This lecture will be a historical and biographical study on Steve Jobs, and will explore what we can learn from him— both the good and the bad, along with a bibliographical overview of the major resources studying this great but complicated man. This past year Steve Jobs was known to be ill and distanced himself from public activity. In the fall of 2011, very soon after relinquishing his CEO position at Apple Inc., he passed away at the age of 56. He has been the eminent visionary of computing for consumers, and one of the most celebrated and successful businessmen in American history. As information professionals and as modern Westerners, the existence of Steve Jobs has had an immeasurably large effect on our world and on our profession. Yet he was a complex man, described by many people to be "mercurial." He was not a person one should want to emulate, but a person one should only attempt to. His way of directing technology was simultaneously enhanced and hindered by his way of directing people.

• .PPTX Presentation with video clips and notes (35 MB)

• Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson
• Revolution in The Valley, Andy Hertzfeld
• The Secong Coming of Steve Jobs, Alan Deutschman
• Infinite Loop, Michael Malone
• Steve Jobs & the Next Big Thing, Randall E. Stross
• West of Eden: The End of Innocence at Apple Computer, Frank Rose
• Accidental Millionaire: The Rise and Fall of Steve Jobs at Apple Computer, Lee Butcher
• Steve Jobs, the Journey Is the Reward, Jeffrey S. Young
• The Little Kingdom: The Private Story of Apple Computer, Michael Moritz
• Triumph of the Nerds, PBS video, DVD

Background image: A Steve Jobs Memorial at the Apple Store in Palo Alto, CA, Oct. 11th 2011.
By JPO2, Mr. Muddy Suitman on Flickr