Curious about the dawn of the personal computer era? Want a window into the early days of Atari, Apple, NeXT and Pixar? If so, you’ll find the recent Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson a fascinating read. Mr. Isaacson paints a vivid portrait not only of Steve, but of the birth of home computing. The book doesn’t delve too deeply into technical details yet manages to make the computer and software development process highly engaging. I was surprised that this authorized biography was so candid about the quirks of Mr. Jobs’ personality. Yet, his attention to detail was indisputable – going so far as to argue with designers over the placement of the period in “Steven P. Jobs” on his business cards. Having read this book, I think Steve Jobs was a visionary who made some significant contributions to society. But, I don’t think I would have liked him as a person very much. The book, hower, is immensely likeable and highly recommended.
I liked the book, although it pretty much confirmed the info in all of the other “hatchet jobs” (as Steve called them) written about him. The way he came back and set Apple on the course that it’s now operating under is extremely fascinating and my favorite part of the book.