Audiobook Sample
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- Title: Steve Jobs
- Author: Walter Isaacson
- Narrator: Dylan Baker
- Length: 08:30:00
- Version: Abridged
- Release Date: 24/10/2011
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Genre: Biography & Memoir, Business
- ISBN13: 9.78E+12
As I wound through the misty roads of Northern California’s Silicon Valley last autumn, Dylan Baker’s crisp narration of Walter Isaacson’s “Steve Jobs” filled my rental car with the electric energy of technological revolution. The landscape outside my window – those unassuming office parks where world-changing ideas were born – became a living backdrop to this masterful biography, making me feel I was tracing the very geography of innovation itself.
Isaacson’s exhaustive research (over 40 interviews with Jobs himself and hundreds more with those who knew him) unfolds like a Shakespearean drama in Baker’s capable hands. The narrator captures Jobs’ infamous ‘reality distortion field’ with such precision that during the account of the first Macintosh launch, I actually pulled over to fully absorb the moment. Baker’s performance is neither imitation nor caricature – he lets the words create their own gravity while subtly shifting tone to reflect Jobs’ mercurial nature.
What makes this audiobook exceptional is how it balances three competing narratives: the brilliant innovator who revolutionized six industries, the difficult man who often hurt those closest to him, and the vulnerable human facing mortality. I found myself thinking of my time in Kyoto, watching master artisans who could create exquisite beauty while being notoriously difficult personalities. Jobs’ story holds that same paradox – how do we reconcile transformative genius with personal flaws?
Baker’s narration shines particularly in the book’s most intimate moments. When recounting Jobs’ reunion with his biological sister Mona Simpson, his voice carries just enough emotional weight without veering into sentimentality. The famous 2005 Stanford commencement speech (‘Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.’) gave me chills – Baker’s measured delivery allowing Jobs’ own words to resonate with their full philosophical depth.
The audiobook’s structure mirrors Jobs’ own product launches – each section building toward revolutionary breakthroughs (Mac, Pixar, iPod, iPhone) while never shying away from the brutal costs. Isaacson’s access provides astonishing details: Jobs crying in the Apple parking lot after being ousted, his obsessive control over even the unseen parts of products, the raw vegan diets that sometimes left him malnourished during critical periods.
As someone who’s documented cultural innovators from Oaxacan weavers to Tokyo robotics engineers, I was struck by how Jobs’ story reflects universal truths about creation. The same intensity I’ve seen in Peruvian potters perfecting a glaze for decades exists in Jobs’ obsession with font kerning. Baker’s narration captures this beautifully – you can almost hear the click of a perfectly engineered iPhone button in his precise diction.
Some listeners might find the exhaustive detail about corporate politics overwhelming, but these sections serve an important purpose – they show how Jobs’ vision triumphed despite (and sometimes because of) his abrasiveness. The audiobook format actually enhances these boardroom dramas, making them feel more immediate and personal.
Compared to other tech biographies like Elon Musk’s or Phil Knight’s “Shoe Dog”, this stands apart for its psychological depth. Where some business biographies feel like victory laps, Isaacson (through Baker’s narration) makes you feel the weight of every decision, the cost of every breakthrough. The final chapters covering Jobs’ illness are particularly moving – Baker handles them with appropriate gravitas, never melodramatic but deeply affecting.
For those interested in the creative process, the sections on Jobs’ aesthetic philosophy – his belief that technology should ‘sing’ – are worth the price alone. I found myself replaying these passages, thinking about how they apply to storytelling itself. There’s a reason I keep returning to this audiobook before major writing projects – it’s a masterclass in marrying form and function.
While the 25-hour runtime might seem daunting, the pacing never lags. Baker’s narration remains engaging throughout, varying his delivery enough to maintain interest but never distracting from the content. The production quality is excellent – clear audio with perfect pacing that makes complex technological explanations accessible.
If I have one critique, it’s that the audiobook format makes it slightly harder to reference specific dates or names that would be easy to find in print. But this is more than compensated by the immersive experience of hearing Jobs’ story told with such narrative skill.
May your own creative journeys be inspired, wherever the road takes you.
Marcus Rivera
