iCon Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business

371 Pages·2005·0.24 MB·English

by  Jeffrey S. Young

According to F. Scott Fitzgerald, there
are no second acts in American life.
Apparently he forgot to tell Steve Jobs.
Jobs rose from an outcast high school electron
ics nerd to become the driving force behind
Apple and avatar of the computer revolution,
only to be driven from the company in failure
and disgrace. Then, having endured repeated
personal and professional disasters, he went on
to make an indelible mark on the entertain
ment industry, reclaim the throne at Apple,
and, with the extraordinary success of the iPod,
regain his reputation as arguably the greatest
innovator of the digital age.
iCon takes a look at the most astounding figure
in a business era noted for its mavericks, odd
balls, and iconoclasts. Drawing on a wide range
of sources in Silicon Valley and Hollywood,
Jeffrey Young, author of the first-ever Jobs
biography, and coauthor William Simon provide
new perspectives on the legendary creation of
Apple in a Silicon Valley garage and detail
Jobs's meteoric rise as the prototypical digital
wunderkind and the devastating plunge that
left him not only out of Apple, but out of the
computer-making business entirely.
Act two begins with Jobs displaying his talent for
bedeviling business associates and making ene
mies along the way. Still stinging with embarrass
ment after his crash from the heights, he waged
a tough negotiation with George Lucas for the
purchase of the legendary filmmaker's computer
animation business-at one-third of the asking
price-and pressured his Npartners" into settling
for a modest percent<Jge of wh<Jt would become
Pixar. keeping the remainder for himself.
This unflinching and completely unauthorized
portrait reveals both sides of Jobs's role in the
remarkable rise of the Pixar animation studio,
from Toy Story and the string of hit movies that
delighted audiences around the world to his
rocky alliance with Disney. It also re-cre<Jtes the
acrimony betwe~n Jobs and Disney's Michael
Eisner, which ended the once--close relationship
between the two companies.
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Contents
Prologue 1
PARTON E
FlowearniWdni gt hering 5
1 Roots 7
2 A CompaInsBy orn 31
3 LestB 'eP irates! 58
4 LearnitnoFg a il 99
PARTTW O
NewB eginnings 131
5 TheN eXTS tep 133
6 Show Business 146
7 MasterC eorfe monies 181
8 Icon 210
PARTTH REE
DefintihFneug t ure 241
9 Mogul 243
10 BreakiNnegwG round 261
11 iPodi,T uensT,h erefIoAm r e 275
12 Clasohft heT itans 298
13 Showmtei 322
Epilogue 331
Acknowledgments 335
Notes 337
Index 345
vii