As noted by Gawker, the FBI has just released a 1991 background check on Steve Jobs. The 191-page document was undertaken as Jobs was being considered for a presidential appointment to the President's Export Council by George H. W. Bush. The file was released following a Freedom of Information Act request filed through the open government site MuckRock.
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Beyond basic biographical information, the report makes reference to comments from a number of Jobs' acquaintances who were interviewed to help build a picture of his background. Gawker notes that the report contains an unusually high number of "derogatory" comments, with some questioning his honesty and making reference to his ability to "twist the truth and distort reality in order to achieve his goals".
More details will undoubtedly come to light as readers are able to make their way through the lengthy document, and while certain aspects of the report have been censored out, it may still reveal an interestingly candid glimpse into how Jobs was viewed by his acquaintances and investigators seeking an impartial view of his suitably to serve on a presidential commission.
Top Rated Comments
Save it for SteveRumors. How does this even fit?
Oh, I don't know... the guy was co-founder of Apple, creator of Mac. And this is MacRumor's after all. Since when has this site become a hard-news site? Since never. Every story someone has to ask why it was posted. So now for every one of those posts, I'll post explaining why I think it does fit.
Yes, he was being sued for paternity of Lisa. Ya know, when he was a real dick making millions while his child was living on welfare.
Save it for SteveRumors. How does this even fit?
I'd take that any day over PatentRumors.com! :D
Gawker notes that the report contains an unusually high number of "derogatory" comments, with some questioning his honesty and making reference to his ability to "twist the truth and distort reality in order to achieve his goals".
Sounds like somebody perfectly suited to government work.
And yet he changed the world of consumer tech, several times over, and arguably, some of the world at large. Genius? Certainly. A bit of madness? Maybe. But from this man of curious contradictions and singular vision, came Macs, OS X, iPods, iPhones, iPads . . . and look where we are today. It's this man's vision that's come alive and driving the industry.
See people? This is what happens when you build a company around a cult of personality.
Things get weird.
Sometimes truth really *is* stranger than fiction.
Had Steve Jobs not *done* what he had done, there would be no "cult." All of it is product-driven. He can have the most enrapturing personality you can think of, but if he can't deliver the goods, it's all for nothing.
There's a fine line between respecting a company for its achievements, and unwavering, abject hero worship.