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What was wrong with Isaacson's biography of Jobs? I think unless it was exceptional it was going to make people unhappy, but I don't recall it being "dismal".

What was wrong with Isaacson's biography of Jobs? I think unless it was exceptional it was going to make people unhappy, but I don't recall it being "dismal". Becoming Steve Jobs is better, though.

MBCook 9y ago
It got basic facts wrong. Lots of them. Things you could easily google or ask anyone who knew a bit about computers. Gruber wrote some about it on DF: https://daringfireball.net/2012/02/walter_isaacson_steve_jobs https://daringfireball.net/2012/02/walter_isaacson_steve_job... I believe there is an entire episode of Connected or ATP about errors in the book from when it came out. Sloppy research, unasked questions, not talking to other primary sources. Just a GIANT missed opportunity/mistake.
- henrikeh 9y ago
  To be very specific episode 42 and 43 of John Siracusa’s Hypercritical are about the book and Siracusas opinion of it. Albeit there is a lot of nit picking — especially in the latter episode — his overall point is that Isaacson’s book did not use the opportunity of having access to Jobs and the people around him. Specifically he didn’t know the industry and — apparently from the book — bother to learn about it. But relating to a bio on da Vinci? He doesn’t have exclusive access so the argument doesn’t transfer. Hypercritical: 42: The Wrong Guy https://overcast.fm/+IplN7GcE/18:32 https://overcast.fm/+IplN7GcE/18:32
  - MBCook 9y ago
    I loved Hypercritical. It didn’t occur to me that would be the podcast. Thanks. The asking the right questions thing doesn’t apply but the quality of research that he showed in his biography of Jobs makes me doubt the level of work/research in other biographies he writes.
mercer 9y ago
My biggest problem was that 1) he really seemed obsessed about Jobs 'crying', and 2) he skipped over what struck me as one of the most important periods of his life: the 'wilderness' of his ex-Apple days before his return. Especially 2 is a part I had not read too much about, and I was really disappointed that he just kind of skipped the NeXT days.

What was wrong with Isaacson's biography of Jobs? I think unless it was exceptional it was going to make people unhappy, but I don't recall it being "dismal". Becoming Steve Jobs is better, though.

MBCook 9y ago

It got basic facts wrong. Lots of them. Things you could easily google or ask anyone who knew a bit about computers. Gruber wrote some about it on DF: https://daringfireball.net/2012/02/walter_isaacson_steve_jobs https://daringfireball.net/2012/02/walter_isaacson_steve_job... I believe there is an entire episode of Connected or ATP about errors in the book from when it came out. Sloppy research, unasked questions, not talking to other primary sources. Just a GIANT missed opportunity/mistake.

henrikeh 9y ago
To be very specific episode 42 and 43 of John Siracusa’s Hypercritical are about the book and Siracusas opinion of it. Albeit there is a lot of nit picking — especially in the latter episode — his overall point is that Isaacson’s book did not use the opportunity of having access to Jobs and the people around him. Specifically he didn’t know the industry and — apparently from the book — bother to learn about it. But relating to a bio on da Vinci? He doesn’t have exclusive access so the argument doesn’t transfer. Hypercritical: 42: The Wrong Guy https://overcast.fm/+IplN7GcE/18:32 https://overcast.fm/+IplN7GcE/18:32
- MBCook 9y ago
  I loved Hypercritical. It didn’t occur to me that would be the podcast. Thanks. The asking the right questions thing doesn’t apply but the quality of research that he showed in his biography of Jobs makes me doubt the level of work/research in other biographies he writes.

mercer 9y ago

My biggest problem was that 1) he really seemed obsessed about Jobs 'crying', and 2) he skipped over what struck me as one of the most important periods of his life: the 'wilderness' of his ex-Apple days before his return. Especially 2 is a part I had not read too much about, and I was really disappointed that he just kind of skipped the NeXT days.