The Second Coming of Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs, one of the founders of Apple Computer, has a history of ups and downs in his business and personal life. His greatest success, Pixar Pictures (maker of TOY STORY), may be his least known. Both loved and hated, often by the same people, he makes great grist for this audio tabloid, reporting all sides of a competent, charismatic, and complex man. Charles Stransky is quick and vital, like his subject. His expressive tones give just enough variation to maintain listener interest but don't overemphasize places that don't deserve it. The story of Jobs and Apple isn't over, so their biographies must be considered a work in progress. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine

October 2, 2000
A revealing, balanced portrait of Apple Computers CEO and founder Steven Jobs, this fast-paced business biography is based on interviews with nearly 100 of his associates and friends. One glaring absence, however, is Jobs himself, who apparently declined to be interviewed by Deutschman, a Vanity Fair contributing editor and staff writer at GQ. Still, Deutschman provides a juicy, privileged look inside the Apple core. He reports that Jobs's recent resuscitation of Apple, to which the visionary entrepreneur returned in 1996 after being ousted by John Sculley a decade earlier, was accomplished through a "reign of terror" that shook up thousands of complacent employees. Like other commentators, Deutschman portrays Jobs as both engaging and troubling, a natural charmer who is also an abusive, egomaniacal boss fond of meting out public humiliations. But Deutschman goes further, replacing the image of the pop-culture icon with a complex, contradictory figure--an insecure elitist who yearns for the patronage of the masses, a narcissistic vegetarian billionaire who thrives on scarcity and adversity. Among the book's revelations are details of Jobs's bulimia-like eating disorders in the 1970s; his reconnection in the '80s with his long-lost biological sister, novelist Mona Simpson (Jobs was given up for adoption at birth); and his explosive negotiations with Disney honchos Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg, who produced the hits A Bug's Life and Toy Story with Pixar, Jobs's animation film studio. Though this gossipy bio has a slick magazine feel, Deutschman gets closer to Jobs's inner self than any previous attempt. Agent, Suzanne Gluck, ICM.