Flap over Steve Jobs' biography results in books pulled from Apple Store shelves

Enter another chapter in the Apple image management saga: unhappy with the upcoming publication of a biography of Steve Jobs, Apple has pulled from Apple Store shelves all books by John Wiley & Sons, the leading technology book publisher slated to put out the title. Apple has apparently been in discussions with Wiley in attempts to get the book pulled, with no success — as Wiley executive Kitt Allan put it, "Wiley stands behind our authors." The book, iCon Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business, is authored by Jeffrey S. Young, who finds it ironic that Apple takes issue with the book. He says it updates a biography of Jobs he wrote 20 years ago that was originally quite negative, whereas the new title reflects a matured and successful Jobs. Marketing experts who live for this kind of stuff think Apple's plan will backfire, resulting in even more sales for Wiley & Sons — and we're inclined to agree.

[TheZodiac @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

Jobs is a dink. He is like a big baby. Get a grip fella!

"you called me names, so Im going to get mad and sue you!"

Bill gets his ass kicked all the time, but he dosnt care. Why? Because hes a big damn goofball too.

[Mike @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

"Apple�s plan will backfire.."

Or will it?

[Stephen Trew @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

Perhaps Jobs really likes the book and wants everyone to read it. What better way to increase sales than ban it (from Apple Stores).

The dust will settle, the book sales will increase, Wiley books will go back on the shelves.

[AHM @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

I can't possibly imagine why Apple would object to a book with a title that implies that Steve Jobs is a con... (yes, I get the double entendre with "icon")

[Brian @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

1. The bigger noise that Apple makes about this the more books will be sold.

2. The publisher will probably take some sort of financial hit if Apple follows through on their threat.

3. Publishers hate being threatened like this more than they hate losing money. It's the ol' US Constitutional First Amendment Rights thing again.

4. People have short attention spans and no matter now unflattering this book is people would have forgotten about it much quicker if Apple hadn't put up this fuss.

[MerchMikey @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

I agree with your assumption that this could work for both Wiley and Apple. It seems that these are the days where any press is good press. The more on heres about Apple the more we are inclined to see what all the fuss is about. Honestly I don't think I would seek out a book at the Apple store and I can't imagine it will hurt Wiley's sales.

[Rus @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

Wiley & Sons is the publisher of the Dummy Series of books. I have NEVER liked the demeaning titles called [SUBJECT] For Dummies

Believe it or not, quite a few people have never heard of such a book ... I have always found it insulting to a customer for them to find a book in a store that implied they are a dummy!

Honestly, I wish Apple would have pulled the Dummy Series of books a long time ago and just kept David Pogue and O Reilly's How To Books.

I forsee a lot of customers in the Apple Retail Stores this Friday - possibly the biggest crowds EVER for an OS launch event. I'm glad none of the potential shoppers will have to look on the shelf to see the word "Dummies"!

[michael @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

For a good insight into the way Steve brought about the original Mac, it's worth checking out this site:

http://www.folklore.org

It's put together by Andy Hertzfeld, one of the original coders for the Mac. Also worth checking out his book 'Revolution in the Valley', for an relatively unbiased view of the way Steve ran the project.

[nojetlag @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

Jobs is a spoiled baby. He got in such a hype that he lost contact with earth long ago. Such moves just show that he is not the cool guy he want's to be. Is he heading towards Michael Jacksons corner of rotten fame ? (In their field of expertice great but as humans a complete failure ? )

[MerchMikey @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

There's a great albeit short article on Jobs and Co. poor sportmanship in this months wired entitled "Think Beligerent"

http://www.wired.com/wired/

[michael @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

9: He lost contact with earth since when? Since after he released the iPod shuffle? Have the thousands of people that have bought one lost contact too?

[narco @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

The title is pretty bad. The author can tell people that it is meant to say "icon" but it's not how people are going to read it.

I think for the most part, people already know what a tough guy Steve Jobs really is. Everyone can call him an a**hole, or say that he has "lost touch with reality,' but the fact is: he is good at what he does. He gets the job done and puts out some excellent products.

