Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different

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. (Feb.)