Steve Jobs and the NeXT Big Thing
Steve Jobs and the NeXT Big Thing by Randall Strossby Randall E. Stross
Shares rank 2 of 9 biographies by recommenders
Recommended for its detailed, in-period account of Jobs's years at NeXT, though critics call it a one-sided hit piece on Jobs.
Recommended for its detailed, in-period account of Jobs's years at NeXT, though critics call it a one-sided hit piece on Jobs.
7 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: 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: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 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
Detailed coverage of the NeXT years
“I remember liking it quite a bit and thinking it was a really interesting look at NeXT”
Comment from 15 May 2026 in “Steve Jobs Next Computer: His Forgotten Exile Years” “To see the mindset of Steve at NeXT there are a few biographies on that subject”
Comment from 10 Nov 2025 in “Apple is crossing a Steve Jobs red line” “covers the NeXT years extensively and in period. Highly recommended”
Comment from 15 May 2026 in “Steve Jobs Next Computer: His Forgotten Exile Years” Candid look at Jobs as manager
“It's a really interesting book because it was essentially saying that Steve Jobs was a terrible manager and NeXT was a disaster.”
Comment from 15 May 2026 in “Steve Jobs Next Computer: His Forgotten Exile Years” “Though it's essentially a long hit piece. The author really had it out for Jobs.”
Comment from 15 May 2026 in “Steve Jobs Next Computer: His Forgotten Exile Years”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Read as a one-sided hit piece
“Though it's essentially a long hit piece. The author really had it out for Jobs.”
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 and the NeXT Big Thingby Randall E. StrossThis page | 7 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Steve Jobs in Exileby Geoffrey Cain | 7 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| The Years of Lyndon Johnsonby Robert A. Caro | 6 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| The Infinity Machineby Sebastian Mallaby | 6 | 1 | 86% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
6 of the 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“stross does his research (mad respect, real journalism)”
“I remember liking it quite a bit and thinking it was a really interesting look at NeXT”
“It's a really interesting book because it was essentially saying that Steve Jobs was a terrible manager and NeXT was a disaster.”
“covers the NeXT years extensively and in period. Highly recommended”
“Though it's essentially a long hit piece. The author really had it out for Jobs.”
“To see the mindset of Steve at NeXT there are a few biographies on that subject”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.