Inside Steve's Brain

by Leander Kahney

Overview

One of USA Today's Best Business Books of 2008-now updated with a new chapter

It's hard to believe that one man revolutionized computers in the 1970s and '80s (with the Apple II and the Mac), animated movies in the 1990s (with Pixar), and digital music in the 2000s (with the iPod and iTunes). No wonder some people worship Steve Jobs like a god. On the other hand, stories of his epic tantrums and general bad behavior are legendary.

Inside Steve's Brain cuts through the cult of personality that surrounds Jobs to unearth the secrets to his unbelievable results. So what's really inside Steve's brain? According to Leander Kahney, who has covered Jobs since the early 1990s, it's a fascinating bundle of contradictions.

This expanded edition includes a new chapter on Jobs's very public health crisis and the debate about Apple's future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781591845515
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/15/2012
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.00(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Leander Kahney is the news editor for Wired.com and primary author of the Cult of Mac blog. He is also the author of two acclaimed books, The Cult of Mac and The Cult of iPod.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vi

Introduction 1

1 Focus: How Saying "No" Saved Apple 15

2 Despotism: Apple's One-Man Focus Group 44

3 Perfectionism: Product Design and the Pursuit of Excellence 66

4 Elitism: Hire Only A Players, Fire the Bozos 104

5 Passion: Putting a Ding in the Universe 145

6 Inventive Spirit: Where Does the Innovation Come From? 169

7 Case Study: How It All Came Together with the iPod 216

8 Total Control: The Whole Widget 233

9 Steve Jobs's Battle with Cancer 261

Notes 295

Index 307

Editorial Reviews

"A rich, essential read for [fans] to get inside Jobs' head and discover what makes Apple insanely great."
-USA Today

From the Publisher

Throughout his storied Silicon Valley career, Apple CEO and Pixar Studios founder Steve Jobs has been labeled, among other things, an egomaniac, a Zen Buddhist, a business mastermind, a sociopath and a music mogul. Blogger, author and Wired News editor Kahney, who has chronicled Apple in previous books (The Cult of Mac), attempts to plumb the depths of Jobs's prodigious mind in this engrossing biography. The author devotes much time to the sensational aspects of Jobs' life, including his demeaning and ferocious interactions with employees, his relentless high-mindedness and fanatical attention to detail, clearly demonstrating how his tyrannical and perfectionist impulses have have shaped the award-winning designs and consumer-friendly products that have made Apple a juggernaut. Though it doesn't penetrate the Mac man's psyche too deeply, and sections on tangential figures like Apple design guru Jonathan Ive and Apple Store visionary Ron Johnson can meander, those searching for a telling portrait of Jobs's management style and its impact on Apple will not be left wanting.
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