Surely I can't be the only person that wants to just read the book without having Isaacson spill all the beans before my copy comes in the mail. With each one of these excerpts he teases I lose more and more respect for the man. He's riding this thing pretty high and it's starting to be in bad taste.
This is already one of the most anticipated biographies ever. There's not really any need to seek more attention.
It's not exactly fair to put that on the author. Authors have publishers and it's my understanding that publishers require publicity. It's in the contract. Maybe Walter could try to take a moral stand, but I'm not going to blame him for not rocking the boat here.
Anyway, I've been able to relate some of the book excerpts to friends who previously weren't planning to read the book but now plan to. And as for this 60 minutes interview, I'm truly looking forward to hearing some of the excerpts in Jobs' own words on tape, which isn't something that could be included in the book anyway.
To be fair I agree with the notion of publisher driven publicity. Perhaps he's obligated.
I suppose my real problem is that the contents of the book are being pieced out to the media before it is available. From my past reading about Jobs this kind of frenzy wouldn't seem to suit his tastes, and you can be damn sure he'd be pissed about information leaking prior to release. I stand by the "bad taste" statement as there is strong evidence that the subject of Isaacson's work wouldn't appreciate what he's doing.
When you're selling a product, there's always the need to seek more attention. We all cared about Steve but this book is a product that is intended to be sold.
Lose respect? Cut him some slack. He has worked hard on the biography and is promoting it ahead of release. It's what people do prior to the release of a book, movie, startup, etc. Should he be hiding out under a rock or something? It's on you to avoid articles about the book if you think they will spoil your reading experience.
I don't think it's a foregone conclusion that Isaacson is "seeking more attention."
I think the attention-people (media) are begging for his early words and competing intensely for his time/words. The publisher may also have some stipulation in Isaacson's contract about how available he is to make himself to interviews with media outlets. Not saying I have evidence that's the way it's going down - just that such factors are at least as arguable as a hypothesis that Isaacson is an attention-monger.
Um, authors going on tours shortly before and after the publication of their books is a pretty age-old tradition. In fact, it may be something mandated in his contract. And guess what, not everyone is you and not everyone was so interested in Jobs that they pre-ordered the book.
This is already one of the most anticipated biographies ever. There's not really any need to seek more attention.