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Former Time editor Walter Isaacson will write book with Jobs' help

(NEWSER) - After a raft of unauthorized biographies that supremely irked Steve Jobs, the Apple honcho is finally cooperating on an account of his life, starting when he was a wee Steve Jobs. Sources say that former Time managing editor and accomplished biographer Walter Isaacson will pen the book, and the New York Times reports that Jobs has already invited the scribe to tour his childhood home in Silicon Valley. More»

Biography zeroes in on contradiction

(NEWSER) - One thing the new Steve Jobs biography has done has tempered the saint-like portrait of him that emerged in the days after his death. Maureen Dowd in the New York Times and Farhad Manjoo in Slate focus on this part of Jobs' personality, the one through which he could be a cruel jerk to subordinates, friends, lovers, and family. "Certainly, Jobs created what Shakespeare called 'the brightest heaven of invention,'" writes Dowd. "But his life sounded like the darkest hell of volatility." More»

Jobs complained to Murdoch about channel, supported New York Times

(NEWSER) - Steve Jobs told Rupert Murdoch to his face last year that Fox News is "destructive" and that he was "blowing it" with the conservative news channel, reports Gawker , in the latest round of excerpts from Walter Isaacson's biography of the Apple founder . Jobs was invited to speak at the annual News Corp management retreat in 2010, and in exchange for talking he got to speak directly with Murdoch. "Fox has become a destructive force in our society," Jobs told Murdoch over dinner. "You can be better, and this is going to be your legacy if you're not careful." Murdoch, for his part, seemed unconcerned by the criticism from Jobs' "left-wing view." More»

'Social Network' writer said to be considering the offer

(NEWSER) - Sony is making a Steve Jobs movie based on the biography by Walter Isaacson, and none other than Social Network scribe Aaron Sorkin is being courted to write it, the Los Angeles Times reports. A source says Sorkin is considering the idea, but neither Sorkin nor Sony gave an official comment. Still, it seems like a good fit:

• LA Times : “Sorkin is known for penning stories about the lives of fiercely smart, if difficult, figures, of which Jobs certainly was one. Isaacson's take on the late executive as someone whose penchant for ‘magical thinking’ was both a great advantage and a fatal liability seems particularly suited to a Sorkin script.”

Walter Isaacson talks about his book on '60 Minutes'

(NEWSER) - Walter Isaacson’s highly anticipated biography of Steve Jobs is out today, and the author was on 60 Minutes last night for a lengthy interview about the book and its subject. Highlights, via Mashable and BusinessWeek :

• Jobs admired Facebook: “We talk about social networks in the plural, but I don’t see anybody other than Facebook out there,” Jobs said in one interview with Isaacson. “Just Facebook, they’re dominating this. … I admire Mark Zuckerberg. I only know him a little bit, but I admire him for not selling out, for wanting to make a company. I admire that, a lot.”
• Google and Microsoft, not so much: “Microsoft never had the humanities and the liberal arts in the DNA; it was pure technology company, and they just didn’t get it,” Jobs said. “Google’s the same way. They just don’t get it.”