Review by Booklist Review
Less than 15 years since it was founded, Apple Computer has already been the subject of more than half a dozen books and countless magazine and newspaper articles. Seemingly there would be nothing new to say except that continuous turmoil and flashes of innovation seem to form the foundation of Apple's corporate culture. Rose, a frequent contributor to Esquire and Playboy, concentrates on the most recent five years of Apple's history, a period of conflict between founder Steven Jobs and the man he chose to lead the company, former Pepsi-Cola president John Sculley. Using the slick narrative style of magazine journalism, Rose portrays the battle, which resulted in Job's ouster, as a clash between East Coast boardroom precision and West Coast laid-back casualness. Consequently, this is an interesting, worthwhile addition to the collective Apple lore. No index. -- David Rouse
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Rose ( Into the Heart of the Mind ) tells in interesting detail how two blue-jeaned Californians, electronic hobbyists Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, developed the desktop computer in a home laboratory; founded Silicon Valley's Apple Computer Co.; became Wall Street darlings and multimillionaires; then were ousted, once Apple became big business, by the very management they had recruited. Garrulous and emotional, Jobs commanded staff loyalty and a public following, but when competing with mighty IBM he vacillated among product, management and marketing ideas, claims the author. Covering more than a decade, this lengthy all-American saga, populated with many major and supporting characters, becomes dense at times. Yet Jobs, who viewed his professional mission as a ``crusade,'' remains a riveting figure. 35,000 first printing; $35,000 ad/promo; author tour. (Mar . ) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
It is impossible to separate Steve Jobs from Apple, and as a result this work is as much about him as the company he started. Journalist Rose's account reads like a best seller--a story of intrigue, secret meetings, and far too often, childish behavior. In reading it, one can see the difficulties in moving an entrepreunerial company, whose young founder has a strong vision of the future, into a mainstream company. It's a wonder Apple was able to survive. There is less detail on Jobs and more on Apple than in Lee Butcher's Accidental Milionaire: The Rise and Fall of Steve Jobs at Apple Computer ( LJ 9/15/87) and greater detail and more objectivity than in John Sculley's Odyssey: Pepsi to Apple . . . A Journey of Adventure, Ideas, and the Future ( LJ 12/87). This is fun to read. Recommended for all business collections.-- Michael D. Kath man, St. John's Univ., Collegeville, Minn. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Journalist Rose (Into the Heart of the Mind, 1984) presents a vividly detailed, nicely paced, and immensely readable rundown on the convulsive circumstances that changed Apple Computer Inc. from a hippy-dippy crusade into, if not the very model of a modern major corporation, at least a viable commercial enterprise. Drawing on a wealth of obviously knowledgeable sources (unacknowledged in the galley made available for review), the author provides a start-to-present history of an unlikely venture launched in the late 70's by a couple of young Californians: the messianic but abrasive Steven Jobs joined forces with another college dropout--engineering whiz Stephen Wozniak--in co-founding a company that effectively created the personal-computer industry. Building on the availability of increasingly powerful microprocessor chips, the fledging finn was able to go public toward year-end 1980 in an archetypal Silicon Valley deal that made insiders like the two Steves and their backers rich beyond dreams of avarice. Here, Rose focuses on the typically tumultuous events of the post 1983 period, turning-point years during which the realities of being a Wall Street cynosure whose make-or-break rivalry with IBM began to require a less gonzo management style than the willful Jobs was prepared to accept. He had nonetheless helped recruit John Scully, a buttoned-down PepsiCo executive to run things. After a brief honeymoon, the new CEO faced possible disaster, owing in about equal measure to his own naivet‚ regarding advanced technology, Apple's hang-loose environment, an interim slump in demand for PCs, and the divisive influence of Jobs. Forced to take action, Scully responded decisively, ousting his New Age mentor, restoring Apple to a sound financial condition, instituting budget as well as inventory controls, introducing corporate wares in the vast office-equipment market, and otherwise behaving like the head of a multi-billion-dollar organization. A dramatic, human-scale account of how a consequential culture conflict was resolved by Apple's getting down to business. Among other virtues, Rose's text affords a corrective to Scully's earnest autobiography (Odyssey, 1987) and ill-informed hatchet jobs such as Lee Butcher's Accidental Millionaire (1987). Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Library Journal Review
Review by Kirkus Book Review
