Apple opens up for new Steve Jobs biography to shape co-founder's public image
Apple executives like CEO Tim Cook were willing to participate in interviews for the new biography Becoming Steve Jobs because of the main author's connections to Jobs, and because the company wants to influence its co-founder's public image, according to an official spokesman.
"After a long period of reflection following Steve's death, we felt a sense of responsibility to say more about the Steve we knew," Steve Dowling told the New York Times on Sunday.
"We decided to participate in Brent [Schlender] and Rick [Tetzeli]'s book because of Brent's long relationship with Steve, which gave him a unique perspective on Steve's life. The book captures Steve better than anything else we've seen, and we are happy we decided to participate."
Schlender and Tetzeli explained to the Times that they first approached Apple about the book in 2012, but were informed at the time that no executives would give an interview. The company reversed course 18 months later, something Schlender attributed to "patience and quiet perseverance." Schlender covered news about Jobs for almost 25 years.
Tetzeli added that while parts of the biography were fact-checked with Apple, and the final product was shown to the company, executives weren't allowed to have "any editorial input whatsoever."
Apple has become more open under the helm of CEO Tim Cook, with executives more willing to take part in promotional interviews and publish personal opinions via Twitter. In the new book, Cook in fact calls Walter Isaacson's 2011 Steve Jobs biography a "tremendous disservice" even though it was authorized by Jobs, featured prominently on the iBook Store, and was based on interviews with Jobs, Cook, lead Apple designer Jony Ive, and head of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue. Isaacson also spoke with friends, relatives, and competitors.
Last year Cook criticized another Jobs-related book, Yukari Kane's Haunted Empire: Apple After Steve Jobs, calling it "nonsense." A week ago Cue used Twitter to attack an Alex Gibney film documentary premiering at SXSW in Austin, Texas, calling it an "inaccurate and mean-spirited view of my friend" that was "not a reflection of the Steve I knew." Shortly after he tweeted in support of Becoming Steve Jobs.
"After a long period of reflection following Steve's death, we felt a sense of responsibility to say more about the Steve we knew," Steve Dowling told the New York Times on Sunday.
"We decided to participate in Brent [Schlender] and Rick [Tetzeli]'s book because of Brent's long relationship with Steve, which gave him a unique perspective on Steve's life. The book captures Steve better than anything else we've seen, and we are happy we decided to participate."
Schlender and Tetzeli explained to the Times that they first approached Apple about the book in 2012, but were informed at the time that no executives would give an interview. The company reversed course 18 months later, something Schlender attributed to "patience and quiet perseverance." Schlender covered news about Jobs for almost 25 years.
Tetzeli added that while parts of the biography were fact-checked with Apple, and the final product was shown to the company, executives weren't allowed to have "any editorial input whatsoever."
Apple has become more open under the helm of CEO Tim Cook, with executives more willing to take part in promotional interviews and publish personal opinions via Twitter. In the new book, Cook in fact calls Walter Isaacson's 2011 Steve Jobs biography a "tremendous disservice" even though it was authorized by Jobs, featured prominently on the iBook Store, and was based on interviews with Jobs, Cook, lead Apple designer Jony Ive, and head of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue. Isaacson also spoke with friends, relatives, and competitors.
Last year Cook criticized another Jobs-related book, Yukari Kane's Haunted Empire: Apple After Steve Jobs, calling it "nonsense." A week ago Cue used Twitter to attack an Alex Gibney film documentary premiering at SXSW in Austin, Texas, calling it an "inaccurate and mean-spirited view of my friend" that was "not a reflection of the Steve I knew." Shortly after he tweeted in support of Becoming Steve Jobs.
Comments
Apple executives telling lies to try and cover up that Steve was a complete asshole by re-writing history and passing it off as a book.
There, got that one out of the way before the inevitable...
I've been searching and searching for fond testimonials by MS execs of Steve Ballmer...
No luck...I must be doing something wrong.
"After a long period of reflection following Steve's death, we felt a sense of responsibility to say more about the Steve we knew," Steve Dowling told the New York Times on Sunday.
Meaning, "we can make money doing this".
Yeah, we all know Apple needs more money.
Regardless of whether you like Isaacson's book, he is a bonafide historian, biographer and author. These other guys are not.
The Isaacson book will be retitled Unbecoming Steve Jobs. Collect the two-part set!
Yeah they can not cover up that Steve was a crazy man and berated people, there are too many people who have direct interactions with him at Apple who back this up and not because they were the ones being berated but that witness it. But, you do not become that successful being nice to everyone. Not sure why they have this need to paint him in a better light, we all knew what he was like and many would still want to be by his side.
Yeah image some idiots coming up with Steve Religion, kind of like Scientology which was base on a book, ops so was Catholicism. Imagine that.....
No, it isn't.
Walter Isaacson is a bonafide popular/commercial biographer and journalist.
These other guys are bonafide journalists, and now perhaps more serious biographers.
All are authors, because they all have books out, big deal. We'll see which are the better historians.
Charles Schwab = Charles Schwab (investments)
John Cadbury = Cadbury (chocolate)
William Colgate = Colgate-Palmolive (toothpaste etc.)
William Wrigley = Wrigley Co. (gum)
Etc.
So why not:
Steve Jobs = Steve Jobs Inc.
Naw, I think not. People have grow too used to Apple.
No, it isn't.
It kinda is.
As others have stated here, Isaacson's book seemed "rushed." I pre-ordered Becoming Stevo.
Yeah they can not cover up that Steve was a crazy man and berated people, there are too many people who have direct interactions with him at Apple who back this up and not because they were the ones being berated but that witness it. But, you do not become that successful being nice to everyone. Not sure why they have this need to paint him in a better light, we all knew what he was like and many would still want to be by his side.
Uh, who's trying to cover anything up? Nobody is denying Steve could be a bear to work for. However, everything you read in the press always concentrates on the negative. Here is an account showing some of the positive sides of Steve.
Unless your position is Steve was 100% asshole and there isn't a single nice attribute about him or that he's never done anything good for anyone in his entire life.
Isn't this how religions get started?
Where do I sign up?
Sorry that you, of all people, bit.
Religions start with a concept of something supernatural, usually a god or a goddess, or some kind of spirit being. This is why Buddhism is not considered a religion in its original form as a technique of enlightenment.
Steve Jobs was a realist. There is no need for supernatural explanation to attempt to interpret him or his philosophy.
Quite different when disciples of a prophet representing an absent supernatural Being are arguing about how they are supposed to best serve the Being.
It's best to not talk bad about the dead.
I guess you never took a History class.... or must have some very bad memories from that class...