Book SummarySteve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs, as co-founder and CEO of Apple, was a guiding force in the electronics industry, from the development of the first home computers in the 1970s to the world-shaking impact of smartphones and tablets. The decisions Jobs made and the passions he followed had a direct impact on the way we use computers and share information. To understand Steve Jobs’s life is to understand why the modern information landscape functions the way it does.

While much has been written about Jobs’s life, this biography was commissioned by Jobs himself. He wanted his own point of view on the record, but he didn’t want a “puff piece” that would glorify his achievements while glossing over his negative side. Instead, he tapped well-known biographer Walter Isaacson to write a book that would balance his accomplishments with an unflinching look at his personal demons. In an uncharacteristic move for the usually domineering Jobs, he allowed Isaacson full access to his life with no oversight or control of what was written. Indeed, Jobs passed away without ever having read it.

(Shortform note: [Walter...

Steve Jobs Summary Part 1: Steve Jobs’s Life

Steve Jobs was as much a product of his time as he was one of its chief architects. His rise to fame and tumultuous life mirrored the whirlwind of the digital revolution. Jobs came of age on the cusp of the 1970s’ computer boom, and he guided many of the 1980s’ advances. After falling out of the limelight in the ’90s, he surged back to prominence at the turn of the millennium with innovations that still impact the digital landscape to this day.

Formative Years (1955-1974)

Jobs would not have become who he was without the unique combination of circumstances that defined his early life. His upbringing shaped the path he would follow, from his childhood in Silicon Valley to his rebellious years in college and his fascination with electronics and design. His interest in computers led to a particular meeting of minds that would shape the future of the digital world.

On February 24, 1955, Steven Paul Jobs was born to Joanne Schieble and her boyfriend, Abdulfattah Jandali. Schieble’s parents objected to her dating a Muslim and insisted she give her child up for adoption. Steve was taken in by Paul and Clara Jobs, a couple in Palo Alto, California. Isaacson makes it clear that...

Steve Jobs Summary Part 2: Steve Jobs’s Legacy

Steven Paul Jobs was a man of contradictions. He was an idealist, a leader, and a visionary pioneer who earned fame and admiration for his many innovations. At the same time, he was often needlessly cruel—a demanding bully with a black-and-white worldview who insisted that everyone and everything live up to his high expectations. Isaacson argues that Jobs’s positive and negative aspects were inextricably linked, and all contributed to shaping a man who was adored and reviled, perhaps in equal measure. To make his case, Isaacson explores six themes that define how Jobs is remembered—his knack for innovation, his black-and-white thinking, his drive to merge technology with design, his dictatorial leadership style, his emphasis on product over profit, and his denial of any unwelcome reality.

Radical Innovation

Isaacson claims that what set Jobs apart as a technological pioneer wasn’t any skill as an engineer or programmer but his ability to imagine the future before it arrived. His mindset was fostered by the anarchistic counterculture of the 1960s and ’70s, in which rules and norms were routinely circumvented. Jobs embraced the counterculture’s emphasis on spiritual growth,...

Shortform Exercise: Reflect on Steve Jobs’s Impact on Technology

Many of Jobs’s innovations and design features have now become things we take for granted. Consider the ways that Jobs’s philosophy of design still guides the information tools you use today.

When Jobs led the team developing the Macintosh, he insisted that its graphical interface be simple and easy to use. Think of an electronic device you own today that doesn’t have a point-and-click interface. Would you say that it was easy or difficult to learn? If difficult, what features would make it more intuitive?

Shortform Exercise: What Can We Learn About Innovation?

One of Jobs’s key strengths was his ability to imagine the needs of the future instead of simply following the trends of today. Even if you’re not an inventor or designer, there may be ways to apply that philosophy in your daily life.

What current trend is a topic of interest in your own working life? Alternatively, what is a major present-day problem those in your profession are trying to solve?