Infinite Loop

What can I say. Great Book!!! I got hooked right from the foreword. The writing is crisp and the author has done a elegant job of balancing the history,technology and, people connected with Apple.The chapters are excellently divided according to the stages the company went through. For eg. the first chapter is called 'ROOTS', then 'SEED', 'SPROUT', 'SAPLING' etc. For me this the best book on Apple or for that matter the best book on the history of any computer company. Bravos to you Mr. Malone.

Michael S. Malone's Infinite Loop: How The World's Most Insanely Great Computer Company Went Insane is the tale of a company that had it all - and blew it. In the early days of personal computers, Apple had superior technology and customers that displayed fanatical product loyalty. Its young founders became instant archetypes of the bravado and creativity that made the U.S. high-tech industry the envy of the world. But Jobs and Wozniak achieved too much too early in life, and Apple, it seems, lost its magic. From the unique vantage point of having grown up with Jobs and Wozniak, and having covered Apple for years as a journalist, Malone manages to tell a fascinating behind-the-scenes story of the world?s most insanely great company. As a technophile, I very much enjoyed this book. As a Mac addict I couldn?t help wanting to put my hands over my eyes and scream as I read about some of the company?s great blunders. No review would be complete without also noting that while Malone brings to this account authority and understanding of the big picture, his disgust with Steve Jobs at times oozes from the pages of this book. Still, Infinite Loop is a great read and the most comprehensive account of Apple Computer?s history. I also recommend The Little Kingdom by Michael Moritz (if you can find it).

Author Michael S. Malone goes behind the myths about Apple Computers to present an in-depth history from Apple's start-up in 1976 to its decline through 1998. He emphasizes that the personalities of Apple founders, Steven Jobs and Steven Wozniak (or Woz), marked Apple's corporate culture with a kind of insaneness that made it great even as it contributed to the company's difficulties. He presents the two Stevens as deeply flawed individuals - one the creative, socially inept, technical genius, the other the narcissistic, untrustworthy tyrant. In places, Malone risks introducing distortions into the story in the interest of drama, especially when he imagines what Woz or Jobs might have been thinking or why they may have taken certain actions. Otherwise, we at getAbstract say sit down in your easy chair with this novelistic business history. Even those who are familiar with the broad outlines of the Apple story will find it fascinating.

Having been an Apple enthusiast since the Apple IIe, I was intrigued by this new history book an Apple Computer. I was very impressed with the scope of the book ranging from the earliest days of Jobs and Woz all the way to the iMac introduction. What has been funny to see is that the author paints a dismal picture of the future of Apple and here they are thriving like they did in the old days. Now, if this is the handiwork of Steve Jobs, I do not know. I like Mr. Jobs, the author does not appear to like him. I believe that he was out of control in his younger days at Apple (pre-Sculley years), but that he has matured and grown up to be a VERY successful businessman (CEO of 2 Fortune 500 companies ain't bad). I would definately recommend Infinite Loop to any of my friends. It is a slow read, and the timelines are out of sync. (You read about Spindler getting fired from Apple in the chapter before Spindler starting the ill-fated licensing of the MacOS.) I only remember the later timeline because I remember keeping up with it as it happened.

Michael Malone did a pretty good job with this book. He has got an explosive combination of ingredients in this book: A perfect plot (Apple Computers History), amazing characters (Steve Jobs just as an example), Intrigue, Drama, Joy, and a lot more. Michael Malone mixed all this ingredients the right way, writting a very good novel/business book. He his sophisticated in his writting, yet very simplistic. I loved finishing the book understanding what he meant by infinite loop. I strongly advise you to find it out for yourself. You will not get disapointed and you will keep turning those pages very rapidly just like a good thriller. Don't get intimidated by the size of the book, or by the fact that is a corporate history book. In fact it is, but it could also be a science fiction novel. That's what is makes it so great.