Maybe if Bill Gates was more concerned about the bad press he gets, he'd actually get some GOOD press (and not just the fact that Bono spent the night at his house).

Fishes,
narco.

[Kyle Banas @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

Quoteth Jobs, "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH."

[Brad @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

The title is completely nasty (and, apparently, misleading as to the real content of the book.) Wiley knows this and is lying when they claim they don't know what the fuss is about.

That Jobs could turn that shop around after Sculley, Spindler and Amelio drove it into the ground is astonishing. Who cares if he's an asshole? He's not your mommy. Is he a master of smoke and mirrors? Hell, yeah. Good thing too, since it's about all those clowns left him to work with.

[[e-mail] @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

This is a perfect example of why Apple sucks.

[Adrain Barton @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

This reminds me of Vince Namoli, the owner of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The St. Petersburg Times is the official paper of the Rays and the only paper sold at Tropicana Field. Whenever they publish something about Vince he doesn't like, he pulls the edition with the offending article from sale in the ballpark.

[Yellow Texan @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

Umm...I think the reasons why Apple is mad about the book is mainly the double meaning of the title. Come on, when I first read the title it sounded like they are trying to make Steve Jobs as a "Con" artist (not icon) even if it is glowing biography about him. You have to think the repuation of the company first. I found the reasons understandable.

[acidreflux @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

Bono spent the night at Bill Gates house? I am going to look into that one.

See, it works.

[acidreflux @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

Great logic #15, I think you will do well in your field.

[Jesse Yardley @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

One thing's for sure.... Just a short while ago, you'd be hard pressed to find so much negative sentiment towards Steve. Sure there were the haters, but now you've got loads of really Apple fans weighing in, and may of which are sorely disappointing in the man.

Suing people, banning books, acting like a selfish, mean-spririted child...

here's one Apple fan who is more and more skeptical about supporting this company.

[Yoghurt @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

Misleading Myth Making statement : P 37: " ... used a version of the BASIC programming language that had been written by a Harvard drop out, Bill Gates and his sidekick Paul Allen ..."

The language's ambigous style here feeds the myth that Bill Gates invented Basic.

Maybe I am just being pedantic, maybe it is all too late to bother with but it irritates me anyway.

The reality is quite different he just cloned Basic :

"BASIC (standing for Beginner's All Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) was written (invented) in 1963, at Dartmouth College, by mathematicians John George Kemeny and Tom Kurtzas as a teaching tool for undergraduates. BASIC has been one of the most commonly used computer programming languages, a simple computer language considered an easy step for students to learn before more powerful languages such as FORTRAN.

BASIC's popularity was spread by both Paul Allen and William Gates, in 1975. Gates and Allen (both Microsoft founding fathers) wrote a version of BASIC for the Altair personal computer. It was the first product Microsoft sold. Later Gates and Microsoft wrote versions of BASIC for the Apple computer, and IBM's DOS which Gates provided came with its' version of BASIC."

Reference :

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blbasic.htm

The history of Microsoft is a history of cloning of other people's ideas and work from day one until today.

Microsoft does not invent/originate anything. Almost everyone of their software products has been a clone or an acquisition. Microsoift is an extremely conservative organisaton it is not a leader in ideas it is a fast follower. Given that 95% of the world is also extremely conservative this default, low risk business strategy has worked very well, unfortunately. But it is soooooo boring !

Apple has a certain originality that Microsoft has never had and probably never will.

This difference really is about the different personalities of Jobs and Gates.

If it was not for Jobs and Woz and ... and Ives and ... many hundreds of highly original inventors, scientists, researchers at numerous universities and corporations that created original ideas there would be nothing for Microsoft to clone or acquire.

Microsoft is really a type of idea parasite feeding off the originality of other people and relying on the conservatism and mental lethargy of the general population. It may have some beneficial side effects but also many toxic side effects.

Steve Jobs is a highly original technology leader and certainly not boring.