystems "make for bad experiences" and "shit products". There are little factual inaccuracies throughout the book, sure, but that doesn't bother me that much. What bothers me is how this book reads like two guys feeding off of each other's love of closed, controlled ecosystems. He flat out says that competitors to Apple are inferior over and over again. Biographies this important should tell an impartial story, and Isaacson only came partway to doing so.
What tainted this book for me was Isaacson's very obvious buy-in to the closed ecosystem argument. Throughout the book, Isaacson makes it clear that his view is in 100% agreement with Jobs, that open products and ecosystems "make for bad experiences" and "shit products". There are little factual inaccuracies throughout the book, sure, but that doesn't bother me that much. What bothers me is how this book reads like two guys feeding off of each other's love of closed, controlled ecosystems. He flat out says that competitors to Apple are inferior over and over again. Biographies this important should tell an impartial story, and Isaacson only came partway to doing so.