Apple stores pull Wiley titles over new Steve Jobs biography

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
In its latest desperate attempt to control the media, and more specifically the presses, Apple has pulled all books published by John Wiley & Sons from its retail stores in protest of an unauthorized biography of Apple CEO Steve Jobs about to be released by the publisher.



"The books disappeared from Apple stores last week after a month of increasingly contentious discussions about publication of the book, "iCon Steve Jobs : The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business,'' author Jeffrey S. Young told The Mercury News.



The book, co-authored by William L. Simon, is said to offer "an unflinching account of the rise, fall and rebirth of one of Silicon Valley's most charismatic figures."



"It became increasingly clear that Apple was not happy with the publication of the book," Wiley executive Kitt Allan told The Mercury News. "Recently, the meaning of that became clear when Apple told us that our technology books were immediately being pulled from their Apple retail stores. But, of course, Wiley stands behind our authors."



Some of the titles being pulled include David Pogue's popular "Macs For Dummies," and Bob LeVitus' "Mac OS X Tiger For Dummies." Meanwhile, about half a dozen books by long-time Mac columnist Andy Ihnatko have also been dropped, including "The Mac OS X Tiger Book," "The Mac OS X Panther Book," and "The GarageBand Book."



"It stinks," LeVitus told The Mac Observer. "I'm sad that Mac users won't find my books at the Apple Store. At the same time I'm tickled that Wiley did the right thing in spite of the pressure. Since Amazon.com, Borders, Barnes & Noble, WalMart and many other fine booksellers carry my books and have lower prices, I don't expect to lose many sales (or much sleep) over the whole sordid affair."



You can pre-order your copy of "iCon Steve Jobs : The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business'' from Amazon.com for $16.47. It's expected to ship in May.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 52
    ijerryijerry Posts: 615member
    I wonder if I can get this audiobook from the iTunes Music store when it is available...
  • Reply 2 of 52
    It's not "in spite of " it's because of, and it's is truly pathetic, embarassing, juvenile and downright shitty. Way to go Apple. Public relations for dummies coming right up.
  • Reply 3 of 52
    What could be so bad about the book?
  • Reply 4 of 52
    maccrazymaccrazy Posts: 2,658member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Not Unlike Myself

    What could be so bad about the book?



    Well if the author slags of Jobs or makes him look bad - Jobs has a temper rembmber! Remember ATi
  • Reply 5 of 52
    coxnvoxcoxnvox Posts: 50member
    The title would lead one to think the book was complimentary of Jobs, wouldn't it?



    Later,

    kc
  • Reply 6 of 52
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member
    What's bullshit is ethically if you are going to do an unauthorized biography of a person that you don't subjectively inflate or deflate the persona you are authoring.



    If it is a book co-authored by individuals who've had personal gripes with Steve Jobs all one creates is half-truths, conjecture and misinformation about Steve which reflects poorly on Apple.



    Here is a concept: Objectivity warts and all should be the only purpose of writing such a book. However, since everyone loves to gossip one can downright falsify and/or embellish information that isn't factual, create more half-truths ultimately selling millions because we know how very few people enjoy reading about icons if there isn't gossip thrown into the pot.
  • Reply 7 of 52
    charlesscharless Posts: 301member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by coxnvox

    The title would lead one to think the book was complimentary of Jobs, wouldn't it?



    Later,

    kc




    If iCon is meant to mean "Icon" with the 'i' lowercase in order to be cute, then yes. If it is meant to be "Con" with an Apple-style 'i' in front, then no.



    Just from that title, I'd be a little pissed too if I were Jobs.
  • Reply 8 of 52
    Thread titled changed I see, still think Apple are being pathetically puerile. I mean " the greatest second act in the history of business" is such an insult.
  • Reply 9 of 52
    ct77ct77 Posts: 49member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by coxnvox

    The title would lead one to think the book was complimentary of Jobs, wouldn't it?



    Later,

    kc




    Not necessarily -- the first thing I see when I read the title is "iCon" which could be seen as "I con...".



    As in, a less than complimentary reference to the famous / infamous Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field.
  • Reply 10 of 52
    Then that would mean " I con Steve Jobs", out of what? A large amount of money? A spanish colonial style house?
  • Reply 11 of 52
    maccrazymaccrazy Posts: 2,658member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ct77

    Not necessarily -- the first thing I see when I read the title is "iCon" which could be seen as "I con...".



    As in, a less than complimentary reference to the famous / infamous Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field.




    I read it as i Con - but icon as well (as a second meaning)
  • Reply 12 of 52
    hobbeshobbes Posts: 1,252member
    Not selling the book at Apple Stores is one thing.



