“The new biography of deceased Apple Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs may be Amazon.com Inc’s top-selling book of 2011, a spokeswoman at the largest Internet retailer said on Monday,” Alistair Barr and Jennifer Saba report for Reuters.
“The biography ‘Steve Jobs,’ by Walter Isaacson, hit bookstores on Monday but was released earlier than expected on Apple’s iBooks online store [sic] and Amazon’s Kindle late Sunday,” Barr and Saba report. “The book is the best-selling book on Amazon.com and is also listed as the top-selling electronic book on the company’s Kindle eBook store.”
Barr and Saba report, “‘The way things are trending, it could very likely be our top-selling book of the year,’ Amazon spokeswoman Brittany Turner said in a statement.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: Steve Jobs can now be purchased from Apple’s iBookstore (US$16.99) here: Steve Jobs – Walter Isaacson.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Lynn Weiler” for the heads up.]
Biggest selling biography of all time, on pre-sales alone?
I meant to say pre-orders, but maybe pre-sales is also good.
I have two copies – a hard one on the night stand, and the iPad version as well. Reading as much as I can… Such an amazing character.
One more thing…
“Jobs posthumously revives book publishing industry through a single published book.” 🙂
This definitely will break records !!!
Why is Amazon’s e-book price ($20.72, “tax included”) so much more than everyone else’s (Barnes and Noble: $16.99; Apple: $16.99 [$17.99 in Canada – B&N currently cheapest for Canadian residents], and more than the hardcover version ($17.88) – which has to be printed, bound, shipped, etc…?
Amazon states the following regarding their Kindle edition: Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
This price was set by the publisher.”
Does Simon and Schuster make Amazon sell it for more than it’s competitors?
possible.
they could have a bad relationship with amazon, or a bad deal with publishing rights to some books.
Are you in California? My Kindle price was $16.99 (no tax).
My Kindle version was $16.99 as well.
California–what a wretched state. No wonder people are fleeing it in droves.
My price was $16.99 (no tax), in California.
Nope. In Canada.
The Canadian Amazon site (.ca) does not sell Kindle books; Canadian residents can buy Kindle versions of books from Amazon.com.
I checked Amazon’s info page on tax (included in the price) – doesn’t reference Canada’s HST, only various state taxes. Actually, based on my past purchases, neither Amazon or B&N charge HST to Canadian residents (makes sense). The Canadian iBookstore does (again, makes sense).
It seems wrong that the e-book version is more than the hardcover version (I am sure this has been argued in the forums ad nauseum). With the e-books, there are no printing or shipping fees. They give up 30% to the e-book store, but I believe they give up normally 40% (of retail) to the physical book stores. They don’t have to pay server hosting fees, as that is included in the 30% to Apple or whoever.
One of life’s mysteries, I guess.
My copy cost $9.50. Audible version.
BUY this from Apple’s iBook Store or other book stores NOT Amazon as they are becoming a competitor to Apple with Kindle Fire. Biographer & Steve Jobs should benefit from sales NOT Amazon.
Kindle > iPad for reading books
I agree.
Some won’t cause they say the kindle is better for reading. To each their own.
My book just shipped…. Have to wait for it now.
May just grab the iBooks version also, may just do it anyway though.
iBooks does not have a mac version unlike Kindle. That’s a big deal for me. Otherwise I would buy from iBooks and not Amazon.
I pre-ordered two copies from Amazon and I don’t really give a rat’s ass who likes it or not. You clowns are really getting paranoid about this stuff.
Im about to cancel my order if it doesnt ship soon. At the rate the stories in the book are being revealed there sin’t going to be any reason to read it.
It’s strange how my iBooks pre order downloaded 2 copies… Did anyone have the same results as me?
Yes in fact it happened to me and I contacted Apple and asked for a credit. I received a terse reply and sent another request. Awaiting their decision. First time they’ve given me a hard time.
Same here in Germany.
I’m glad I joined the horde of Apple & Steve Jobs fans who pre-ordered (on iBooks in my case since I didn’t see the advantage of buying & reading it on my iPad’s Kindle app). Walter Isaacson did not disappoint & he delivered what may be the decade’s – if not the century’s – defining bio. Clearly, Steve Jobs was a multi-faceted genius with a number of character flaws, some of them more visible than others, but he did not make excuses for them (which lesser mortals, especially reality “stars” & showbiz celebrities, do in this age of pornographic confessionals) nor did he allow these flaws to limit him in his chosen life mission. My respect for the man & his wife also grew because they refused to turn this book into a PR con job.
I bought the unabridged audiobook from iTunes Store at for $29. Downloaded in three parts. Its nice to listen to while doing other things. Learning interesting things about Steve we never knew. I hope there wont be a new wave of LSD users from this book!