Jon Stewart interviews Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson
Walter Isaacson recently appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to promote his biography of Steve Jobs. In the seven-minute interview (embedded below), Stewart and Isaacson discuss the the process of writing the biography while trying to stay objective about its subject -- a task Isaacson admits was difficult, especially in the face of Jobs's long illness.
The two men discuss something I also found fascinating about Jobs when I read the book: his extremely emotional nature.
Stewart: The really interesting thing in the book is how often Steve Jobs cries.
Isaacson: He's a very emotional person. That was the biggest surprise to me.
Stewart: He is a weeper.
They go on a bit of a tangent after that, but eventually Isaacson gets to the core of both Jobs himself and public opinion of him. "He connected emotion to technology. This is why the outpouring of grief at his death was beyond what most may have expected," Isaacson says. "I think that emotionalism came from a deep passion for artistic things."
The real gem of the interview comes at the end, when Isaacson describes the difference between Jobs and Bill Gates. "In the end, [Bill Gates] makes the Zune and Steve makes the iPod."
Stewart busts out laughing, along with the audience, and responds, "That is the best eulogy I have ever heard in my life."
The full video's embedded below (sorry iOS users, Comedy Central doesn't offer a non-Flash version and there's nothing we can do about it), and it's definitely worth watching. If you're looking for a more comprehensive review of the biography itself, we just happen to have one right here at TUAW.
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