The Second Coming of Steve Jobs

Rating:
Summary: Will There Be A Third
Review: "The Second Coming Of Steve Jobs", by Alan Deutschman is a fairly interesting read. It is limited as a biography as the subject did not participate in the book. Everything that is offered is based primarily on recollections of conversations and events, which while amusing don't really give the reader the feeling that Steve Jobs has really been portrayed in more than a superficial manner.

The book is better in the first half as opposed to an ending that is best described as repetitious. What the book devolves into is example after example of either behavior by Steve Jobs that many would find eccentric, and some may find bizarre. I don't think readers need dozens of examples of his infantile behavior of ridiculing people who can manage to work for him. The concept of the spoiled, immensely wealthy, and often juvenile behavior of silicon kings and queens is not a new discovery. There is also an over abundance of gushing admirers that is understandable until the reader learns that many of these people were his victims, some more than once.

When the book does offer glimpses of how he managed not once, but twice to dramatically take center stage in the computer industry, and with Pixar establish a new definition of animated film, you cannot help but be impressed with a man who clearly is extraordinary. Like Bill Gates he has often negotiated business deals that were hugely advantageous to both he and his company from people that you think would have had better judgment. The story of Ross Perot is one of the more amusing parts of the book.

The most concrete detail to be had is regarding the multi decade development of Pixar, and the people who grew the company from an idea to the magic 3-D animation company it has become. The reason there is depth to the Pixar study is precisely because Steve Jobs bought the company after it had developed for many years, and then was basically ignored by the founders as they went about running and creating Pixar with his money, but without his presence. It is said he visited Pixar less than once a year for the better part of a decade, and when Pixar creators showed him, "dailies", there were for him only, the real work was viewed the next day.

The book also offers brief views of other towering egos like Jeffrey Katzenberg, Larry Ellison, and Michael Eisner. There is no denying the success these men have had; however one wonders if it is because of their personalities or in spite of them.

My comment regarding "will there be a third coming" of Steve Jobs came to mind from a comment the author made. He was extolling the fact that Steve Jobs had come back to Apple, and raised the value of the company from $3 billion to $16 billion. The company is back down to $6 billion in value and suffers from some of the same policies that nearly killed the company the first time. There is no denying the talent of this man, however his refusal to open up his machines, his actual preference that they be bolted shut to the consumer, seems to ensure his, "Insanely Great", products will always have a tiny following, and not the number of users they deserve.

Rating:
Summary: Still great stuff
Review: "It was all going to hell."

So begins Alan Deutschman's The Second Coming of Steve Jobs, an elucidating look at Silicon Valley wunderkind, co-founder, previously banished and recently reinstalled CEO of Apple Computer, Steve Jobs.

And so it was. As 1992 drew to a close, Jobs' long journey towards redemption was going straight down the toilet. The aesthetic force behind the technical marvel that was the Macintosh, Jobs had not made many friends on his way up. Revered for his unstoppable visionary verve, reviled for his petulant temper and malicious management style, the still young multimillionaire had been unceremoniously ousted by John Sculley, the former head of Pepsi and latest CEO of the company Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded in a California garage.

Bowed but not beaten, Jobs proceeded to pour much of his substantial fortune in NeXT, a supposed "new breed" of computer company that its founder promised would demolish all comers. It was very serious, very personal gauntlet that Jobs was determined to throw down. Indeed, his furious and desperate need for vindication is summed up in account of Jobs' planned speech for the inaugural NeXT press conference:

"Screw John Sculley, he was going to say. Screw him! Screw the Apple board! We are going to change the world!"

It didn't quite work out that way. While Jobs and his worshipful minions staged elaborate events and built exorbitantly expensive machines, Apple continued selling more computers per day than NeXT sold per year. To his profound vexation, Apple continued on its conquering path, while NeXT lay in the dirt, hemorrhaging money and all but slain.

Deutschman places the blame for NeXT's failure squarely with Jobs and his obsessive aestheticism. Perhaps most fascinating in Deutschman's account are the precise description of Jobs' various failed visions at NeXT, among them the NeXT Cube, a sleekly-designed, yet prohibitively expensive ($10,000US) computer intended for the student market.

Pursuing a Porsche-like machine, claims Deutschman, Jobs discovered far too late that all the world really wanted was a Hyundai. For the computer-buying unwashed of the early 1990s, form trailed far behind both function and cost. Since Jobs reinstallment at Apple, however, it is his aesthetic judgments and largely cosmetic alterations to the Macintosh that quite literally saved Apple from rotting on the tree. The multi-colored, moderately-priced iMacs and iBooks have become staples in business, academic and home markets, thanks in large part to the stunning "Think Different" advertising campaign. Still more interesting is the recent advertising blitz - run to the inimitable strains of Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze" - for the Apple Cube, obviously modelled on the stillborn NeXT baby of the same name.

