Upcoming book reveals Steve Jobs refused liver transplant offer from Tim Cook, didn't want Apple to

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in General Discussion edited March 2015
The forthcoming book "Becoming Steve Jobs" is shaping up to be a revelation on the late Apple cofounder's life, and a recent "leak" reveals Jobs refused a living donor liver transplant from current CEO Tim Cook, was looking into an acquisition of Yahoo! and didn't want Apple to produce another TV product.




While "Becoming Steve Jobs," coauthored by tech journalist Brent Schlender and Fast Company executive editor Rick Tetzeli, is not due out until March 24, Cult of Mac discovered that a substantial portion of the book was available through Amazon's "Look Inside the Book" feature.

Amazon has since removed most of the preview, but the publication was able to glean a few interesting tidbits before it was redacted.

One of the more sensational revelations is that Cook offered to give an ailing Jobs part of his liver. After discovering that he shared the same rare blood type as Jobs, Cook underwent a series of tests at a hospital and, after being found in good health, visited Jobs at his home to deliver the good news. Although he was in need of a donor, Jobs refused.

In an attempt to get out ahead of the "leak," Fast Company later published an excerpt related to Jobs' apparently vehement refusal.
"Somebody that's selfish," Cook continues, "doesn't reply like that. I mean, here's a guy, he's dying, he's very close to death because of his liver issue, and here's someone healthy offering a way out. I said, 'Steve, I'm perfectly healthy, I've been checked out. Here's the medical report. I can do this and I'm not putting myself at risk, I'll be fine.' And he doesn't think about it. It was not, 'Are you sure you want to do this?' It was not, 'I'll think about it.' It was not, 'Oh, the condition I'm in . . .' It was, 'No, I'm not doing that!' He kind of popped up in bed and said that. And this was during a time when things were just terrible. Steve only yelled at me four or five times during the 13 years I knew him, and this was one of them."
Another section tells the story of how Jobs and Disney CEO Bob Iger discussed buying Yahoo!, which would have granted access to a treasure trove of patents and Internet-related services.

Finally, the book tackles the topic of an Apple branded television set. Shortly after returning to Apple in the late 1990s, Jobs revealed his stance on TV to Jony Ive during one of their first meetings, saying, "I just don't like television. Apple will never make a TV again." Jobs was likely referring to the Macintosh TV, an early 1990s attempt to combine a computer with a television set.

The quote is in contrast to information published in Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs biography from 2011. In Isaacson's telling, Jobs said he "cracked" the code to making a simple television, setting off a tempest of rumors that have yet to die.

"Becoming Steve Jobs" is available for preorder through Amazon.com and the iTunes iBookstore.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 70
    MacPromacpro Posts: 19,864member
    Just wow.
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  • Reply 2 of 70
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,150member

    That goes to show the special bond that Steve had with those in his immediate circle.  For a coworker (and very high-level-one) to make an offer like that just speaks of the closeness and caring the two shared.  I'm looking forward to reading this book.

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  • Reply 3 of 70

    One of the more sensational revelations is that Cook offered to give an ailing Jobs part of his liver. After discovering that he shared the same rare blood type as Jobs, Cook underwent a series of tests at a hospital and, after being found in good health, visited Jobs at his home to deliver the good news. Although he was in need of a donor, Jobs refused.

    Wow.

    Almost Shakespearian.
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  • Reply 4 of 70
    Buy Yahoo and clean up a huge mess of subsidiaries; it would take all of Apple's $175 billion cash pile.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Yahoo!
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Yahoo!-owned_sites_and_services

    When was this discussed?
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  • Reply 5 of 70
    irelandireland Posts: 17,800member

    I'm not buying Jobs' supposed take on TV here. If he felt that strongly Apple wouldn't have made a product called ?TV. I think if he ever had these views he long-since changed his mind on the whole thing and the only reason we've yet to see an Apple television is a content one. Jobs explains this himself at D a few years back. 'Fundamentally a subsidised business model' were his words IIRC. The only way to change that game is to get all the television content one could ever need so you can justify the business of selling a superb hardware solution to the problem. The little box under the TV is a great make-shift solution for the time being, but it's not the perfect solution. The perfect solution is as I (and Jobs) say.

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  • Reply 6 of 70

    I've often said that Cook is just a decent human being, and this just adds to it.

     

     

    Also, I imagine Gene Munster looks like this right now:

     

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  • Reply 7 of 70
    dtm1212dtm1212 Posts: 11member
    LOL - keep writing BS books jokers, and websites keep doing anything to include Steve Jobs in a headline for web hits.

    I'll wait for Cook to personally speak of this to think it is possible. And I'm pretty sure Jobs widow wouldn't sue because then this crap gets real and massive PR.

    Jobs didn't like TV, yet this crap reads like a really BAD "movie of the week" TV script.

    RIP Jobs - hack writers and websites will never let you.
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  • Reply 8 of 70
    Tim Cook is really amazing.
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  • Reply 9 of 70

    Also, Jobs was possibly referring to the Apple Interactive TV Box that was prototyped in the '90s with BT and Disney.

     

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  • Reply 10 of 70
    emig647emig647 Posts: 2,455member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post

     

    I'm not buying Jobs' supposed take on TV here. If he felt that strongly Apple wouldn't have made a product called ?TV. I think if he ever had these views he long-since changed his mind on the whole thing and the only reason we've yet to see an Apple television is a content one. Jobs explains this himself at D a few years back.




    I think they are apples and oranges. ?TV means buying and watching iTunes content. Apple branded television means making money on hardware. 

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  • Reply 11 of 70
    mubailimubaili Posts: 455member
    sflocal wrote: »
    That goes to show the special bond that Steve had with those in his immediate circle.  For a coworker (and very high-level-one) to make an offer like that just speaks of the closeness and caring the two shared.  I'm looking forward to reading this book.
    Same here. Much respect for SJ and TC.
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  • Reply 12 of 70
    Respect.
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  • Reply 13 of 70
    pigybankpigybank Posts: 178member
    They act as if what Steve Jobs said in the late 90's regarding TV couldn't have evolved before the Walter Isaacson Bio...
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  • Reply 14 of 70
    "Didn't want to produce another TV product" sounds like the exact opposite of "I finally cracked it" according to his other biography
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  • Reply 15 of 70
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,056member

    Cooks is an awesome guy. High respect for him.

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  • Reply 16 of 70
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    So, who here will [B]not[/B] read this book. I remember there were a few 'no's' to the prospect of the Isaacson Book before it came out.
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  • Reply 17 of 70

    Wowsa.

     

    Big-hearted of Cook to offer his liver, and I can see why Jobs found it impossible to accept.

     

    So Jobs didn't like television; count me as another.

     

    This book sounds intriguing.

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  • Reply 18 of 70
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    pigybank wrote: »
    They act as if what Steve Jobs said in the late 90's regarding TV couldn't have evolved before the Walter Isaacson Bio...
    There is a tendency to take everything Steve Jobs said as gospel which is odd considering he is also famous for changing his mind on a dime.
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  • Reply 19 of 70
    That was a trillion-dollar liver donation. I wish Steve had taken it. Tim is the man!

    Added later: As time goes by and I read things like this item (no Steve Jobs TV in the works) and see Walter Isaacson granting interviews on all things Apple, my respect for his book goes down.
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  • Reply 20 of 70
    SpamSandwichspamsandwich Posts: 33,407member

    What business associate would ever offer to donate their liver to their boss? Absolutely incredible.

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