Review: The Perfect Thing
'The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture, and Coolness' (Simon & Schuster, 284 pages) is the latest work from Steven Levy, available in finer booksellers on October 23rd. You might recall some of his other works: 'Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution,' and 'Insanely Great: The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer That Changed Everything,' to name a few. We were able to get our hands on an advance copy, and you know what that means! A review just for you, dear TUAW readers.
Mr. Levy is clearly enamored with the concept of 'shuffle.' He mentions it numerous times throughout the pages of this book, but he has also taken it a step further. The book, itself, is composed of a number of stand alone essays. These essays have enabled the publisher to print four different versions of the book, with the chapters 'shuffled.' Only the first and last chapters remain in the same place for each printing. This is a great marketing gimmick, but sadly it negatively impacts the quality of the book.
I sat down and read 'The Perfect Thing' from cover to cover in one sitting. Since each chapter was written to stand alone Mr. Levy couldn't guarantee that you would know a certain tidbit about the iPod that was uncovered in another chapter. He must repeat himself in order to make sure you get the whole story. This is a sensible approach given the shuffled nature of the book but a slightly annoying since one, presumably, is going to be reading the book in the order it is presented in. I would suggest, for the paperback printing, this shuffle idea be abandoned.
Despite the repetition at times, Levy weaves a very good tale about the creation of the iPod, and the impact it has had on us. Levy had access to Jobs, Schiller, and Ive so he can really tell the whole story (and yes, Levy backs up the claim that it was Phil Schiller's idea for the scrollwheel). One of the more amusing stories involves Bill Gates' first encounter with an iPod, but you'll have to read the book for all the details.
I would be remiss if I didn't point out that Levy might go a little overboard in his praise of the iPod. He often fetishizes the device, imparting upon it almost religious signficance. The iPod is an important device, but I'm not sure it is the greatest invention of the 21st century.
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed Levy's other books, or anyone looking to get the full story behind the iPod.
