Letters to Steve

Through his incredible foresight and technological mastery, Steve Jobs touched billions of people's lives around the world over several decades. He attracted a strong following that lined up to buy the computers and gadgets produced by Apple Inc. Over the years, people discovered the e-mail address of Jobs and took to regularly sending him messages. That he often responded was as unusual as his leadership style and his processes for crafting hit products.


Mark Milian, a technology writer for CNN, has reviewed more than a hundred of these e-mails, compiled from those posted by fans to blogs and online message boards. Some never-before-published e-mails from Jobs were shared exclusively for this book. As a whole, these correspondences provide a behind-the-scenes and inside-the-mind account of Jobs' final and most triumphant years. During this time, he returned to Apple and led the beleaguered computer maker from the brink of bankruptcy to becoming the most valuable technology company in the world, while also managing Pixar Animation Studios, an innovative production company that rocketed the Walt Disney Company into a new era of family films.


This book is based on interviews with many of the customers and fans Jobs communicated with. These tales reveal the intricacies of how Jobs portrayed himself as likable and accessible through direct interaction with fans. He handled customer-service inquiries himself and carefully revealed hints about upcoming Apple products, guaranteeing headlines on blogs. However, some of these letters, when analyzed, provide a glimpse into his "reality distortion field," in which he lobs insults, bends the truth and uses misdirection in order to manipulate anyone on the receiving end. This book has been self-published in digital form, and is not associated with or endorsed by CNN.


About the Author:

Mark Milian covers consumer technology for CNN and was previously a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times. This is his first e-book.


Editorial Reviews:

"The emails included in 'Letters To Steve: Inside The E-Mail Inbox Of Apple’s Steve Jobs,' reveals Jobs, who died October 5, at his tough minded, funny, and charming best." —Brian Caulfield, Forbes


"'Letters to Steve: Inside the E-mail Inbox of Apple's Steve Jobs' reveals that the co-founder of the technology giant even got involved with his company's basic customer service inquiries." —Anthony Bond, The (London) Daily Mail


“… Milian shows, Jobs also could show some heart.” —Steven Levingston, The Washington Post


"Apple founder Steve Jobs stepped in and fixed problems for deserving customers, a new eBook of his emails reports." —Lesley Ciarula Taylor, Toronto Star


“Milian … chronicles -- among many things -- the prickly side of Jobs that we all found so endearing.” —Erin Sherbet, SF Weekly


"Steve Jobs was not one to mince words, and that included his often terse emails to fans and journalists alike." —Chloe Albanesius, PCMag.com


"Long known for engaging in personal correspondence with customers, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and his concise e-mails are the subject of a new e-book." —AppleInsider


“… an interesting, easy read for those that have been following Apple throughout the years. It’s more than just the emails; Mark Milian weaves the messages together to create a story.” —Alex Heath, iDownloadBlog


"CNN reporter Mark Milian has published an ebook that gathers all of Steve Jobs’s e-mails to customers, fans, and critics that he could find." —Bryan Chaffin, The Mac Observer


"Download of the Day" —Kelly Schwarze, Geeksugar