While NeXT foundered and Jobs fretted, however, he could hardly have known that his salvation was close at hand. In a shrewd 1986 deal with Star Wars creator George Lucas, Jobs had purchased a little animation company called Pixar for the bargain basement price of $10 million US. Calling the operation a "hobby" compared to the vocation that was NeXT, Jobs paid little attention to the little studio, other than to occasionally consider scrapping it for cash. Every time that he did, however, Pixar's John Lasseter would produce another groundbreaking, award-winning short film to stay their execution.

Lucky thing for Jobs. Around the same time that NeXT was breathing its last, Pixar struck a deal with Disney to make a little film called Toy Story. Almost out of money, Jobs resolved to take the perennial money-losing Pixar public immediately following the release of the children's film. Despite his relative ignorance of 3D technology and complete ignorance of the entertainment industry, Jobs felt comfortable taking both the credit and the cash. Refusing to share the Pixar wealth, Jobs stubbornly held on to 30 million shares of the company. In the first thirty minutes of trading, he was worth nearly 1.5 billion.

Throughout, Deutschman's book is replete with anecdotes about Jobs' erratic and infantile behaviour. Here, he refuses to acknowledge that he has fathered a daughter; there he refuses to have more than one bathroom in an immense building serving hundreds of people, citing aesthetic reasons. Here he publicly berates yet another employee; there he refuses simple credit where profound gratitude is due. Ultimately, The Second Coming of Steve Jobs provokes something between grudging admiration and stomach-turning cynicism.

An atypical Steve Jobs' self-characterization was recorded for the 1996 PBS series Triumph of the Nerds. Said Jobs: "I really don't care about being right. I only care about success." Ultimately, The Second Coming of Steve Jobs is the story of a man who did everything right. It is also the story of a man who did everything wrong. Of his success, of course, there can be no question.

Rating:
Summary: The truth about Steve Jobs
Review: "The Second Coming of Steve Jobs" is that most unusual thing -- a business biography that you can't put down. It's a potboiler -- but a fair and accurate one. The book examines Jobs' famed charisma, his egomania, his perfectionism, and drive to succeed. Also his assorted relationships with various women and tastes in furniture. Full disclosure: I'm a reporter who's interviewed Jobs a couple of times, and I'm in the book. I can tell you that those portions are both extremely flattering and 100 percent accurate.

Rating:
Summary: Famous Mr. Jobs & Great Mr. Deutschman
Review: "The Second Coming of Steve Jobs", is not only a biography of Mr. Jobs, It explains the complexities of one's life and the vitality of prompt and futuristic decision making. In all it is a motivation for futuristic minds.

I have completed this book within a week. Very unusual for me to do so. This therefore implies that I could not put the book down.

Mr. Deutschman has done a job well done. The book is a very interesting read written extremely well.

A must read for all those who are inspired by famous Mr. Jobs.

Rating:
Summary: Tipping the scale...
Review: After reading this book, you'll probably have some doubts about Mr. Steve Jobs. The writer keeps comparing the appearances of the "good and bad Steve", leaving you with a feeling that Mr. Jobs is not such a well-balanced person. I think that impression is unfair, so let me tip the scale - not a bit, but fiercely !

Of course, all stories about Jobs' infamous tantrums and his much rumoured "Reality Distortion Field" are true, I guess. But what shouldn't be forgotten, is that millions of users benefit from his achievements, every day, since many years, and 99% of them just love their Mac ! This is a tremendous Good Job(s).

No other computer brand is so religiously adored, and no other founder and visionair is so responsible for that feeling. Keep that in mind, while reading this book.

Rating:
Summary: Some Style and No Substance
Review: Alan Deutschman writes in quintessential GQ style...Apple, Pixar, Next and Jobs are given the cinematic attention - Brioni suits and designer clothing take precedence to the story telling theme! That's precisely where the story ends - Neither Apple's business environment nor the facts behind Jobs renaissance garner attention! Steve's vendetta against the Apple board that sacked him, his bitterness about moving away from the company he helped create and his pre-occupation with Odwalla fruit juices/Black polo shirt & blue jeans are the only facets of Steve's character that Deutschman manages to grasp. (...) Steve's obsession with German design aesthetics, his "tomfoolery" with his corporate hobbies- Next, Pixar and Apple are all touted by Deuschman as tenets of a precipitous corporate personality! Jobs is portayed as a whip slashing mogul who just rides his "ill-deserved" luck to the top- He is credited with ZERO intelligence and a disgusting atttitude! Apparently, Next and Pixar had no strategies and were "bleeding,hemorrhaging corporations"- a phrase Deutschman uses with irritating regularity! Job's groundbreaking strategies to rev up the motorcade of new products at Apple and Next are promptly thrown out of the window! His ability to turn small-door companies like Pixar into money making machines is rudely ignored. (...)This man hardly knows what he is talking about!

