Steve Jobs's Reading List
The 6 books that shaped Steve Jobs — co-founder of apple.
Visionary technologist who merged liberal arts with technology to create products that changed the world.
Influential Books
Autobiography of a Yogi
Paramahansa Yogananda(1946)
The only book on Jobs' personal iPad. He reread it every year and arranged for copies to be given out at his memorial.
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
Shunryu Suzuki(1970)
Shaped his approach to design and simplicity. "Beginner's mind" became a core Apple philosophy.
Diet for a Small Planet
Frances Moore Lappé(1971)
Influenced his lifelong vegetarianism and his belief that individual choices can change systems.
The Innovator's Dilemma
Clayton M. Christensen(1997)
Jobs called it the most important business book he'd ever read. It validated his instinct to cannibalize Apple's own products.
Moby Dick
Herman Melville(1851)
Jobs admired Melville's obsessive attention to detail and single-minded pursuit of greatness.
King Lear
William Shakespeare(1606)
A lifelong reference point for Jobs on power, legacy, and the consequences of ego.