'Steve Jobs' Easily Tops Best Seller Lists in Debut Week

steve jobs book coverThe Bookseller reports that Walter Isaacson's authorized biography of Steve Jobs easily topped the best-seller list in the United States and United Kingdom during its first week of availability. Citing Nielsen's BookScan data for U.S. figures, the report claims that the book sold 379,000 copies, outselling second-place The Litigator by John Grisham by more than three-to-one.

Despite being on sale for just six days in the US, Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography is already the 18th bestselling book of the year. It sits one place ahead of John Grisham's The Confession (Dell) and one place behind Rick Riordan's The Son of Neptune (Hyperion) in the year-to-date BookScan US bestseller list.

The report notes that the debut was also the strongest for any book since November of last year.

Nielsen BookScan tracks book sales volumes at their points of sale, developing a picture that encompasses the vast majority, although not all, U.S. sales including those through major online retailers such as Amazon. BookScan data does not, however, include sales of eBooks.

Amazon announced just after the book's launch that it was poised to become the best-selling book of 2011 despite a release late in the year, and the title currently ranks #3 on Amazon's chart for 2011 sales.

Sony Pictures has already acquired the movie rights to the Jobs biography, and is reportedly courting Aaron Sorkin to write the screenplay.

Top Rated Comments

WalterNeff Avatar
163 months ago
Steve Jobs's last words

"Oh Wow. Oh Wow. Oh Wow."

Steve Ballmer's last words: "Developers! Developers! Developers!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hobo.hopkins Avatar
163 months ago
I'm one of those who purchased a hardcover copy. It is a very well-written and informative book, even for those (like myself) who already knew a fair bit about Steve and his life. I'm not surprised that it's selling so well.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Roller Avatar
163 months ago
I just finished it this morning. There were a few parts where I would have wanted more details, but I had to keep reminding myself that the book is about Steve Jobs, not Apple, although the two were inextricably intertwined.

I was particularly fascinated by the information about Steve's family. Although I was aware that he was adopted and had a daughter named Lisa, I didn't know much about his sister, wife, or children. It's remarkable how they stayed out of the limelight compared to other celebrities' families.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Deedlez Avatar
163 months ago
The book's on my xmas list. But I'm having difficulty resisting temptation in buying the iBooks version and practicing my "surprised joy" face for when I receive the physical copy!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
the8thark Avatar
163 months ago
I enjoyed the book, but it really isn't the most well written. I haven't run any passages for a readability score but I have to imagine it is like 8-9th grade level and that may even be overly optimistic.

And these make some of the best books. You don't need a PhD to understand them. The average joe can buy the book, read it and get all the content easily without being confused cause it's too hard for them to understand.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
anberlinairlift Avatar
163 months ago
I'd like to get my hands on a physical copy of that. For me, there's just something about a hardback book that makes it that much more satisfying to read.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Apple Silicon AI Optimized Feature Siri

Apple Releases Open Source AI Models That Run On-Device

Wednesday April 24, 2024 3:39 pm PDT by
Apple today released several open source large language models (LLMs) that are designed to run on-device rather than through cloud servers. Called OpenELM (Open-source Efficient Language Models), the LLMs are available on the Hugging Face Hub, a community for sharing AI code. As outlined in a white paper [PDF], there are eight total OpenELM models, four of which were pre-trained using the...
iOS 18 Siri Integrated Feature

iOS 18 Rumored to Add These 10 New Features to Your iPhone

Wednesday April 24, 2024 2:05 pm PDT by
Apple is set to unveil iOS 18 during its WWDC keynote on June 10, so the software update is a little over six weeks away from being announced. Below, we recap rumored features and changes planned for the iPhone with iOS 18. iOS 18 will reportedly be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, with new ChatGPT-inspired generative AI features, a more customizable Home Screen, and much more....
maxresdefault

Apple Announces 'Let Loose' Event on May 7 Amid Rumors of New iPads

Tuesday April 23, 2024 7:11 am PDT by
Apple has announced it will be holding a special event on Tuesday, May 7 at 7 a.m. Pacific Time (10 a.m. Eastern Time), with a live stream to be available on Apple.com and on YouTube as usual. The event invitation has a tagline of "Let Loose" and shows an artistic render of an Apple Pencil, suggesting that iPads will be a focus of the event. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
Apple Vision Pro Dual Loop Band Orange Feature 2

Apple Cuts Vision Pro Shipments as Demand Falls 'Sharply Beyond Expectations'

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:44 am PDT by
Apple has dropped the number of Vision Pro units that it plans to ship in 2024, going from an expected 700 to 800k units to just 400k to 450k units, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Orders have been scaled back before the Vision Pro has launched in markets outside of the United States, which Kuo says is a sign that demand in the U.S. has "fallen sharply beyond expectations." As a...
iPad And Calculator App Feature 1

Apple Finally Plans to Release a Calculator App for iPad Later This Year

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:08 am PDT by
Apple is finally planning a Calculator app for the iPad, over 14 years after launching the device, according to a source familiar with the matter. iPadOS 18 will include a built-in Calculator app for all iPad models that are compatible with the software update, which is expected to be unveiled during the opening keynote of Apple's annual developers conference WWDC on June 10. AppleInsider...
macbook pro purple february

Best Buy Introduces Record Low Prices on Apple's M3 MacBook Pro for Members

Thursday April 25, 2024 7:41 am PDT by
Best Buy is discounting a collection of M3 MacBook Pro computers today, this time focusing on the 14-inch version of the laptop. Every deal in this sale requires you to have a My Best Buy Plus or Total membership, although non-members can still get solid second-best prices on these MacBook Pro models. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and make a...