Steve Jobs

March 5, 2012
Framing her work around the themes of a lauded commencement speech that “technology rock star” Jobs delivered to Stanford University’s class of 2005, Blumenthal crafts an insightful, balanced portrait of the enigmatic man whose life was cut short by illness in 2011. The book chronicles Jobs’s boyhood passions for technology, simplicity, and design that led to his rocky tenures with the technology company he helped create, was fired from, and returned to and led to the heights of its success. Readers receive a primer in technological advances, including the mathematics of animation, as well as Jobs’s vision for product design and marketing innovation. Blumenthal relates accounts of Jobs’s eccentric hygiene and eating habits, his infamous tantrums and tirades in the workplace, and his harsh treatment of colleagues, loved ones, and friends. However, his charisma often won the day, and commentary from Jobs and his wife, given near the end of his life, help soften the picture. Numerous b&w photographs and sidebars appear, and an author’s note, technology time line, glossary, index, and bibliography give this volume extra polish. Ages 12–up. Agent: Ken Wright, Writers House.

Starred review from February 15, 2012
Grades 7-10 *Starred Review* Walter Isaacson's best-selling biography, bolstered by 40 interviews with its subject, is the current gold standard for books about Steve Jobs, but Blumenthal's in-depth look at the innovator's life makes a close runner-up and a winner for younger audiences. Blumenthal, a former business reporter, uses a speech Jobs made to a graduating class at Stanford as an inviting hook to draw readers in. He told his audience stories about the most important incidents in his life, beginning with his adoption, and how the dots of his life connected in mysterious ways. His adoptive father was skilled with his hands and a perfectionist, a trait Jobs carried on, sometimes to extremes. The worst moments in Jobs' life, like being fired from Apple, the company he built, led him to bigger and better moments, and an eventual return to Apple, where he would give the world iPods, iPhones, and iPads. His final story was about his cancer, and his message was to follow your heart and intuition. Through original interviews, a smart use of source material, and a wonderfully easy-going style, Blumenthal gives a full portrait of Jobs, with his many well-documented flaws (which here might be a tad underplayed), his original and far-sighted aesthetic, and his willingness to push himself and others to achieve the bestas he perceived it. One advantage this has over Isaacson's book is the well-placed sidebars that explain everything from how computer memory works to Jobs' distinctive wardrobe. This is a smart book about a smart subject by a smart writer. To be illustrated with photographs. Glossaries and sources are appended.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

May 1, 2012
"On a warm June day in 2005, Steve Jobs went to his first college graduation -- as the commencement speaker." In his brief address to the Stanford graduates, Jobs shared three personal stories from his life, and Blumenthal uses these stories as a template for his biography. Jobs co-founded Apple, becoming a pioneer of the personal computer industry, but a mid-career renaissance also saw him leave an indelible mark on three additional fields: movies (Pixar), music (iPod), and cell phones (iPhone). His remarkable business acumen was not without some notable failures, however, and Blumenthal notes that these were matched by quirks (not to mention shortcomings) in his personal life. Even as he led Apple to ever-greater heights, Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, finally succumbing to the disease late in 2011 at age fifty-six. Blumenthal's journalistic style suits the subject, and she uses the words of Jobs and his closest associates to paint an engaging and intimate portrait. Few biographies for young readers feel as relevant and current as this one does. Black-and-white photographs are interspersed throughout the narrative, and some interesting tangents are unobtrusively placed in sidebars. Source notes, a bibliography, a glossary, and an index are appended. jonathan hunt

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2012
Blumenthal's journalistic style suits the subject, and she uses the words of Jobs and his closest associates to paint an engaging and intimate portrait. Few biographies for young adults feel as relevant and current as this one does. Black-and-white photographs are interspersed throughout the narrative, and some interesting tangents are unobtrusively placed in sidebars. Bib., glos., ind.

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)