Apple says 'Becoming Steve Jobs' reflects 'the Steve we knew'

March 24, 2015

It took 18 months to for authors Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli to get Apple executives on board with their new biography, Becoming Steve Jobs.

The book explores the personal and professional evolution of the late Steve Jobs. Drawing Schlender's 25 years of reporting on Jobs, the book also features several interviews with Apple executives, including Jony Ive and Tim Cook. However, Apple initially declined to participate, according to The New York Times:

Apple's cooperation wasn't easily won, Mr. Schlender and Mr. Tetzeli said in an email interview. When the veteran tech journalists first approached the company about the book in 2012, both were told executives would not give any interviews. Apple changed its mind 18 months later, they said.

The company eventually agreed out of a sense of responsibility to say more about Steve Jobs as they knew him:

"After a long period of reflection following Steve's death, we felt a sense of responsibility to say more about the Steve we knew," Steve Dowling, an Apple spokesman, said. "We decided to participate in Brent and Rick's book because of Brent's long relationship with Steve, which gave him a unique perspective on Steve's life. The book captures Steve better than anything else we've seen, and we are happy we decided to participate."

Becoming Steve Jobs is one of a number of works about Jobs have been released in the years following his death, including the Walter Isaacson-penned authorized biography. A movie based on that biography will be released in theaters on October 9, starring Michael Fassbender as Jobs.

You'll be able to get your hands on Becoming Steve Jobs tomorrow, March 24. It can be pre-ordered right now on iTunes for $12.99, and on Amazon as both a hardcover and Kindle book.

Source: The New York Times