iCon takes a look at the most astounding figure in a business era noted for its mavericks, oddballs, and iconoclasts. Drawing on a wide range of sources, Jeffrey Young and William Simon provide new perspectives on the legendary creation of Apple, detail Jobs’s meteoric rise, and the devastating plunge that left him not only out of Apple, but out of the computer-making business entirely.
This unflinching and completely unauthorized portrait reveals both sides of Jobs’s role in the remarkable rise of the Pixar animation studio, also re-creates the acrimony between Jobs and Disney’s Michael Eisner, and examines Jobs’s dramatic his rise from the ashes with his recapture of Apple.
The authors examine the takeover and Jobs’s reinvention of the company with the popular iMac and his transformation of the industry with the revolutionary iPod. iCon is must reading for anyone who wants to understand how the modern digital age has been formed, shaped, and refined by the most influential figure of the age – a master of three industries: movies, music, and computers.
Review
"My books are about the secret lives of hackers. This book is about the secret life of maybe the most influential person in technology. Who else can you think of that has put his stamp on three industries – computers, music, and movie animation? Once you start reading, you won’t want to put it down." - Kevin Mitnick, security consultant, www.mitnicksecurity.com, author of The Art of Deception and The Art of Intrusion
"Assembling the artifacts and stories to showcase the achievements of man is the work of museums like ours. But history also relies on authors like Young and Simon, who have done a memorable job compiling the biography of Steven Jobs from conversations with the people who have been players with this extraordinary technology pioneer. And this book is a fascinating read as well." - John Toole, executive director and CEO, Computer History Museum, Mountain View, California
"During the high-tech boom years when Steve Jobs gained global recognition, I was on the Silicon Valley scene to witness his rise to fame. We all admired his genius and became aware of his flaws, as well. You won’t want to miss this absorbing behind-the-scenes story." - Steve Westly, controller of the state of California, former senior vice president, eBay
"If technology was a competitive sport, Steve Jobs would be a combination of an NBA misbehaving superstar and an NHL player who high-sticks opponents whenever he thinks they’ve treated him badly. But he’d also be MVP. Fascinating and unforgettable." - Carol Mitch, Best Damn Sports Show Period
About the Author
JEFFREY S. YOUNG, one of the founding editors of MacWorld magazine, first met Steve Jobs in 1983. He is the author of the classic unauthorized biography Steve Jobs: The Journey Is the Reward. Young began his career as a reporter with the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, and, after MacWorld, wrote for The Hollywood Reporter and worked for Forbes in the 1990s as its contributing editor from Silicon Valley, writing profiles and business pieces, including a very influential profile of Microsoft's Steve Balmer. In 1997, he cofounded Forbes.com. Young is¿also the author of¿Forbes Greatest Technology Stories (Wiley). He lives in northern California.
WILLIAM L. SIMON is coauthor of Kevin Mitnick's The Art of Deception and The Art of Intrusion, both published by Wiley, as well as the award-winning author of more than twenty other books.¿He lives in Rancho Santa Fe, California.
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