Steve Jobs: Saint or Sinner?
Death is the best way to get good PR. Does that sound callous and unfeeling? Maybe it is, but the world is full of examples that prove the sentiment. I call it dead artist syndrome, after the fact that many struggling artists suddenly become celebrated after they die, with paintings and sculptures that sell for millions of dollars. It could just as well be called Michael Jackson syndrome, after the fact that a man who was reviled and ridiculed in life became an object for international mourning that rivalled the death of Princess Diana. The latest example is Steve Jobs. Granted, Jobs wasn't a struggling artist and he wasn't particularly reviled, but since his death in October he has achieved virtual (or should that be digital?) sainthood.
We didn't really know all that much about Steve Jobs while he was alive. He kept his private life very private. He didn't even admit to the world that he had cancer until a year or so before he died. But Walter Isaacson has blown the lid on all that with his biography very simply titled, Steve Jobs. Isaacson's book, which was actually commissioned by Jobs, contains more than 40 interviews with Jobs, his family and friends and is the top selling book of 2011. You can bet that most of those sales happened immediately following his death in October and November.
Barbara Walters named him the Most Fascinating Person of the Year, but one wonders if he would have been just as fascinating if he hadn't died. Time did not nominate him the Man of the Year, as it is "not a lifetime achievement award". He is, however, in the running for Man of the Century, along with the likes of Nelson Mandela.
He's been hailed as one of the world's greatest innovators, but in Isaacson's words, "he didn't invent many things outright, but he was a master at putting together ideas, art, and technology in ways that invented the future".
The danger of commissioning a biography from such a renowned biographer as Isaacson is that the truth will out, and the truth is not always pretty. We now know that Jobs was something of a dictator in the office, and a cruel one at that. He wasn't above merciless criticism and shouting matches that are more correctly termed verbal abuse. He was selfish, thoughtless and incredibly egocentric. He was also, apparently, a Zen Buddhist, which makes for a very interesting combination.
Was Steve Jobs a great man? If success is greatness then yes, Jobs was great.
Was Steve Jobs a revolutionary? If revolutionary means improving on what already exists then yes, Jobs was revolutionary.
Did Steve Jobs change the world?
I leave that up to you to decide.
We didn't really know all that much about Steve Jobs while he was alive. He kept his private life very private. He didn't even admit to the world that he had cancer until a year or so before he died. But Walter Isaacson has blown the lid on all that with his biography very simply titled, Steve Jobs. Isaacson's book, which was actually commissioned by Jobs, contains more than 40 interviews with Jobs, his family and friends and is the top selling book of 2011. You can bet that most of those sales happened immediately following his death in October and November.
Barbara Walters named him the Most Fascinating Person of the Year, but one wonders if he would have been just as fascinating if he hadn't died. Time did not nominate him the Man of the Year, as it is "not a lifetime achievement award". He is, however, in the running for Man of the Century, along with the likes of Nelson Mandela.
He's been hailed as one of the world's greatest innovators, but in Isaacson's words, "he didn't invent many things outright, but he was a master at putting together ideas, art, and technology in ways that invented the future".
The danger of commissioning a biography from such a renowned biographer as Isaacson is that the truth will out, and the truth is not always pretty. We now know that Jobs was something of a dictator in the office, and a cruel one at that. He wasn't above merciless criticism and shouting matches that are more correctly termed verbal abuse. He was selfish, thoughtless and incredibly egocentric. He was also, apparently, a Zen Buddhist, which makes for a very interesting combination.
Was Steve Jobs a great man? If success is greatness then yes, Jobs was great.
Was Steve Jobs a revolutionary? If revolutionary means improving on what already exists then yes, Jobs was revolutionary.
Did Steve Jobs change the world?
I leave that up to you to decide.
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