iCon Steve Jobs

The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business

By: Jeffrey S. Young, William L. Simon

Narrated by: Alan Sklar

Length: 3 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

In this encore to his classic 1987 unauthorized biography of Steve Jobs (Steve Jobs: The Journey is the Reward), Jeffrey Young examines Jobs' remarkable resurgence, one of the most amazing business comeback stories in years.

Lightning never strikes twice, but Steve Jobs has. Transforming modern culture first with the Macintosh and now the iPod, he's also dazzled and delighted audiences with his Pixar movies. And along the way, he's bedeviled, destroyed, and demoralized hundreds of people. Ten years after the leading maverick of the computer age and the king of digital cool crashed from the height of Apple's meteoric rise, Steve Jobs rose from the ashes in a Machiavellian coup, and has now become more famous than ever.

©2005 Jeffrey S. Young and William L. Simon (P)2005 Penton Overseas, Inc.

Critic reviews

"One of the most captivating business biographies of recent years. Young and Simon have done a masterful job." (Ft. Worth Star-Telegram)
"A fascinating tale of an imaginative genius." (BookPage)

Very pleasant account of Steve Jobs

When I first put this book on I was kind of disappointed in the presentation style, it seamed hard and straight to the point, this is a book with information and very little about jobs own personal accounts of how things happening in this era.

Despite this I carried on and started to really enjoy the overall presentation, this was about getting to the facts and not dwelling on meaningless drivel. While this is what made iWoz such an entertaining read/listen it wasn't the style that suited or in fact could be applied to an unofficial bio and despite this it was a very in depth look into Steve's life.
It does glaze over Steve's early years quite a bit but then it goes on to focus mostly on Steve's involvement in Apple and then onto his years after his initial departure from the company and how he delt with running Next Computers and Pixar at a time when neither where profitable businesses.

The amount of research in this is quite impressive and the reader (Alan Sklar) while wooden at first really does grow on you in time and ends up providing it with a little bit of charm, it's almost like he is the narrator to Steve's life if Steve's life was a Disney film, it's stern yet warming.

Overall I would highly recommend this to anyone who is interesting in computer history and the people behind this companies that ended up changing the world.

Steve Jobs History painted with a wide brush

I saw in a previous review that someone said it must have struck home as it was removed from I-Tunes downloads of books. This isn't true, or as of last look it is back up there. Yet I found the reader a riveting voice. The facts got me up to speed on stuff I did not know about (but left out lots of stuff I did know) hence me saying it is a history book painted in wide swaths, covering the large areas but avoiding some of the more interesting minute' of Steve's Character. The book does not paint Steve as a very nice man. It also paints him as somewhat lucky in his success. In the end the book begrudgingly gives Steve some cudos and even voices some 'he's become a better human being due to his current wife and becoming a father'. So I would look at this book for it's 'not through rose colored glasses' appeal to get a perspective on Steve Jobs and take the 'tone' of the book with a grain of salt.

I personally enjoyed it

I personally enjoyed it. It offers a perspective that helps listener to understand complex personality of one of the most remarkable people (in the Western society anyway) of our time.

Short overall summary

Cant help but be facinated buy jobs. The guy has pulled off some remarkable feats. This seemed to be a good overall summary of steve jobs rise to and fall to the present. For $10 you cant beat it.

Review of an Expert

This book is a highlight among so many books that purport to outline the hard work and tenacity that is required to make it in business.

This book highlights how you also need to be just a little 'quirky' to cut the grass before your competitors get onto the scene.

A great read (Listen) and worth the time.

Great book, Great Listen

This was my first audible download and one thing I have learnt from reviews is, just because its a great book doesn't mean its going to be a great Audio book.

This was great all round, well written well read. I wasnt the hugest Jobs fan but I loved this AB. I Had finished it the day of download.

I am also very impressed with Audible as a site and service, the ease and quality is worth the money. Customer reviews have also been very helpful in choosing AB's.

Facinating and Entertaining

Steve Jobs is an enigma, and likely will always be an enigma. So it is with great interest that I read all the information I can about Mr. Jobs, and this book is easily the most balanced, fair, and incisive view of his life and accomplishments available at the present time. The only reason this does not get a 5/5 is due to the age of the book, it ends at the introduction of the iPod. An updated version, as has been known to happen with biographies, would be a marked improvement, as quite a bit has happened since the iPod (ie the transition to Intel processors, the iPhone, iTunes music dominance, etc.). That minor complaint aside, this is the best Steve Jobs biography likely to be out for some time, and anyone remotely interested in him, Apple, movies, or technology would be well served in listening to his audiobook.

I liked it...

It's a not-so-flattering, but fact based biography of one of America's iconic figures in technology. Jobs is less a technophile, than a modern day hippy determined to control, guide, father the companies and ideas he manages. He may have his detractors, his enemies and his nay-sayers, but the man has magnetism and undeniable charm.

iLl recommend this

iCon provides an brilliant biography into Steve Jobs. I have seen a side of him that I have not seen before. Young & Simon have portrayed it brilliantly, and displayed an insight not available on the internet.
But, it is short, and I would have liked to hear more about his personal life and addressed more of his jaw-dropping ability of presentation.
Not the best biography, but it sure is worth buying it.

Great narration

The narrator has a calm and pleasant voice and the audio quality is excellent.

The story itself is captivating and give an interesting insight into the background of Steve Jobs.