- Paperback: 280 pages
- Publisher: No Starch Press; 1 edition (8 May 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 188641128X
- ISBN-13: 978-1886411289
- Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 19 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 890,789 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Owen Linzmayer's Apple Confidential is subtitled The Real Story of Apple Computer, Inc., and while nobody will ever know the complete, "real" story about Apple, Linzmayer's is probably as close as they come. Having covered Apple news since 1980, he offers extensive insider details about Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, John Sculley, Gilbert Amelio, Bill Gates and other major players whose lives were (and are) intertwined with Apple's history. And along the way, we also learn about lesser-known figures whose stories have remained hidden in the Apple myth: Ronald Gerald Wayne, for example, who was actually a partner with Wozniak and Jobs in the original incarnation of the company, but who sold his share when he realised he would be financially vulnerable if it should fail. Linzmayer's tale does have a few drawbacks. Because he mixes a chronological narrative with chapters that focus on key points in the Apple story, he sometimes repeats himself. Case in point: the chapter "Big Bad Blunders" makes a great record of Apple's failures, but the story of the exploding Powerbook 5300s is duplicated at later points. Nonetheless, Apple Confidential is rife with gems that will appeal to Apple fanatics and followers of the computer industry. Especially enjoyable are the revelation of "Easter eggs" that are hidden in several versions of the Mac operating system; the many screen shots, timelines and telling quotes from Jobs, Gates, Wozniak and others that populate the margins and concluding sections of each chapter; the "Code Names Uncovered" section that makes public the monikers of several secret Apple projects; and Bill Gates's 1985 letter to John Sculley and Jean Louis Gassee pleading for Apple to license Mac technology and develop a "standard personal computer." --Patrick O'Kelley
Product Description
Journalist Owen Linzmayer explores Apple's tumultuous history, from its legendary founding, through a series of disastrous executive decisions, to its recent return to profitability. Backed by exhaustive research, the book debunks many of the myths and half-truths surrounding Apple, the Macintosh, and its creators. Linzmayer looks into secret archives, interviews key players, and tells the real stories behind the hype.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Thanks to a never-ending campaign by Apple's powerful public relations machine to protect the myths surrounding the company's origin, almost everyone believes that Apple was started in a garage by "the two Steves," Stephen Gary Wozniak, 25, and Steven Paul Jobs 21. Read the first page
Front Cover | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Thanks to a never-ending campaign by Apple's powerful public relations machine to protect the myths surrounding the company's origin, almost everyone believes that Apple was started in a garage by "the two Steves," Stephen Gary Wozniak, 25, and Steven Paul Jobs 21. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In the author's relentlessly self-promoting Introduction to his own book, he writes, "If you read only one book about Apple, make it Apple Confidential." After the first chapter, I realized that if I finished this book, I had better make sure it *wasn't* the only book I read about Apple.
(Note to No Starch Press: it's fine to have someone praise a book's "meticulous research" and "engaging format", but such praise tends to lose its credibility when it comes from the author himself.)
I agree with other reviewers that the book is full of Apple lore that will interest Apple fans, and the style is readable and lively. However, the book doesn't hold together either as a narrative history or as an investigation into what makes Apple work or not work. The chapters are liberally sprinkled with sidebars, marginal quotations, timelines, illustrations, and so on, much in the style of the Mac magazine articles that the author writes. However, the same style doesn't work well for a full-length book, with perhaps the exception of the author's previous "Mac Bathroom Reader." (How many people really want to read ten pages' worth of code names for Apple projects? Another puzzling feature is the marginal quotations, which are often attributed to a speaker without any other indication of context, sometimes expressing dramatically different points of view than those being explored in the pages where they appear.) The resulting impression is that this isn't a complete history-just a collection of stories the author considers most interesting.
The timelines that accompany each chapter are illustrative, but the author's thematic organization of the book results not only in the repetition noted by the Amazon reviewer but also in the fact that many of them overlap. It would be interesting to see the merged together, to get an impression of how the separate themes of the book come together in Apple's complete history.
It's hard to tell what justifies the "Confidential" of the title, or the subtitle "The Real Story of Apple Computer, Inc". There's no way to tell what information comes from the twenty-some books the author cites in his bibliography and what may be due the dozens of individuals the author thanks in his acknowledgments.
All in all, "Apple Confidential" seems be more a triumph of marketing than of journalism.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a must-have book for any fan of Apple. It's possibly the most thorough - yet still readable - history of the company. It mixes business facts, behind-the-scenes secrets, and pop culture tidbits beautifully. Along the way, you'll learn the ins and outs of other computer companies (Microsoft, IBM, AOL, NeXT, Power Computing, Xerox PARC, etc) and a lot about the history of the industry in general and the players in particular.
Linzmayer is the author of "The Mac Bathroom Reader," and knows what he's talking about. Not only does "Apple Confindential" add more history that wasn't in that volume, but it's redesigned, updated to this year, and includes Steve Jobs' return and the iMac success.
In a word, breathtaking: It has quotes from everyone involved, timelines, products lists, a history, a little opinion, analysis, stock info, classic pictures. It's all here.
I'd write more, but I'm going to read it again. And I now know what to give other Apple fans for gifts.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is hands down the best book ever written about Apple computer. I read the entire thing in one sitting, and started re-reading the really good bits the next day. Newton aficionados will particularly enjoy the chapter relating to the the worlds first PDA. My knowledge of the history of that little device more than doubled. Also enjoyable is the chapter dedicated to the signatures found inside the case of early Macs. Each signature is reproduced along with information about each person, both at the time of the Mac's development, as well as his or her current whereabouts. The pictures, and sidebar quotes help make this book a real can't-put-down-page-turner. I've read many books relating to Apple and the Macintosh, but this one has earned a place of honor in my technology library.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
version 2.0
I read the 1999 version. It was comprehensive enough. What else could be added leading to the release of a "version 2.0" ? No one tells here ?!?
Published 7 months ago by TVNshack
Excellent
An insightful look at one of the most important companies around, - Not just now but one that has been ever-present since the get-go. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Mr. J. N. James
For all Apple fans
Bought this as Xmas present for an Apple mad friend and it was very well received
Published on 2 Jan 2010 by LouP
Interesting insight into the world of Steve Jobs
I was very impressed when I received this book. It has a detailed account of how the Apple Mac came about and mentions other important key figures in the MacWorld and includes... Read more
Published on 4 July 2009 by ShirleyM
A GOOD BOOK ABOUT APPLE COMPUTER!
There are many good books on the market about Apple Computer, and they're all fascinating ... because the story of two young men working in a garage to pursue their dreams is the... Read more
Published on 4 Oct 2005 by Betty L. Dravis
IF YOU ONLY BUY ONE BOOK ABOUT APPLE, BUY THIS
I'm not a big book reader, but as soon as this book arrived in the post (a signed copy direct from the author) I could not put it down. Read more
Published on 15 Aug 2004 by Mr. S. Read
One of those "cant put it down" books - excellent.
This book is really great, written in a very readable easy to read style. It is full of juicy stuff. The discription of the main characters in particular Steve Jobs is excellent!. Read more
Published on 22 May 2001
Extremely exciting read!
As an owner of the majority of the Apple books around I would highly recommend this one. It rates along side the best. Read more
Published on 27 Oct 1999
This book told me so much--It is great!!!
This is the best hard-die mac fan book, and great for anyone book I know!
Published on 29 Aug 1999
The best book I've ever read
This book is amazing. Every page has a new fact, a crazy quote, or insane story of how one hugely successful computer company could screw it all up, but still be around today. Read more
Published on 23 Aug 1999
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