Interview with the author of "The second coming of Steve Jobs"

Last October we contacted Doubleday and Mr Deutschman on the possibility of an interview, and were lucky enough to be granted one. The Spanish version has been one of the most read pieces on the site for weeks now, so we've finally decided to publish the English original :-).

Monday, October 16th 2000

Question: How did this book come about?

Answer: For nearly a decade I had written profiles of entrepreneurs and CEOs for American magazines such as Fortune, GQ, and Vanity Fair, and I had interviewed many famous figures, but Steve Jobs was by far the most fascinating. The story of his life and career was so dramatic--his spectacular early success followed by many years of struggle and failure before he ultimately re-emerged in triumph. I was intrigued by how he could be so brilliant, creative, and charismatic while he was also cruel and manipulative. He could inspire people to do great work and he could also humiliate and berate them so forcefully that they became deeply depressed or even wound up in the hospital. Here was a man who represented both the best and the worst aspects of the culture of Silicon Valley. When he came back to Apple and saved the company, I thought it was the perfect time for a book.

Question: What challenges did you face?

Answer: Steve Jobs guards his privacy and his mystique. He didn't want me to write the book, and he even called the CEO of Random House Inc., my publisher, and complained that I was writing a "hatchet job." That wasn't my intention at all. I wanted to write an insightful, balanced portrait of a very complicated man. I wanted to portray the Good Steve as well as the Bad Steve. I talked with nearly 100 of his friends and colleagues and found a wealth of new facts, anecdotes, and insights. And Random House didn't change a single word after Jobs called to protest.

Question: This book is being published at a time when Apple's stock has fallen dramatically and people are questioning whether the comeback is for real. Based on your knowledge of Steve Jobs's life and career, do you think he can sustain Apple's resurgence?

Answer: Yes. Jobs has extraordinary drive and willpower. His tenacity and persistence are incredible. He has faced many tough setbacks in his career, many failures, but he always keeps fighting and eventually he finds a way to succeed.