SUN, OCT 6
NimishAndAkriti
Mention books on Steve Jobs and it is a fair chance that you will be hit with a number of options, led by that massive, epic and interesting if a trifle intimidating biography of the man by Walter Isaacson. However, if you really want to understand the man and how he thought, our recommendation is actually a comic book, or a graphic novel as they call them these days - The Zen of Steve Jobs,
Let us get one thing straight right off - this is not your conventional 'the story of Steve Jobs' kind of book. Instead, it focuses on the impact a Zen Buddhist priest had on the way Jobs thought. This was Kobun Chino Otogawa. Known popularly as Steve Jobs' Zen teacher, Otogawa had a rather radical approach to Buddhism (he refused to be referred to as 'Sensei') and like Jobs, was very interested in design.
The Zen of Steve Jobs looks at the relationship between this Zen teacher and the Apple CEO. It is not chronologically written, and goes back and forth in time from the eighties to the 2000s. It is written by Caleb Melby, a well-known name in investigative journalism, and has been illustrated by famous creative agency Jess3. The book has been made in collaboration with Forbes and has a quiet, minimalistic look with hardly any colours, that we think Jobs would have liked (the book was released in 2012, after his death)
The Zen of Steve Jobs revolves around some incidents, highlighting the relationship between Otogawa and Jobs, and the impact they had. The story roughly is placed around the time when Jobs left Apple and lasts till the launch of the iPod and the death of Otogawa, who perished trying to save his daughter from drowning in 2002. And take it from us, it is compelling reading if you are interested in the mind of Steve Jobs, and how it worked.
One of the most impressive passages is when Otogawa teaches a slightly petulant Steve Jobs the important of being patient and meditating. "I need to work and you have me walking around f**king rocks," Jobs snaps at a smiling Otogawa. Of course, he finally understands what his teacher is trying to tell him. And he takes it with him when he returns to Apple in 1997.
This is a book that you are going to finish in about an hour and keep going back to again and again, simply because it presents so much depth with so much simplicity. There are illustrations that will make you smile, and some that will bring a tear to your eye. At the end of it, you might not know when Steve Jobs was born and when he died and what he launched but you might end up with an idea of how his mind worked and who influenced it.
It is a simple and yet very intense book. The kind that will make you think. You can get the details of Jobs' life in many places, but The Zen of Steve Jobs takes you into a tour of his mind. Which is why we think you need to read it.
Of course, there is no guarantee that the book has got Jobs' mind right. The man was after all, intensely private, and only he knows what went on inside his head. But if you are interested in Steve Jobs (and design), this is one book you have to read. Getting copies of it is not easy, but take our word for it, once you have read it, you will be carrying it with you everywhere. Just remember, this is a book for those who know a bit about Jobs. It is not a story of his life. It is a story of his mind. And how a Zen teacher changed it,