There is a new book about Steve Jobs that is free to download. And it’s “wonderful”

You never get tired of stories about Steve Jobs. Of his mania for details, of his obsession with perfection, of his minimalist philosophy.

The “bible”, from this point of view, is the famous biography of the co-founder of Apple written by journalist Walter Isaacson and released in late October 2011, about twenty days after Jobs’ death.

But just a month ago it was “published” another volume full of anecdotes and images, with rare contents and in some cases never seen before.

Is called “Make Something Wonderful” And you can browse (or download) for free by accessing the “Steve Jobs Archive”, the site designed by family and friends of Jobs to convey the ideas of a man who gave an exceptional drive for innovation. The digital version, released in April 2023, was followed by a physical book, with an elegant hard cover, which Apple and Disney employees received. Some of these copies have been offered for sale at a stratospheric price.

The subtitle, “Steve Jobs in his own words”, immediately suggests that the digital pages of the volume are occupied, mainly, from the words of the Apple visionary. That’s right: Jobs’ words have been culled from speeches, emails and interviews given over the years.

“The best way to understand a person is to hear them directly – writes Lauren Powell Jobs in the introduction to the book -. And the best way to understand Steve is to hear what he has said and written throughout his life. His words—in speeches, interviews, and emails—offer a window into his thinking. AND [Steve] he was an exceptional thinker.”

And a thought from Jobs, which has nothing to do with Apple, opens the book, immediately making sense of the title “Make Something Wonderful”. His words date back to 2007.

“There are many ways of being, as a person – said Jobs -. And some people express their deep admiration in different ways. But one of the ways I think people express their admiration for the rest of humanity is by creating something wonderful and publishing it. And you never meet those people. You never shake his hand. You never hear their story or tell yours. But somehow, in the act of making something with a lot of care and love, something is passed on. And it’s a way of expressing our deepest appreciation to the rest of our species. For this we must be faithful to who we are and remember what is really important to us”.

In “Make Something Beautiful” there are many stories already known, that’s for sure. On the beginnings of Jobs and Steve Wozniakthe two co-founders of Apple, in particular, and how they went from building computers for friends to founding a company that would change the world.

And yet there are also lesser-known stories, in particular related to Jobs’ childhood and adolescence.

Steve Jobs’ email to himself

by Riccardo Luna

September 19, 2022

There are, above all, his deepest thoughts, often disconnected from technology and indeed aimed – also thanks to the disease he lived with in the last years of his life – at the meaning of life and to greatness of humanity of which he was a part.

Already at 19 Jobs had clear ideas: “Don’t waste your time” he wrote to a friend of his on a note. Throughout his life, Steve will use him to do “something wonderful”.