Apple-icious News and a Contest to Celebrate It

Steve and i book coverAfter sixty-five days in Apple’s “review process,” our ibook, Steve & i is finally available for purchase in the iTunes store.

We nearly gave up on Apple, but then remembered our reason for creating this book: to celebrate Steve Jobs and the friendship he and my husband, Jeffrey Aaronson, forged when they were both young and hungry, and to raise money for cancer research by contributing a portion of the sale of each book to prominent cancer institutes.

It’s hard not to chuckle though, wondering what the fine folks at Apple were doing with our book for the past sixty-five days. Keep in mind Steve & i is a little powerhouse 40 page book–including photographs and a video, and it took Amazon and Barnes & Noble less than a week to upload it onto their sites.

Just for fun…because I’m in such a good mood…I thought I’d hold a contest.

Leave a comment with your answer to: “What do you think Apple was doing with our book for the past 65 days?” and your name will automatically be entered into a random drawing for a $10 iTunes gift card. Humor is always appreciated!

Enter by Sunday, June 10th at midnight. The winner will be announced on Monday, June 11th.

In the meantime, we hope you’ll download a copy of the book for $2.99, and if you feel inspired by what you read, please leave a review. Your continued support and kindness is very much appreciated (and will also bring you a bucketload of good karma)!

Here’s the link to the iTunes store: Steve & i: One Photographer’s Improbable Journey with Steve Jobs

In the event you don’t have an iPad or idevice, here are other ways to purchase the book:
Amazon Kindle ebook
Barnes and Noble Nook ebook

Here’s to being inspired, re-living an unique piece of history, and seeing beyond the icon, Steve Jobs, to the complex and charismatic human being who not only “put a ding in the universe,” but did it in a way nobody else ever could.

Photo of Steve Jobs, 1984 inside Apple Computer headquarters, Cupertino, CA

Steve Jobs inside Apple Headquarters, 1984, just prior to the launch of the first Macintosh 128K computer. ©Jeffrey Aaronson

“An absolutely gorgeous, moving and important memoir. Steve Jobs was complicated, sweet, mad, inspirational beyond reason. Thank you for sharing this.”

                                        –Review by Doug Menuez

Book Review: Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

Steve Jobs by Walter IsaacsonI start this review by confessing I’m exhausted after reading Walter Isaacson’s behemoth authorized biography, Steve Jobs—not because of the mass of this book, but because of the continual upheaval described throughout. I never imagined when I picked it up to read I’d be left reeling, grateful when it finally ended.

Don’t get me wrong, Isaacson’s well-written book deserves kudos, especially the magnitude of his research and interviews, but I had a hard time reading anecdote after anecdote about what an ass Steve Jobs was. It was thoroughly depressing—especially since his genius and passion pump a large dose of admiration through my veins.

This 656-page book, which chronicles Jobs’ life and personality, and his passion for perfection, is based on more than forty interviews with Jobs, conducted over two years – as well as interviews with a large cast of characters—including family members, friends, adversaries, competitors and colleagues.

Isaacson, who has also written biographies about Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin, clearly knows how to delve into the complexities of the genius mind. Unfortunately, the picture he paints of Steve Jobs, the man who helped revolutionize personal computing, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing and digital publishing, is not pretty.

Jobs was eccentric by any measure of the word—just flash back to his barefoot, hippy commune days or read about his extreme vegan diet or living in a house without furniture—but according to the loudest voices in this book, he was also controlling, manipulative, and down-right mean. One referred to him as an “assaholic.” Another a narcissicist. Another a bully. Many claimed he lived in a “reality distortion field.” Some wondered if he was mildly bi-polar with his extreme highs and lows and his black-and-white view of the world (Jobs thought ideas were either brilliant or “shit,” but never in between).

Whatever the case, there’s no denying the impact he made on our lives with his ability to inspire those around him, see the big picture, and pour himself into the smallest details of each product Apple created. He may not have been warm and cuddly, and he may have had an ego larger than North America, but somehow he was able to bring out the best in people. And with those exceptional people on his team, Apple and Pixar managed to develop some of the most innovative products ever created, merging art and technology.

The most interesting part of this book for me was the history; discovering the origins of many of the Apple products I’ve used over the years, and seeing how the symbiotic relationship between Jobs and Steve Wozniak evolved into the creation of the first personal computer. Being a design-lover, I was also fascinated by Apple’s design guru, Jonathon “Jony” Ive. It’s impossible not to appreciate the depth of thought he and Jobs invested in every detail of every Apple product created—from the handles and buttons to the colors and curves. The two were perfectly paired in their pursuit of exquisite design because neither settled, and both genuinely respected one another.

Then there’s the creation of iTunes and the iPod. Jobs’ passion for music and his vision of making music easily accessible (through Apple’s proprietary and extremely profitable portal and gadgets) not only resuscitated the stagnant music industry—it restructured it, and in the process also helped re-introduce greats like Bob Dylan to a whole new generation of fans.

