Books about Apple have a quirky aura laced around them. It’s not the writing style, the quotes, and the narration; but the essence of Apple’s history that makes reading about the company enthralling.
Apple is a company that has been dramatically painted through history as the pioneering force of technological evolution. It has done many things that bent the trend. The iPod, for example, brought a Tsunami of revolutionary changes in the music industry. It downright changed the way people behaved with music.
The iPhone was and still is, one of the best smartphones you can get today. Although, reading about Apple not only involves the beauty of knowing an account of its eccentric products but also reading about the masterminds who fashioned those products into existence.
With that being said, here are some great books on Apple, its history, its products, and the people involved behind the Cupertino-based giant’s success.
Steve Jobs
This book by author Walter Isaacson is a life account of Steve Jobs- the person who made Apple what it is today. The book itself, surprisingly, isn’t appealing but it contains crucial information on Steve Job’s life.
Walter Isaacson, in this book, mostly focuses on the life of Steve Jobs outside Apple. While the book does contain little information about the way he progressed Apple, it heavily ponders over his role as a father, as a husband, and as a personality in general. Since Jobs himself chose Walter Isaacson to write his biography, everything about Apple in the book is portrayed while keeping Jobs in the light.
The decisions Jobs took at Apple, his wins, the repercussions, and more such things are narrated in a fairly interesting manner in the book that de facto give you some insights on which core values Apple exists and how it functions as the biggest tech company on the planet.
Insanely Simple
This book by Ken Segall, also known as the ad-man and the man who put the “i” before the names of Apple products, is a great account of the company’s simplistic marketing tactics during Steve Job’s realm.
The book accommodates the slight essence of a marketing manual but effectively manages to diminish that essence by offering an entertaining narration. Ken Segall talks about the process and the difficulties Apple faced while satisfying the quench for simplicity.
Ken Segall also shamelessly specifies the mistakes Apple made while achieving the same simplicity in its marketing campaigns as its products featured. The book sheds light on Apple’s comparison with other companies and how the Cupertino giant emerged successful even with a thin product line. All-in-all, this book is a must read if you want to get insights on management skills directly from Apple’s golden management history.
Revolution in the Valley
Vintage nonfiction about Apple’s pre-boom era, Revolution in the Valley is author Andy Hertzfeld’s depiction of his time working to produce the Macintosh- Apple’s acclaimed computer.
The book highlights details small to big from the minuscule addition in Mac’s control panel to eating habits of colleagues in the Mac hardware team. Apple obsessives are the ones meant to enjoy this book mostly as it contains micro details of Macintosh’s progression.
Although, I only recommend reading this book after you’ve read books on Apple’s post-iPod success. Doing that would set yourself into the notion of what Apple means. Chronology, in this sense, is ineffective.
Inside Apple
Adam Lashinsky’s Inside Apple is a business and economic perspective of Apple’s functioning. The book speaks of the tactics employed by the company to gain immense success while subsequently pioneering new technologies.
It celebrates Steve Job’s asphyxiation for perfection and
As the name suggests, Inside Apple zooms in on Apple’s behind-the-curtain practices that made the company the biggest success in tech ever, while also shedding light on the company’s idiosyncratic CEOs.
Designed by Apple in California
Over the years, Apple has greatly influenced stunning design over the industry surrounding it. The iPhone, for example, is the epitome of such design. Every smartphone OEM, in some or the other way, copies design elements from every iPhone release in order sustain the wave of competition swayed by Apple.
This book captures moments that were spent to create spectacular Apple devices. Since it is authored by Jony Ive and the photographs are sourced by Andrew Zuckerman, you get to see behind-the-curtain images of the processes, the environment, the hardships, and the work that went into creating flagship Apple products. “Designed by Apple in California” features images of the background developments of products such as the original Mac, the iPhone, the iPod, etc.
Apple itself published this book. So, it is a highly recommended read.
Jony Ive
You guessed it right! This book is about Jony Ive and the legends of his design endeavours at Apple.
If you don’t know who Jony Ive is, you might not be an avid Apple fan. Then, however, I advise
Ive’s design changed the course of Apple’s Macintosh computers and steered it to a path of unwavering success. If you, too, are a design freak or just want to learn more about design, Leander Kahney’s depiction of Jony Ive is the book you may need to read.
Apple Confidential 2.0
This book by Owen Linzmayer, a journalist covering Apple for decades, is the life story of the people involved in making Apple a success.
The book talks highly of Steve Wozniak, the notoriously talented engineer who coupled with Steve Jobs and started it all. Other people mentioned in this book are, of course, Steve Jobs and John Sculley.
More than the technology revolving around Apple, this book narrates the stories of people involved in a rather dramatic manner. It’s name would suggest it’s an account of the secretive projects maintained by Apple. But, when you read past a few pages, you’ll realize it’s entirely different. Albeit it feels a bit dissappointing at first, knowing about the life experiences rather than technological innovations, it doesn’t take much time to begin enjoying the offerings of the book.
iWoz
Steve Wozniak’s autobiography that shines, this book narrates how an underdog helped construct the roots for the greatest tech company of this era in his own words.
Who knew apart from founding Apple, Wozniak invented the universal remote, promoted many concerts, created Bay Area’s first Dial-a-Joke hotline, and became a San Jose philanthropist.
Apart from that, the book also contains detailed information on technical aspects of Wozniak’s life that he had to outnumber. For instance, it has a nine-paged glossary on topics such as “logic gate” and “hexadecimal.” At times, the book feels similar to a hodgepodge of loosely related information. But that’s what Wozniak’s life really was, as accounted in the book.
That’s all! But it’s not over yet. I would still like to know your favorite Apple books. So, comment below!
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