Angela's Reviews > Steve Jobs

I'm generally not one to read biographies. Especially now, when everyone and his brother is writing a "memoir" and honestly, who cares? But I knew I had to read Steve Jobs the moment I learned it existed, because I'm emotionally attached to Apple.

It's no secret that Jobs was (to borrow his own terminology) a little shit. He was a dirty hippie, believing that his "fruitarian" diet meant he didn't have to bathe. He was often found barefoot in the office. His opinions had no gray area whatsoever, deeming everything as either "a piece of shit" or "absolutely amazing." He would trash designs days before their release and demand they be completely redone. He took credit for a lot of ideas that weren't his at all.

But despite my anger over his ridiculous stubbornness, and his constant berating of his employees... I can't hate him. He envisioned the success of Apple from the start, and he knew what he wanted. He knew what we wanted. And he was brilliant. He knew that there are people out there—people like me—who love technology, and love a beautiful design. He created a company that's a monopoly in itself, and we're sucked into it because we want to be a part of something bigger, something hip.

Steve didn't want to read this biography. He knew he would hate it, because Isaacson wouldn't hold back. It would be easy to call Jobs a genius and list all his great qualities, but the bad outweighed the good, and this book tells it like it is.

Also, if you ever get into a tiff with your boss, remember that Steve Jobs was totally worse.