Steve Jobs biography: Release date moves up, skyrockets to No. 1
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Publication of a new Steve Jobs biography is being pushed up to Oct. 24, and a flood of preorders for the book -- culled from hours of exclusive interviews with Jobs conducted over two years -- has sent the book skyrocketing to the No. 1 spot at Amazon.com.
Titled simply ‘Steve Jobs,’ the authorized autobiography by Walter Isaacson is now one of the most hotly anticipated books of the fall, driven by the outpouring of world-wide grief, admiration and renewed interest in the wake of Jobs’ death this week at the age of 56.
It would be crass to say the timing was perfect -- except that Jobs would agree. Isaacson last interviewed Jobs about four weeks ago, around the time Jobs resigned as Apple’s chief executive. In a scene that will appear at the end of the book, Jobs indicates that he knows the end is near, according to the Wall Street Journal, quoting ‘a person familiar with the matter.’
The book is based on more than 40 interviews with the famously private Jobs, according to Amazon.com’s description. It also draws from dozens of interviews with family members, friends, adversaries, competitors and colleagues. It was originally slated to be released Nov. 21.
Although the book promises a ‘riveting story of the roller-coaster life,’ it also promises to tell the unvarnished tale of Jobs’ life and notes that the author retained full control. According to the site’s description:
‘Although Jobs cooperated with this book, he asked for no control over what was written nor even the right to read it before it was published. He put nothing off-limits. He encouraged the people he knew to speak honestly. And Jobs speaks candidly, sometimes brutally so, about the people he worked with and competed against. His friends, foes, and colleagues provide an unvarnished view of the passions, perfectionism, obsessions, artistry, devilry, and compulsion for control that shaped his approach to business and the innovative products that resulted.’
Isaacson has been chairman of CNN and managing editor of Time magazine, as well as author of biographies on Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein.
The Simon & Schuster book is 656 pages and will sell for about $17. In addition to nabbing the top overall spot at Amazon.com, it shot up to become the No. 1 new release shortly after Jobs’ death was announced Wednesday. It’s also No. 1 in business and investing, biography, science and technology categories.
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--Rene Lynch
March 2. Credit: Jeff Chiu / Associated Press
