iBook: Steve Jobs chooses Walter Isaacson as official biographer

“A handful of presumptive biographers have, over the years, tried to tell the remarkable story of Steven P. Jobs: the youthful visionary who, after being ousted from Apple, the company he helped to found, triumphantly returned to lead a new era of high-tech innovation,” brad Stone reports for The New York Times. “But those efforts lacked one important ingredient: cooperation from Mr. Jobs himself.”

“Now Apple’s chief executive is set to collaborate on an authorized biography, to be written by Walter Isaacson, the former managing editor of Time magazine [and author of Einstein: His Life and Universe, Kissinger: A Biography, and Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, among others], according to two people briefed on the project,” Stone reports.

“The book, which is in the early planning stages, would cover the entire life of Mr. Jobs, from his youth in the area now known as Silicon Valley through his years at Apple, these people said. Mr. Jobs, who will turn 55 on Feb. 24, has invited Mr. Isaacson to tour his childhood home, one person with knowledge of the discussion said,” Stone reports.

Full article here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Fred Mertz” and “Lava_Head_UK” for the heads up.]

21 Comments

  1. This is good news. A biography from the subject’s perspective. And yes we’re all gonna be leaving this planet sooner or later … tis a fact most ppl avoid thinking about.

  2. SJ may have received an estimated lifespan from his docs. Whether that’s 5 years, 10 years or what have you. He’s making sure that he has everything documented for history. Good for him. I’ll be reading this on my iPad.

  3. Good news, Isaacson will do the topic justice. I heard him give a talk when his Einstein book was released. Very capable.

    It’s easy to bemoan this -Steve is dying, he wants to tell the story his way before the bitter end, etc- but no doubt Steve has had a biography in mind a long time. This is the right time, and Steve will no doubt be around to talk about it. I’ll buy the audiobook.

    I hear Bill Gates has signed a bio deal with Clifford Irving, he was impressed by the Howard Hughes book.

  4. His Titles: Sadly Predictable

    And they match the biographies they are affixed to as well.

    MDN magic word = “needs”

    As in, “Iassacson needs an infusion of originality & the removal of his Hero Worship Gland before this will be anything more than a Disney-fied version of Jobs’ life.”

    Of course, those qualities are probably why he was picked …

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