    Attempting to intimidate the publisher by dropping all of their titles in Apple Stores in retaliation is another. Very, very lame -- downright pathetic in fact.
  • Reply 13 of 52
    solsunsolsun Posts: 763member
    I hate to say it, but Apple's stance has actually made me MORE curious about this book.. I probably would not have even bothered with it... But now I will be reading the book just to see what the big stink is all about... Sorry Steve!
  • Reply 14 of 52
    scotty321scotty321 Posts: 313member
    Unbelievably JUVENILE behavior by Steve Jobs & Apple. This is just unbelievable. It's one thing to not carry the biography -- but to actually HURT & PUNISH NEW MAC USERS by not showing them the full breadth of Mac books that are available to purchase is actually only going to HURT APPLE in the long run! Customers should be able to walk into any Apple Retail Store and see the entire selection of Apple "how to" books on the market. Not having the full selection of books to choose from is A HORRIBLE BUSINESS DECISION that hurts Apple in the long run, and hurts their customers in the short run. NICE GOING, APPLE. You've pulled an idiotic move that hurts potential Mac customers.
  • Reply 15 of 52
    maccrazymaccrazy Posts: 2,658member
    Why don't we refrain from judgement on Apple's decision until the book is released. Apple made a business decision - maybe the book harms Apple because of an anti-Job stance. Maybe the book is extremely harsh. Apple has been discussing this for a month, obviously trying to stop it being released. They decided not selling their other titles was the only way to respond. Yes it may harm Apple users who may want help but Apple have a responsibility to act for their share holders - not for Job's whims. However it is possible Jobs had a tantrum.
  • Reply 16 of 52
    boy O boy



    it hasn't been a good week for Apple. first Tiger ships early, then the Amazon G5 announcement, and now this book. sh*t like this happens when you're big and you want to control every little detail. it's just not possible.



    we've all heared Jobs has a fierce temper. (i know personally from email exchanges, and i'm simply an end user!) i just can't understand how he has sucessfully built these businesses and technologies with this anger. maybe that new book will clue me in!
  • Reply 17 of 52
    inkswampinkswamp Posts: 337member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by AppleInsider

    In its latest desperate attempt to control the media, and more specifically the presses,



    Folks, I hate to play devil's advocate, but the reality is that Apple can stock whatever they want in their stores. There's nothing draconian or evil about them making decisions based on what companies make them happy. If I ran a business and a publisher did something I didn't like, I would probably do the same thing. It's their store, their shelves and their space. There is nothing Big Brother-ish about it.



    Now, if Apple were pulling strings to get book stores and libraries to do that same, then maybe you would have something, but just pulling things from a publisher that makes them unhappy...? That deserves to be labelled a "latest desperate attempt to control the media"? That's overreacting a bit. Get a grip.
  • Reply 18 of 52
    Quote:

    Originally posted by mdriftmeyer

    What's bullshit is ethically if you are going to do an unauthorized biography of a person that you don't subjectively inflate or deflate the persona you are authoring.



    If it is a book co-authored by individuals who've had personal gripes with Steve Jobs all one creates is half-truths, conjecture and misinformation about Steve which reflects poorly on Apple.



    Here is a concept: Objectivity warts and all should be the only purpose of writing such a book. However, since everyone loves to gossip one can downright falsify and/or embellish information that isn't factual, create more half-truths ultimately selling millions because we know how very few people enjoy reading about icons if there isn't gossip thrown into the pot.




    +1 -- you hit the nail on the head. it's people like you that balance out the tree-hugging hippies and titty whiners with logical, non-subjective COMMON SENSE.
  • Reply 19 of 52
    aquamacaquamac Posts: 585member
    Oh my G__ Steve, I love ya but grow up just a little. Please.
  • Reply 20 of 52
    shawnjshawnj Posts: 6,656member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by inkswamp

    Folks, I hate to play devil's advocate, but the reality is that Apple can stock whatever they want in their stores. There's nothing draconian or evil about them making decisions based on what companies make them happy. If I ran a business and a publisher did something I didn't like, I would probably do the same thing. It's their store, their shelves and their space. There is nothing Big Brother-ish about it.



    Now, if Apple were pulling strings to get book stores and libraries to do that same, then maybe you would have something, but just pulling things from a publisher that makes them unhappy...? That deserves to be labelled a "latest desperate attempt to control the media"? That's overreacting a bit. Get a grip.




    The fact is that Apple pulled all books from the publisher in question in retaliation for publishing a non-authorized biography of Steve Jobs. It is a form of media control, which isn't fair for the authors of the other books suffering the brunt of the ban. It does raise numerous questions about how business can subvert the investigative imperative of the news media. True, the subject matter isn't of much importance, but the company's action does have implications for other situations. It's a desperate action chiefly because the matter is so trivial.



    *And as a general rule, just because something is profitable or makes good business sense doesn't mean it's morally acceptable. Business decisions are not divorced from morality.
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