Steve Jobs's Review of His Biography: Ban It (original) (raw)
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- April 30, 2005
SAN FRANCISCO, April 29 - No one can accuse Steve Jobs of indifference.
In an image-obsessed fit of pique, Apple Computer has banished books published by John Wiley & Sons from the shelves of Apple's 105 retail stores -- all because of Wiley's plans to publish an unauthorized biography of Mr. Jobs, Apple's chief executive.
It is not clear whether Mr. Jobs or anyone else at Apple has read the book -- "iCon: Steve Jobs, The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business," by Jeffrey S. Young and William L. Simon, which will go on sale next month.
The very ambiguity of the title -- Icon, or I Con? -- is the first clue that the work may not be hagiography. But in the publisher's view, the specifics are probably beside the point.
"It was clear they didn't want us to publish the book," Susan Spilka, a spokeswoman at Wiley, said.
In recent months, Apple showed its penchant for secrecy by suing a Harvard student who operates a Web site for Apple enthusiasts, accusing him of trying to induce Apple employees to divulge company trade secrets. It also filed lawsuits to stop leaks of company information on several Web sites that traffic in Apple news.
The action against Wiley seems meant to shield Mr. Jobs's personal privacy, not the company.
But as far as advance publicity goes, Mr. Jobs and Apple could not have done a better job in generating buzz for the book in Silicon Valley and elsewhere.
Frank Sanchez, the head buyer for Kepler's, a popular bookstore in Menlo Park, Calif., said the store initially ordered five copies. After news of the fracas was reported on the front page of The San Jose Mercury-News on Tuesday, he bumped the order up to 25.
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