The author, Nick Hunter, knows his craft. This biography is logically organized, well- illustrated, and clearly written. This brief biography puts its emphasis on Steve Jobs' contribution as an innovator and an entrepreneur. In my opinion the best biographies are inspirational and chart the ups and downs that lead a person to be successful. Hunter hits the mark with this book by clearly charting Steve Jobs' life's work. The author's quote (on page 28 under the boldface heading, Innovation) defines an innovator's success: "The best entrepreneurs succeed because they do something that other people have not thought of yet. Job's greatest successes came from doing something new or doing something in a new way. Partly, this innovation came because Jobs was naturally creative and curious about the world.
He also encouraged innovation among the people he worked with." The prose is interesting and makes the reader think. Should students be aware of titans of business? What makes a person successful? Who are entrepreneurs or inventors? Like Mark Zuckerman (Facebook) and Bill Gates (Microsoft), Steve Jobs (Apple) did not finish college. Is college too constraining? The history is fascinating. Jobs' career is marked by his passion to make easy-to-use, sleekly designed technology, despite setbacks. The iTunes stores and the iPod were introduced in 2001. What is striking is that the iPad came out in 2010--just two years ago! The iPad like the iPhone has revolutionized technology. Just as the iPod blew other MP3 players out of the water, both the iPhone and the iPad have become the gold standards for "smart phones" and tablet computers.
The biography strikes a balance between the evolution of the Mac and Jobs' career detour with education, NeXT, and Pixar before returning to Apple. Steve Jobs was a private man, sheltering his family; while the biography has many pictures of Jobs (even as an ill man); there is only one photo of Jobs with his wife and none of his four children. It seems fitting for the author, Hunter, to keep the focus on Jobs, just as Steve Jobs sheltered his family from the public, keeping the focus on the Apple products. In the back of the book in the "Find out more" section (p.46) are lists of books. The first entry is about gadgets. The biography will appeal to kids who like to build electronics. There are also listings about the evolution of the computer and books about Steve Jobs.
The web sites listed (pp.46-47) include more about the history of Apple and Pixar. But readers should be warned that several of the addresses listed for the site did not work at the time of this review. Additionally, there is a section with "topics to research"--would a teacher assign students entrepreneurs? Pioneers? Digital Music? The history of the personal computer? Wow! Wouldn't that be fun to research? This biography, Steve Jobs, part of the Titans of Business Series, would fit well in the elementary section in our library and appeal to a wide range of individuals: elementary students and teachers, technology teachers, instructors teaching English Speakers of Other Languages or literacy programs and people of all ages. This biography could spark budding entrepreneurs and business tykes. At a price of $32.00, this series is targeting libraries rather than classrooms. Few teachers have the type of classroom budget to allot $32.
00 for one book regardless of the topic. This biography is timely, well written and deserves a spot on every library's shelf. It is the type of book destined to inspire another young entrepreneur to make his or her mark on history.