Steve Jobs - Biography - Interview with Walter Isaacson part 2/2

Get the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson on Amazon: http://amzn.to/keE9DI

Walter Isaacson, the author of the new authorized biography "Steve Jobs" talked to Steve Kroft of "60 Minutes" about his book.

In the interview, Isaacson discussed how Jobs dealt with the pancreatic cancer that took his life, Jobs' non-relationship with his biological father, and his technological innovation as the CEO of Apple.

The "60 Minutes" story featured audio from the more than 40 interviews Isaacson conducted with Jobs for his book.

"You're born alone, you're gonna die alone--and what exactly is it that you have to lose, Steve?" Jobs says in one recording. "There's nothing."

Here are the best bits from the "60 Minutes" report, which has posted additional material online.

Jobs Unknowingly Met His Biological Father: Jobs, an adopted child, never formally met his biological father. But it turned out he unknowingly met him once and only realized it later. "I learned a little bit about him and I didn't like what I learned," Jobs said. He asked his sister, when she met the man, not to tell him that they had ever met and not to tell him anything about Jobs. "It turns out he managed or owned a restaurant and I was in that restaurant once or twice, and I remember meeting the owner who was from Syria and it was most certainly him." The father told Jobs' sister that he was "a great tipper."

How Adoption Shaped Jobs: Jobs recalls crying as a child when he found out he was adopted, reasoning that perhaps his birth parents didn't want him. His adoptive parents told him they specifically picked him out, making him special. Isaacson said that was the key to understanding Jobs.

How India Influenced Jobs: After a trip to India as a young man, the simplicity of Zen Buddhism influenced Jobs' design sense, according to Isaacson.

Steve's Reality Distortion Field: "[Jobs] could drive himself by magical thinking," Isaacson said, allowing him to push workers to write more code in less time than might have seemed possible. Isaacson said his "reality distortion field" didn't always work. Later, this sense may have influenced Jobs' decision not to pursue early surgery for pancreatic cancer.

Jobs' Mean Streak: Isaacson told "60 Minutes" that Jobs could be surprisingly mean to people because he wanted to get the best out of the employees that worked for him.

Jobs and Money: Jobs said on tape that he saw money distort the lives of other people at Apple, and vowed to avoid living a lavish lifestyle. "I'm not going to let this money ruin my life," Jobs said on the tapes.

Jobs Refused Surgery That Might Have Saved His Life: Suffering from pancreatic cancer, Jobs refused to have early surgery that potentially could have saved his life. "Jobs doesn't get operated on right away," Isaacson said. "He tries to treat it with diet. He goes to spiritualists. He goes to various ways of doing it macrobiotically and he doesn't get an operation." Isaacson said Jobs didn't want his body opened and "violated in that way." Jobs did have the surgery nine months later, but by then the cancer had spread to the tissues around the pancreas.

The End: In Isaacson's final interviews with Jobs, the Apple founder began to talk more about his thoughts on God and an afterlife. Jobs said that he found himself thinking more about such subjects, and perhaps believing more in an afterlife. But, Jobs said, "Sometimes I think it's just like an on/off switch." Jobs said that was one reason why he didn't like putting on/off switches on Apple devices.

See more info on the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson on Amazon: http://amzn.to/keE9DI

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[foles555]

Gave away the ending of the book with the on off switch story. Also he got a lot more pictures on his iPad, of jobs, than he has in the book. Why not print them all?

[martinbrixx]

What an ENDER!

[dawes777]

The interviewer at time frame 8:37 said, with regard to Jobs trying alternative treatments to cure his cancer: “…how can such a smart man do such a stupid thing?” This shows how ignorant the interviewer is. Unfortunately, Steve Jobs tried many different alternatives to cure his cancer, but failed to find the right one. The right one is NOT conventional treatment.

Cancer thrives in an acid environment. The cure is to treat it with alkaline-creating foods, which turns the body to alkaline.

[mrlemmos]

Good bloke!

[medicineprincesss]

Reed josh

[armandsarkani]

iPhone 3G, not "3"

[chastepe]

The photo on 4:20 is from Isthmus of Corinth.

[MannyHMo]

He might have regretted not undergoing an operation however cancer of the pancreas is a death sentence. He might have been spared from the agony of the operation, its after effects, etc. He was able to function for years after such a diagnosis. I don't know anyone surviving an actual case of pancreatic cancer.

Of course physician don't want to extinguish all hopes by saying that his case is hopeless even though it is.

[XSShadow]

@jessica5666 It wasn't because of his religion that he refused surgery, it was because of his own personal feelings on the subject. There's nothing religious about a microbial diet. Did you even watch the interview?

[Saskiequelle]

No off-switch? That's crazy. We need to conserve our energy, not waste it.