Customer Reviews

iCon Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business

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Recently Steve Jobs has been named the CEO of the decade by Fortune magazine. The announcement was hardly surprising to anyone who has been following the business world over the last ten years. Apple Computer, the company that he cofounded and the one that his name will always be associated with the most, has gone from the verge of bankruptcy in the late 1990s to one of the most spectacularly successful companies in the World today and the top brand name. The announcement cemented his already stellar and legendary reputation.

Steve Jobs is a rare bird these days: an incredibly successful businessman whose personal life and adventures are almost as intriguing as his business dealings. This is especially true of young Steve, before he matured in a very sober and calculating professional. Stories of Steve's early life are masterfully narrated in "iCon," a very well written and intriguing book. The early chapters of the book are particularly fascinating, and anyone who is not familiar with the early days of Apple Computer and what led to its formation should absolutely read this story. It is filled with anecdotes and first-hand accounts that have since become an integral part of Silicon Valley lore. The creation of Apple Macintosh probably deserves a book of its own, and a very readable one can be found in Revolution in the Valley. This part of the book is a page-turner for any real Mac fan and was hard to put down.

The latter part of the book was rather disappointing. It was largely written from the outside perspective, and many of the stories presented there could have easily been gleaned from the newspaper accounts. Many of the major development events at Apple Computer that have taken place since Steve jobs returned to the company are completely omitted. The worst part, however, are the overly detailed descriptions of the internal struggles of a company that Steve jobs never worked in - Disney. This material was completely irrelevant and one can skip it without losing any relevant information for the rest of the book.

The book concludes before Apple brought out iPhone, and reading it now it feels a bit dated. However, it is still a very insightful and immensely interesting book to read despite its many flaws.

I live in Silicon Valley and love everything about this place!

You can tell this from a quote in my book, THE TOONIES INVADE SILICON VALLEY:
"If, as Steven King once wrote, 'Valleys are the dimples on the face of the earth,' then Silicon Valley is undoubtedly the deepest, most sparkling dimple of them all." - Betty Dravis

All that aside, I really enjoyed this book about one of our Valley Idols, Steve Jobs. It's obvious the author thinks a lot of Steve, too. I especially enjoyed the funny anecdotes about Jobs. They make him more human, and likable; WARTS AND ALL.

Enjoy!