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Steve Jobs book to share his memorable quotes

Being rushed to the market after the passing of Jobs, "I, Steve: Steve Jobs in His Own Words," reveals the thoughts of the celebrated Apple co-founder on business, technology, and a range of other topics.

Lance Whitney Contributing Writer
Lance Whitney is a freelance technology writer and trainer and a former IT professional. He's written for Time, CNET, PCMag, and several other publications. He's the author of two tech books--one on Windows and another on LinkedIn.
Lance Whitney
5 min read

Agate Publishing

A new book revealing many of Steve Jobs' most illuminating quotes is being rushed to the market following the passing of the Apple leader on Wednesday.

Initially slated to be published next March and then pushed to November 15 following Jobs' resignation as Apple CEO, "I, Steve: Steve Jobs in His Own Words," is being shipped to retail stores early next week and should be available to consumers by the end of the month.

The book has already been available for pre-order at Amazon and has naturally seen a surge in interest since Jobs' death earlier this week.

In launching quicker than expected, "I, Steve: Steve Jobs in His Own Words" joins another new book offering insight into Apple's co-founder. "Steve Jobs," a biography by Walter Isaacson, is now set to reach readers on October 24, a shift from its original publication date of November 21, which itself was pushed up from an early 2012 time frame.

Isaacson's biography will offer two years' worth of interviews with Jobs, his family, and his colleagues, and will be the first bio to be published with Jobs' participation.

Unlike the Isaacson book, "I, Steve: Steve Jobs in His Own Words" was written and edited without authorization or endorsement from Jobs. But both books stand to capture a huge audience interested in learning more about the life and career of the man, especially now that he's no longer with us.

Released by Agate Publishing and edited by George Beahm, "I, Steve" contains more than 200 quotes and comments from Jobs himself on a variety of topics, from Apple to business to technology to his own life and career.

Culled from press releases, statements, public appearances, and interviews over the years, many of the quotes take on even more meaning following his passing.

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Doug Seibold, Agate's publisher, spoke to CNET about the book and about the impact of Jobs, both in life and in death.

"The thing that really struck us is that right after Steve Jobs died, there was this phenomenal outpouring of emotion and interest in everything related to Steve Jobs, and not the least our book," Seibold said. "And what we've seen in this past three days is this phenomenal response from readers and booksellers to the book."

Seibold confessed that he's been amazed by the level of reaction that people are having to Jobs' passing and how powerfully people have been affected.

"I think it's a real emblem of how people feel, not just about Apple and Apple products and the impact they've had on everybody's life," said Seibold, "but Steve Jobs didn't just have an amazing life; he had an amazing life story. This is a great American success story. An adopted child. Drops out of college. Has this incredible early success. Flames out. And then comes back for a second act that's even bigger and better. And then deals with these tragic health challenges and dies before his time. This is an incredible story, and I think people are responding to that as well."

Reflecting on the book and its many quotes, Seibold believes three main themes about Jobs stand out.

One theme is the man's absolute commitment to simplicity and beauty in product design, and to the idea that great functionality is a marriage of both.

"And to that extent, he is a real exemplar of this whole 'less is more' approach to design," said Seibold. "And that really cut against the grain in the personal-electronics industry in general and the computer industry in particular. And a lot of how we use and react to these devices is due to that sensibility on the part of Jobs."

A second theme reflects on the importance of staff and the value of teamwork--finding great people and giving them the opportunity to do things they love.

"Jobs had a reputation of being an extremely tough manager, especially early in his career," said Seibold. "But after he came back [to Apple], he went out of his way to laud the people who work for him and not only talk about how great they were individually but how great they were as a team."

The third theme points to the importance that Jobs stressed in looking around the bend, to find the next thing, even when that meant doing something that cut across the grain of what everyone else was doing and what consumers were saying they wanted, Seibold noted.

Just some of the book's many quotes that collectively paint a portrait of Jobs include the following:

"We make tools for people. Tools to create, tools to communicate. The age we're living in, these tools surprise you.... That's why I love what we do. Because we make these tools, and we're constantly surprised with what people do with them." - D5 Conference: All Things Digital, 2007

"My model for business is the Beatles. They were four guys who kept each other's kind of negative tendencies in check. They balanced each other and the total was greater than the sum of the parts. That's how I see business: great things in business are never done by one person, they're done by a team of people." - 60 Minutes, 2003

"You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.... Don't settle."
- Commencement address, Stanford University, June 12, 2005

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma--which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." - Commencement address, Stanford University, June 12, 2005

"If Apple becomes a place where computers are a commodity item, where the romance is gone, and where people forget that computers are the most incredible invention that man has ever invented, I'll feel I have lost Apple. But if I'm a million miles away, and all those people still feel those things...then I will feel that my genes are still there." - Newsweek, September 29, 1985

"I, Steve: Steve Jobs in His Own Words" will retail as a paperback for $10.95, though Amazon is discounting it to $5.99. Agate will also offer the book as a downloadable PDF for $4.99 closer to its actual publication date.

With pre-orders reaching a fever pitch for both books, the Isaacson bio is currently ranked at the top of the best sellers on Amazon, while "I, Steve: Steve Jobs in His Own Words" is ranked No. 22.