“Make Something Wonderful”

The Steve Jobs Archive

I’m really not sure why I bothered being surprised that this book is beautifully-typeset. The story about Steve taking the calligraphy class at Reed shows up a handful of times, it’s very clear that typography was important to him, so of course the definitive book about his life would put a great deal of care into that aspect.

Beyond the typography, though, it’s clear that a great deal of care went into everything, from the selection of photos to the editorial aspect of which quotes to use and in what order. There’s even a one more thing after the index, which is the sort of touch that made me think, this book really knows who’s going to be reading it. The audience of this book is the exact sort of people who are excited about One More Thing, who have fond memories of One More Thing, who dream about One More Thing.

When you’ve lived your life in as much of a spotlight as Steve Jobs did, it’s easy to be quotable. There’s a lot of material available, particularly when the person doing the picking is your official archivist with access to things like your email archive. But I remain impressed with how well-spoken Jobs was, and how poignant some of the quotes were. Hindsight is 20/20, and sure can make someone look prophetic about their own life.

How many of you have seen the birth of another human? It is a miracle. And how many of you have witnessed the death of a human? It is a mystery beyond our comprehension. No human alive knows what happens to “us” upon or after our death. Some believe this, others that, but no one really knows at all. Again, most people of your age have not thought about these events very much, and it’s as if we shelter you from them, afraid that the thought of mortality will somehow wound you. For me it’s the opposite: to know my arc will fall makes me want to blaze while I am in the sky. Not for others, but for myself, for the trail I know I am leaving.

Steve Jobs, speaking at the Palo Alto High School graduation in 1996

I like to think that I’m not all-in on the Cult of Jobs, but there’s no denying that the guy was interesting. The book is free to read online, in a very well-made ebook form, so go check it out.