If I had one criticism of the book, it’s that it felt lopsided toward the dramatic “dark side” of Steve Jobs. While it makes for riveting reading—almost like a Silicon Valley soap opera, with explosive boardroom drama, quirky personalities, illegitimate children, and scorned business partners—there is another side of Steve Jobs hardly mentioned in this book. That’s the side my husband, Jeffrey Aaronson, knew: one that was gracious and generous, intense, yet funny and charismatic. I wonder how many other friends of Steve Jobs weren’t interviewed for this book who had similar experiences?

Also as I read page after page, I couldn’t help feeling sorrow for the Jobs children—in a protective, motherly sort of way. Even though Jobs asked Isaacson to write this book so his kids would know him better, and even though Jobs’ wife, Laurene Powell, told Isaacson, “There are parts of (Steve’s) life and personality that are extremely messy…You shouldn’t whitewash it. He’s good at spin, but he also has a remarkable story, and I’d like to see that it’s all told truthfully,” –it’s hard to imagine this would be easy for the kids. They seem worldly and wise, but my hope is they hold off reading it until they are well into adulthood, when their grief has faded, and their canvas of memories has been colored by the paintbrush of life. Perhaps then, this raw and detailed book might feel like the gift their father meant it to be.

For the rest of us, Isaacson’s book is a gift worth reading now. Even if it could have been edited tighter and had a little more balance, it captures an important moment in our history  and reveals the passion, genius, and commitment of the man who changed our modern world (flaws and all).

Rating: 4 1/2 stars out of 5.

How about you? What do you think of the book? And what do you think about Steve Jobs?

Steve & i eBook Website Launched

While my blog was being transferred over from WordPress to my own site this past week, I took the opportunity to create a new website for our eBook, Steve & i. The URL is: www.steveandi.com (click on it to view it).

Steve and i website screen capture

I’d be thrilled if you’d take a peek at the site and give me your two cents by dropping it into the comment box below. Constructive criticism is welcome (even if it’s nitpicky) because as Steve Jobs once said, “None of us are as creative as all of us.”

To my published author friends: besides badgering your friends and family until they can’t stand you anymore, what are some of the best ways you’ve reached your readers? If you have any tidbits you wouldn’t mind sharing, I’d love to hear them!

Thanks for all your support everyone!  Learning the ropes has been quite an adventure! The book is off to a great start…and that’s all because of you.

 

Steve & i: One Photographer’s Improbable Journey with Steve Jobs Now on Kindle

Steve and i book coverJeffrey and I are excited to announce the launch of our ebook, Steve & i: One Photographer’s Improbable Journey with Steve Jobs. 

It is now available for Kindle devices at Amazon.com and will be available for the NOOK, Sony Reader and iPad soon.

We hope you will be one of the first to download Steve & i, and if you feel inspired by what you read, please leave a review on Amazon.

Of course, we’d be thrilled (and eternally grateful) if you would tell others about it too.

Don’t have a Kindle? No problem. Amazon now has a free app you can download for both your Mac and PC. Here are the links: Kindle for Mac. Kindle for PC. If you have an Amazon account you can purchase the book and read it on your computer. You can also download a free Kindle app for your iPhone. Just go to the app store and batta boom, batta bang, you’re all set.

Our book is priced at $2.99 and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to several leading cancer research institutes because…well, as you know, cancer sucks, and it took Steve Jobs’ life far too soon.

Book description: When photographer Jeffrey Aaronson received a call from Newsweek in 1984 to photograph Steve Jobs, he had no idea who Steve Jobs was or what impact Jobs was about to have on his life or the world.

Steve & i: One Photographer’s Improbable Journey with Steve Jobs tells the captivating story of a young photographer and a young entrepreneur, and the friendship they forge when they are both twenty-nine years old—just as Aaronson is beginning to offer the world a new view through his lens and Jobs is beginning his mission to change it by introducing the most user-friendly personal computer ever conceived.

This 38-page little powerhouse of a book is packed with personal anecdotes and rarely seen photographs, which not only chronicle the launch of the first Macintosh personal computer, but also capture the essence of Steve Jobs the man before he became the icon.

It’s a must read for those who want to experience and be inspired by a side of Steve Jobs that few people have glimpsed.

Early reviews of the book read…

“A critical moment of shared inspiration is captured in this short but sweet profile of an intimate friendship between two highly motivated young men, forged immediately in trust and professional integrity. A rare, honest glimpse into the ensuing creative sparks that fly in the early blossoming careers and bonding of two visionaries who decide to be inspired by others AND courageously follow their callings and dreams. Bravo!”
-Bill Black, Director of Photography, Reader’s Digest

This is not just a story about how friendships evolve from humble or chance beginnings.  Rather, it’s an object lesson about mutual respect, curiosity, and a passion for excellence as the ingredients that propel true visionaries. Bravo, Jeffrey Aaronson, for enlightening us with the quieter, gentler side of the genius Steve Jobs. ”
-Larry C. Price, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist

“This is a sweet little book about a hugely talented and creative photographer’s relationship with a hugely talented and creative entrepreneur. With warmth, insight, and keen appreciation, Jeffrey brings back to life a man who for all his reputed prickliness and short temper was capable of simple, deep friendship.”
-Bob Morton, Former Editor-in-Chief of Abrams and the Aperture Foundation

“Photographers and Apple fans alike won’t want to miss this moving portrait of a private but profoundly influential man.”

-Russell Hart, Former Executive Editor American Photo