"I, Steve": an "instant" book offers more than 200 quotes from Steve Jobs
Just days after the death of Steve Jobs, a book on the Apple co-founder is being rushed into print. We’re not talking about the authorized biography written by noted author Walter Isaacson, which The Hollywood Reporter says is already poised to become the bestselling book of 2011. That bio was indeed moved up – it’s now scheduled for an Oct. 24 release – but it’s joined by “I, Steve,” a book of Jobsian quotations. CNET says the quotations collection by Agate Publishing, originally scheduled for release in 2012, will now be shipped next week.
The selection of more than 200 quotes from Jobs was “culled from press releases, statements, public appearances, and interviews over the years,” according to CNET.
The book’s publisher, Doug Seibold, told ABC News that he sees the quotations book as a companion piece to the Isaacson biography. “I very much see the book as an homage to Steve Jobs," he told ABC in an email, "and what really drew me to the project was the realization that Jobs is indisputably the most remarkable business figure of the past three decades, and that there was real value in collecting his public statements for the sake of all those people who will find insight and inspiration in them."
It’s hard to compare a collection of quotations with a biography that involved years of original research and writing and scores of interviews. But the public’s appetite seems strong for any insights into Jobs or memories of him: “I, Steve” ranked 25 on the Amazon bestseller list last night, while Isaacson’s book is holding steady at #1.
In this modern computerized age that Jobs helped create, though, neither publisher moved as fast as possible on the book-release front. There’s a collection of Jobs quotes already on the books – on Lulu.com, the print-on-demand site. Compiler Steven Damron wrote on his Facebook page on Friday, “I wrote and published a book this afternoon.” What an amazing concept this would have been even a few years back. And, of course, there’s an app for it.
Seattle writer Rebekah Denn blogs at eatallaboutit.com
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