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Steve Jobs Authorized Biography Coming in 2012

Glideslope said:
Depends on the agreement. It could be released on 12/31/12. Everyone is so up on this . I think it sucks. There is no way this gets released while SJ is alive.:apple:
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It would make sense that Steve's been told he's only got X amount of time to live and he wants this published after his death. I'd have thought he'd not want to see it released before his death.

It's sad to see...really sad. I cant say I'm a huge fan of some of his actions, but I guess it cant be denied that the guy has had a remarkable roller coaster ride with Apple, NeXTSTEP, etc.

My fear is that Apple may have unknowingly positioned itself in a bad place for this. The company has clearly lost interest in the Mac side of things. I just think that once Steve parts ways, people will slowly drop off and switch away from Mac's. They have their iPhone/Pod/Pad and then have no need for what will essentially be an expensive, poorly maintained OS.

I guess nobody will know the outcome so there's no point taking in my speculations.
 
I think it is a good sign.

It is an official biography which means he will spend the next few months co-operating, telling the author his life story so if he was a man on his last legs he wouldn't have the energy or the health to spend the next year reciting every moment of his life.

I think it may be a sign he will not return full time to Apple but I think he has a few years yet in him
 
The title should really be iSteve to follow up on iWoz. I cannot see anything but both hardcover and e-book releases being concurrent. And hopefully this is not being done because of anything really imminent. I've been Apple since 1979 when I started the Apple labs in the school I taught at (we had over 160 when I retired in 2009 with over 60 more on the way!) and having experienced most of Apple's ups & downs, I'm loving every moment of the company's current success.
 
MaxLongwood said:
I don't want to read too much into this, but it's still upsetting that Steve Jobs' health is in bad shape. That being said, I can't wait to read this.
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People who agree to work with biographers do so because they want to have control or a strong degree of input of an authoritative biography. They want to make sure their motives and their side of the story (or revisionistic history to cover up mistakes and misdeeds) are read to the public.

Certainly, that would be an attractive idea to an important person who is seriously ill. Though nothing is of use to use when we're dead, the thought of a well-regarded legacy does provide comfort and purpose to those who are given advance warning of their death.

I'm not saying that's the case here with Jobs. But if it were, I wouldn't be surprised.
 
mrzeigler said:
People who agree to work with biographers do so because they want to have control or a strong degree of input of an authoritative biography. They want to make sure their motives and their side of the story (or revisionistic history to cover up mistakes and misdeeds) are read to the public.

Certainly, that would be an attractive idea to an important person who is seriously ill. Though nothing is of use to use when we're dead, the thought of a well-regarded legacy does provide comfort and purpose to those who are given advance warning of their death.

I'm not saying that's the case here with Jobs. But if it were, I wouldn't be surprised.
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Bernie Ecclestone has just bought out an authorised biography that he fully cooperated on and he is in the best of health, works full time and travels to every F1 race so I would not write off Jobs on the basis of a book
 
CWT1965 said:
Bernie Ecclestone has just bought out an authorised biography that he fully cooperated on and he is in the best of health, works full time and travels to every F1 race so I would not write off Jobs on the basis of a book
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Oh, I'm not writing him off. I hope he sticks around for a long time.


CWT1965 said:
I think it is a good sign.

It is an official biography which means he will spend the next few months co-operating, telling the author his life story so if he was a man on his last legs he wouldn't have the energy or the health to spend the next year reciting every moment of his life.

I think it may be a sign he will not return full time to Apple but I think he has a few years yet in him
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When Robert Jordan, author of The Wheel of Time fantasy/adventure series of novels was told he would die before he could finish the 12th and final book in his 21-years-in-the-making series, he spent a much of his time and energy during his final two years compiling notes and telling his wife and the author who'd be hired to finish the series on how all of the plotlines should be resolved. And Christopher Hitchens, after being diagnosed with esophogeal cancer, has continued to work as much as his health permits him to because he finds value in doing so.

For those who want to read into this news one way or the other, I think it comes down to this: If Jobs considers his legacy to be of the utmost importance, then he could make this a top priority if given a terminal diagnosis. If he considers other things — family, friends, his pet yorkie, his $1 nature/nurture wager with Bill Gates — more important, he'd arrange to make them a priority.

The "Why now?" question can be answered one of two ways:
1. He's dying.
2. He's doing OK and has time to do so while on leave, so why not.

As long as we don't know the answer, this news just gives us something else to speculate about.
 
Gotta say... LAME title. Sounds like all those UNauthorized biography titles, always playing off the "i". LAME.

And is "The Book of Jobs" a BIBLE reference?? :rolleyes:
 
haruhiko said:
Not a good sign, not a good sign... Last time he talked about his personal life was ...in 2005, after he was diagnosed to have a rare form of pancreatic cancer? And now he is telling us everything about himself...

I really hope that he will be healthy and lead Apple to another decade of success.
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Getting your house in order and telling it your way while you still can.
 
I'm sure the movie version is in the works...screenplay by Aaron Sorkin ("Social Network"), not sure who will play jobs, but the Woz MUST be played by Zack Galafinakas!!
 
I'm excited Steve is on board for this book. I just hope it isn't because he is dying and wants to approve of his own book before he dies.
 
Obi-Wan Kubrick said:
I'm excited Steve is on board for this book. I just hope it isn't because he is dying and wants to approve of his own book before he dies.
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I really do hope that this biography by Isaacson doesn't end up being Jobs' epitaph, too. :(

Jobs' amazing vision changed the way computers were designed and pioneered the graphical user interface for home computers, totally changed the music industry, totally changed the cellphone industry and now becomes the first company to make a viable tablet computer (one wonders what would Alan Kay--who created the Dynabook concept--would say about the iPad).
 
mrzeigler said:
Oh, I'm not writing him off. I hope he sticks around for a long time.




When Robert Jordan, author of The Wheel of Time fantasy/adventure series of novels was told he would die before he could finish the 12th and final book in his 21-years-in-the-making series, he spent a much of his time and energy during his final two years compiling notes and telling his wife and the author who'd be hired to finish the series on how all of the plotlines should be resolved. And Christopher Hitchens, after being diagnosed with esophogeal cancer, has continued to work as much as his health permits him to because he finds value in doing so.

For those who want to read into this news one way or the other, I think it comes down to this: If Jobs considers his legacy to be of the utmost importance, then he could make this a top priority if given a terminal diagnosis. If he considers other things — family, friends, his pet yorkie, his $1 nature/nurture wager with Bill Gates — more important, he'd arrange to make them a priority.

The "Why now?" question can be answered one of two ways:
1. He's dying.
2. He's doing OK and has time to do so while on leave, so why not.

As long as we don't know the answer, this news just gives us something else to speculate about.
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I think it is the latter tbh, Steve has never cared what anyone thinks of him bar his wife and kids so I don't believe that he simply wants to set the record straight before he dies, more likely to me he is doing it as a time filler while he is on leave as he is bored with daytime tv, gardening, reading or whatever he is doing on sick leave, I would imagine that this biography is because he is bored while on leave but not well enough to return to work
 
jobsking.jpg

Steve Jobs. The King of Computer World. Return.
 
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