Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different

Blumenthal, Karen. Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different.  New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2012.

ISBN: 9781250014450, 310 pages, paperback $8.99

            
#annotation

A biography of Apple computing’s founder Steve Jobs, chronicling his personal life and how that affected his innovations and business decisions.

#review

In order to change the world, you can’t be an ordinary guy.  This biography of Apple computer’s founder Steve Jobs demonstrates just how far from ordinary he and his life were.  From his adoption and complicated family dynamics with both sets of families and with his children, to his extreme diet fads and lifestyle choices, Blumenthal explores how living differently from societal expectations results in thinking differently and producing different results.  Interwoven with details about Jobs’ life is extensive history about the development of computing technology and the Apple business world.

            This book claims to be built around three stories that explained Steve Jobs, but I had a difficult time figuring out what those stories were.  It also portrayed his quirks and human failings in a negative light, resulting in a much harsher evaluation of his relationships with others and his personality than I got from a different biography.  The format of wide spacing, frequent photos, and no footnotes is appealing to a teen audience, but the length and detail about the business aspects of his life may be prohibitive for young readers.  I would recommend this for teens who are interested in the development of technology that they rely upon daily, and for those who need to read a biography for a school project. 

     #awards

Booklist Top 10 Biography Books for Youth 2012
2013 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults
Booklist Top 10 Books for Youth 2012