Becoming Steve Jobs
Becoming Steve Jobs by Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeliby Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli
Shares rank 7 of 9 biographies by recommenders
Readers recommend it as a favorite Steve Jobs book, valued for its account of his time at NeXT and his return to Apple, and preferred over the official biography.
Readers recommend it as a favorite Steve Jobs book, valued for its account of his time at NeXT and his return to Apple, and preferred over the official biography.
4 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 4
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 4 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Favorite book about Steve Jobs
“that's definitely my favorite book about Apple/Steve Jobs”
Comment from 15 May 2026 in “Steve Jobs Next Computer: His Forgotten Exile Years” Preferred over the official biography
“I love “Becoming Steve Jobs” much more than the official biography.”
Comment from 15 May 2026 in “Steve Jobs Next Computer: His Forgotten Exile Years” Strong account of NeXT years
“had a great part about NeXT and how Steve Jobs grew there to bounce back once he was back at Apple”
Comment from 15 May 2026 in “Steve Jobs Next Computer: His Forgotten Exile Years”
Other biographies people recommend
The four most recommended other biographies, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Man from the Futureby Ananyo Bhattacharya | 9 | 1 | 90% | 3 | — | — |
| Steve Jobs in Exileby Geoffrey Cain | 7 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Steve Jobs and the NeXT Big Thingby Randall Stross | 7 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| The Years of Lyndon Johnsonby Robert Caro | 6 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Becoming Steve Jobsby Brent Schlender and Rick TetzeliThis page | 4 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
3 of the 4 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“that's definitely my favorite book about Apple/Steve Jobs”
“I love “Becoming Steve Jobs” much more than the official biography.”
“had a great part about NeXT and how Steve Jobs grew there to bounce back once he was back at Apple”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.