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: Alan Deutschman's revealing look at Steve Jobs was a real page turner. Some of the story has been told elsewhere over the past twenty years, but the Pixar part was new to me. This book seemed fairer toward Steve Jobs than some of the other accounts (I didn't finish Infinite Loop because I sensed the author had a personal bone to pick) and should be enjoyed by the public. Whatever one may think of Mr. Jobs, positive or negative, he is an amazing figure. The only question I have is: who is Alexander Schure? We know Apple, Microsoft, Netscape, Xerox, and the other founders of this high tech boom, but Alex Schure appears to have been the first person outside the military to employ the graphics gurus of Utah (the Pixar founders and Jim Clark of SGI and Netscape). This book was about Steve Jobs (notice that Steve Wozniak appears only twice), but it is also about a whole lot more. I look forward to watching the coming events play out, and also how future historians will interpret these events.

Rating:
Summary: Ok book about a terrible man
Review: and let's not forget about the "think different" campaign. Jobs didn't even bother to get a linguist to check it and after he found out it was gramatically wrong, instead of changing it or at least admitting he was wrong, he cooked up some big idea of how wrong could become right, once again using his standard "cool" line.

Rating:
Summary: Steve Jobs, Part II...
Review: Ever since Apple pioneered the personal computer, first with the Apple I in 1979 and then with the Macintosh in 1984, Steve Jobs has been the computer guy for everyone. With his hip understanding of what computers mean to the people who use them, Jobs has always been the anti-nerd (unlike Bill Gates, who is the Nerd King.) Then in 1985 Jobs was fired from the company he created, and for the next ten years little was heard about Jobs and his vision.

The Second Coming of Steve Jobs by Alan Deutachman is a sequel of sorts not to a book Deutachman had written but to Jobs himself. Deutachman's book starts where Jobs' life seemed to be ending when he was fired from Apple. What now? Jobs was determined that if he could do it once with Apple, he could do it again. Next Computing, his answer to Apple, seemed to be a perfect dream. No one else was in control except Jobs himself. He could design anything he wanted and no one would tell him what to do again.

At the same time, Jobs acquired a 3-D animation studio from movie pioneer George Lucas. Renaming it Pixar, Jobs thought of it as nothing more than a hobby to mess around with while he was trying to get Next off the ground. After several years where he didn't even have a computer yet built, in 1988 he finally had one to sell for a measly $6,500 (over $10,000 with a laser printer.) The problem was he expected college students to buy them, and obviously it didn't happen. The machine itself was beautiful (and a precursor to Apple's own Cube by over ten years), but beauty wasn't enough. It didn't sell, and things got worse from there. The only saving grace was in Pixar and in a little animated film called Toy Story...

Deutachman's book is a fascinating read and it gives the reader a honest view of the "two Steves": the Good Steve who wanted everything with his products to be perfect, and the Bad Steve who treated people like dirt. Throughout the entire book , the Good Steve was so convincing that almost everybody bought into whatever scheme Jobs was selling. The Bad Steve was so bad that even his charm to reporters (which was legendary) almost didn't save him when Next was failing.

Deutachman, an editor for Vanity Fair's technology section for twelve years, really did his homework, and his book backs up other things written about Jobs over the years and in the TNT movie Pirates of Silicon Valley. There are two things he left out, though. One is any highlight of Jobs' life before he got fired from Apple. This didn't have to be much, but to people who didn't know about Apple and Jobs a little history would help. Instead, Deutachman's Preface repeated things that appeared later on in the book.

The other very obvious thing missing is almost any mention of Steve Wozniak, the other partner and parent of Apple computers. While Jobs may have had the vision and the business sense (and the guts) to make Apple fly, it was Wozniak who really knew how computers work from the inside out. Wozniak is only mentioned in passing on two pages, and there is no mention about his previous partnership with Jobs at all. This is especially weird because at one time Wozniak and Jobs were inseparable, and it was Wozniak's leaving Apple that really signaled the end was near for Jobs.

Overall, though, The Second Coming of Steve Jobs is a must-read for any computer, business, or biography fans. If you know about Jobs life before leaving Apple, then this book gives a great history of what happened next.

Rating:
Summary: Something Old, Something New
Review: For the reader who wants to know how Steve Jobs turned Apple and Pixar around, this book is fine. The author hits all the points that need to be explored. The writing style is excellent, and the way the author moves from crisis to crisis in Steve's life keeps the reader hooked.

If you are already familiar with Mr. Jobs' story, skip this book. The treatment of Steve's last few years is superficial and some of the sources are practically humorous. (His *building contractor*??)