Icon Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second ACT in the History of Business

by William L. Simon and Jeffrey S. Young

Book Overview

iCon takes a look at the most astounding figure in a business era noted for its mavericks, oddballs, and iconoclasts. Drawing on a wide range of sources, Jeffrey Young and William Simon provide new perspectives on the legendary creation of Apple, detail Jobs's meteoric rise, and the devastating plunge that left him not only out of Apple, but out of the computer-making business entirely. This unflinching and completely unauthorized portrait reveals...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471720836
• ISBN13: 9780471720836
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
• Length: 359 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.2" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Great Read for Anyone

This book is excellent. You learn about the [personal] life of Steve Jobs, and the history of Apple [and Pixar]. He IS the history of this revolutionary company. I had a new found respect for Mr. Jobs and the company after reading. Very informative, interesting; will definitely read it again.

Steve Jobs truly is an icon!

I became a huge fan of Apple after purchasing a Powerbook in 2005. Unknowingly I became a disciple of Steve Jobs in doing so, and have become increasingly loyal to the brand as result. When purchasing the book iCon, I simply wanted to have a book about Steve Jobs that was as current as possible given the aggressive way the company promotes new products that revolutionize their market. I really really enjoyed this book. As noted in previous reviews it does have some redundancy if you've read early books about Jobs, but as a new member to the Apple World it was all quite compelling. Initially I was concerned that the book was simply the result of someone's negative view of Steve Jobs, but after completing it, I realized it seems like a fair and relatively unbiased view (although it seems clear that the writers aren't really big fans of Steve's personality). I really enjoyed reading about the development of Steve the businessman, and how he had to fail in a dramatic crash and burn fashion, in order to finally achieve the status that has resulted in his status as a true American Business Icon! I really liked how the author was able to articulate the lessons he learned and was showed how he applied them in his current role as Apple CEO. I think a lot of people fail to realize that the most successful business people are egotistical, they are cold and cut-throat, they require an inner strength and focus that often makes them unlikable to the average person, but it is with that strength of personality and cold focus that empires are created. I found myself absolutely enchanted by this book, I could not put it down, and have become more of a fan of Steve Jobs than I ever was before. A truly compelling read.

Captivating personality, great book

Steve Jobs turned Apple into a cultural icon of our times - that's no small feat! I knew I'm in for a ride when I picked up this book, but I didn't realize just how different his persona is when compared to your average CEO. I never read anything on Jobs prior to this book, it was a real shocker (and a page-turner)! There is a number of books on Apple and Steve Jobs out there, this is my first one on the subject so I can't compare the authors, but I thought Jeffrey Young and William Simon did an exceptional job. The book is very insightful and well laid out, you step through Jobs's life in chronological order and monitor his personal and business development. From founding Apple, to the Pixar/Disney acquisition, you see how Steve and his management style evolved, what drove him, and how it affected the people around him. To be fair, I did spot some contradictions between 'iCon' and 'iWoz'. Certainly, the riff between Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs generated a lot of press, it's hard to pin down the facts and you will have to judge for yourself. However, I would strongly recommend reading both. 'iWoz' will tell you about the technology of Apple and 'iCon' will show you the evolution. To understand how Apple came to be you have to look at both Jobs and Woz - they have diametrically different personalities.

Great book!

I am not the biggest Steve Jobs fan on planet earth but I will say that as biographies go, Bill Simon is one of the best of the best. I read Art of Deception and Art of Intrusion and even Profit From Experience and I have had the privildge of knowing personally the personalites of which Mr. Simon writes and I'm happy to say that his books are so good that you'd not know that the individuals in his work didn't write these books themselves. Buy it if you haven't. It's a very interesting view into the psyche that is Steve Jobs. I enjoyed it a lot.

Fascinating

I've long been intrigued by the Steve Jobs story as well as the early days of company-building and conflict between he and Bill Gates. This book is a real page-turner as it explores the connection between the technology, consumer-focused brand building and the psyche of the man behind it all. Jobs is a fascinating character and the author's representation of his story is better than fiction. Another new book I enjoyed recently which has fun analysis of public figures is "The Emotional Intelligence Quick Book." This one also has a cool online application that lets you test your emotional intelligence and learn about it via clips from movies. Fun stuff.