Review of 'iWoz' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Woz has amazingly distinctive writing style - so distinctive it might be distracting. Woz has spent the last several years teaching fifth graders, and most of the rest of his life explaining some pretty fantastic electronic designs to people whose background was not electronics. So, the book has a tone of being written in a highly converstional style seemingly for a fifth grader to read. I didn't get the impression that this was exactly intentional, just the way that Woz wrote.
Once you get past that, the book is reasonable. Some people have complained that Woz is rather egotistical, and there are times when I was reading the book when I might agree with that. However, you build the Apple I, the Apple II, and the first marketed teachable infrared remote control, and then I'll listen to your critic on ego. Woz deserves to be a bit egotistical. He's changed …
Woz has amazingly distinctive writing style - so distinctive it might be distracting. Woz has spent the last several years teaching fifth graders, and most of the rest of his life explaining some pretty fantastic electronic designs to people whose background was not electronics. So, the book has a tone of being written in a highly converstional style seemingly for a fifth grader to read. I didn't get the impression that this was exactly intentional, just the way that Woz wrote.
Once you get past that, the book is reasonable. Some people have complained that Woz is rather egotistical, and there are times when I was reading the book when I might agree with that. However, you build the Apple I, the Apple II, and the first marketed teachable infrared remote control, and then I'll listen to your critic on ego. Woz deserves to be a bit egotistical. He's changed the world in a more solid manner than convincing people that they need boob jobs in order to have a fulfilling life.
This book is for a general audience, perhaps even a kid's audience. Woz explains what RAM is, for instance, so there may be sections of the book that really are somewhat boring to those of us who have put together packet radio circuits on breadboards.
But if you're looking for the real story of how Apple get its initial success by the person who actually did it, this is the book.
