Steve Jobs Was Not a Rotten Apple

By: Priya R.

Steve Jobs, a very well known man but his real identity is not understood by many but Karen Blumenthal grasps it. Blumenthal's book, Steve Jobs; the Man Who Thought Different captures the little things in Jobs' life starting from the very beginning, when he was born to the end of his life. Blumenthal was a journalist for The Wall Street Journal and then pursued writing biographies.

The book starts off with Jobs' general achievements then moves on too specific events. Jobs' was adopted by a lower class family because his grandfather disapproved of his mother's young pregnancy as she was not even in college. But his mother made his parents promise they would send Jobs' to college. So, Jobs' went to Reed College as Blumenthal describes it as "a small private, liberal arts school," but dropped out in the first year. In his early life, Steve was a very talented child and had a love of learning the mechanism of everything. In his childhood, he learned he didn't fit in with the rest of his peers and once he left college, he became very spiritual. He even traveled to India to meet a priest and wished to travel to Japan and become a monk but his friend Steve Wozniak kept him focused. Apple was divided among the two cofounders, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak; Wozniak was the brains of the actual machine while Jobs was marketing. The company had a lot of firsts and downs in the beginning but it was on a roll once people started realizing how good the computers were.

This was an information book that informs you the small things in Jobs' life that made a difference in his career. It was a great book to read as Blumenthal kept the book exciting. The twists and turns were subtle as Jobs' life winded to an end by cancer. The book was set up as facts and the journalist used her skills to make this book sound like a journal entry which helped the book sound less boring. But, because of the journal entry style, the story didn't flow and sounded like a textbook filled with facts.

This book should be read by everyone! It gives you an insight on who the real Steve Jobs was, a confused, abstract minded man. It is not hard to understand and follow along so even younger audiences can read it. Also, learning how a simple man turned into America's technological superstar can help provide hope for the future for whoever reads it.

Steve Jobs; the Man Who Thought Different, by Karen Blumenthal, 2012, 267