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Though it might be attributable to bad writing/editing on the part his co-author, iWoz is by far the worst, most disappointing book I've read this year. It is e

by ics 12y ago

Though it might be attributable to bad writing/editing on the part his co-author, iWoz is by far the worst, most disappointing book I've read this year. It is essentially a 300-page 'humblebrag' about how smart he knows he was as a kid, how he's still kind of a kid, and what qualifies as bad things other people do versus pranks I pull. Read it for the interesting facts (in between reminiscences of the middle school science fair) and historical perspective, not for the writing or, as far as I can tell, to glimpse Woz's real character.

ProAm 12y ago
Have you read a better autobiography or biography about Woz? I thought the book was great. (Almost all autobiography's are 'humblebrags')
- ics 12y ago
  Unfortunately no, I don't know of any other biographies of Woz that I could recommend. It's the only thing holding me back from saying "don't read this" in my previous comment.
  - mod 12y ago
    For me, "by far the worst, most disappointing book I've read this year" is pretty much saying "don't read this." In fact, I think I'd be more inclined to read it had you said "don't read this" (compared to what you actually said).
    - sdenton4 12y ago
      Perhaps it's the ONLY book he's read this year?
danso 12y ago
This is the polar opposite of how I feel about Woz's book. I started reading it after first reading the Jobs biography, in which I found the parts about Woz to be the most fun to read. I never finished the Jobs biography after getting iWoz. If the book reads like a "humblebrag", it's because it WAS a humblebrag...Woz decided to write it after apparently being frustrated with how Jobs was getting all the credit for Apple's early innovations...and in my opinion, Woz was 100% entitled to shout from the walls his amazing accomplishments. I'm surprised you say that the book doesn't provide insight to Woz's real character. If anything, one of the book's shortcomings is that it reads as if an overexcited kid wrote it...but that seems to be Woz's actual character. You didn't find it at all interesting to read about Woz's insecurities, and how he basically created the Apple I as a means to have something to initiate small talk about with Homebrew club members? One of the best chapters was when Woz explained getting through the trauma of his airplane crash. Other descriptions of the incident are considerably more darker, but Woz approaches it as you'd expect an engineer to.
- ics 12y ago
  (1) Agree that he has the right to brag. (2) I'm sure his character is much deeper and more interesting than what I perceived just by reading the book, without knowing him personally– that is what I mean. As I said, I'm inclined to attribute the issues I have either with the writer, editor, or some dynamic in between. If the whole thing was presented in a 45 minute long lecture, I'd have been pretty excited. As an autobiography, I was disappointed. (Thanks for the thoughtful reply by the way– if I didn't have to run I'd try to give a more thorough exposition.)
gareim 12y ago
I just want to add that I couldn't get past the first third of the book for the same reason. It felt like every chapter was another "humblebrag" event and the pranks weren't really that funny to me either. I'm sure Woz is an amazing guy though. I would love to learn more about one of the giants from just before my time if anyone has another book they could recommend.
- jcheng 12y ago
  > I would love to learn more about one of the giants from just before my time if anyone has another book they could recommend. It's been years and years since I read this, but I remember really enjoying it: http://www.amazon.com/Out-their-Minds-Discoveries-Scientists/dp/0387982698 http://www.amazon.com/Out-their-Minds-Discoveries-Scientists...
- CamperBob2 12y ago
  You've got to read iWoz in the context of the times it refers to. Jobs and Woz started out as a couple of naive, idealistic young hippies. Only one of them really changed. A biography of Woz is never going to read like a glossy, romanticized biography of Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, Andrew Viterbi, Elon Musk or whoever. That's not who he is. He's... well, he's Woz. It takes all kinds, especially his.
psp 12y ago
I really enjoyed iWoz book - even so much that I wrote directly to Steve to thank him for writing it. It's warm and inspiring book and especially the last chapters about following your passion really made it for me.

by ics 12y ago

ProAm 12y ago

Have you read a better autobiography or biography about Woz? I thought the book was great. (Almost all autobiography's are 'humblebrags')

ics 12y ago
Unfortunately no, I don't know of any other biographies of Woz that I could recommend. It's the only thing holding me back from saying "don't read this" in my previous comment.
- mod 12y ago
  For me, "by far the worst, most disappointing book I've read this year" is pretty much saying "don't read this." In fact, I think I'd be more inclined to read it had you said "don't read this" (compared to what you actually said).
  - sdenton4 12y ago
    Perhaps it's the ONLY book he's read this year?

danso 12y ago

This is the polar opposite of how I feel about Woz's book. I started reading it after first reading the Jobs biography, in which I found the parts about Woz to be the most fun to read. I never finished the Jobs biography after getting iWoz. If the book reads like a "humblebrag", it's because it WAS a humblebrag...Woz decided to write it after apparently being frustrated with how Jobs was getting all the credit for Apple's early innovations...and in my opinion, Woz was 100% entitled to shout from the walls his amazing accomplishments. I'm surprised you say that the book doesn't provide insight to Woz's real character. If anything, one of the book's shortcomings is that it reads as if an overexcited kid wrote it...but that seems to be Woz's actual character. You didn't find it at all interesting to read about Woz's insecurities, and how he basically created the Apple I as a means to have something to initiate small talk about with Homebrew club members? One of the best chapters was when Woz explained getting through the trauma of his airplane crash. Other descriptions of the incident are considerably more darker, but Woz approaches it as you'd expect an engineer to.

ics 12y ago
(1) Agree that he has the right to brag. (2) I'm sure his character is much deeper and more interesting than what I perceived just by reading the book, without knowing him personally– that is what I mean. As I said, I'm inclined to attribute the issues I have either with the writer, editor, or some dynamic in between. If the whole thing was presented in a 45 minute long lecture, I'd have been pretty excited. As an autobiography, I was disappointed. (Thanks for the thoughtful reply by the way– if I didn't have to run I'd try to give a more thorough exposition.)

gareim 12y ago

I just want to add that I couldn't get past the first third of the book for the same reason. It felt like every chapter was another "humblebrag" event and the pranks weren't really that funny to me either. I'm sure Woz is an amazing guy though. I would love to learn more about one of the giants from just before my time if anyone has another book they could recommend.

jcheng 12y ago
> I would love to learn more about one of the giants from just before my time if anyone has another book they could recommend. It's been years and years since I read this, but I remember really enjoying it: http://www.amazon.com/Out-their-Minds-Discoveries-Scientists/dp/0387982698 http://www.amazon.com/Out-their-Minds-Discoveries-Scientists...
CamperBob2 12y ago
You've got to read iWoz in the context of the times it refers to. Jobs and Woz started out as a couple of naive, idealistic young hippies. Only one of them really changed. A biography of Woz is never going to read like a glossy, romanticized biography of Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, Andrew Viterbi, Elon Musk or whoever. That's not who he is. He's... well, he's Woz. It takes all kinds, especially his.

psp 12y ago

I really enjoyed iWoz book - even so much that I wrote directly to Steve to thank him for writing it. It's warm and inspiring book and especially the last chapters about following your passion really made it for me.