Becoming Steve Jobs

Why it’s on the list: Schlender covered Jobs for twenty-five years; the book’s argument is that the NeXT and Pixar wilderness years are what turned him into the operator who ran Apple’s second act.

Where I saw it: In the reply thread to @typesfast’s question, “What’s the best history book you’ve read?” (June 5, 2025) — a crowd-sourced list Kyle recovered by hand and saved to his Apple Note “Books To Read”; the full set of replies lives on What’s the best history book… (tweet). It was listed there as “Becoming Steve Jobs — Schlender & Tetzeli”.

Connections

• Steve Jobs — The subject.
• Apple — The company.
• Pixar — The wilderness years the book argues were the making of him.
• Leadership — The book’s actual claim: that he learned it.
• Biography — The form.
• What’s the best history book… (tweet) — the thread this recommendation came from.