Rating: 
Summary: Vicious
Review: Against it, it's way too long, spends a lot of time reiterating itself, and it's obvious that the author absolutely hates Steve Jobs, but on the other hand it's a rare history of Apple that isn't too blinded by love for the company's machines to notice that the company itself has been in bad shape ever since the Apple III. Both a rant about the awfulness of Jobs, and an engaging history of the company right up until the launch of the iMac, this is written from the point of view of somebody who once believed in the idea of Apple, until realising that there isn't one, really. It's quite a sad tale, too - the Apple of the 90's was its own worst enemy, hiring and firing CEOs with abandon and reorganising every six months, whilst churning out dull-looking white boxes which had neither the charm nor the power / price ratio of Apple's past and current line-up. The Apple of the 80's was misguided, too (the Apple 2, the company's cash-cow, was derided by Jobs and the team ostracised by the company), but can be forgiven simply for producing the most engaging user interface for a home computer. It's nice to see Steve Wozniak play a part - the standard Apple corporate history (for an example, see 'Appledesign') usually writes him out of the story during the creation of the Apple 2. Whether you like this book depends on whether your view of Apple - at the extremes of love and hate you'll either want to burn the book or ignore it, and in the middle-ground of distant admiration / distaste you'll find that the author is often as manipulative as the Steve Jobs presented within the text (he constantly uses hindsight to make the players appear ignorant). There are a couple of dodgy mistakes, too - mostly typos, but off-putting nonetheless - and the author has a habit of telling you something at the end of a section, and then telling you the same thing a paragraph later, as if he was desperate to pour the words out as quickly as possible. After a wobbly, petulant start it gets going, though, and the biggest drawback is a complete lack of illustrations - to this day, I still do not know what Michael Spindler looked like (something I share, it would appear, with many Apple employees).
Rating: 
Summary: Highly Recommended!
Review: Author Michael S. Malone goes behind the myths about Apple Computers to present an in-depth history from Apple's start-up in 1976 to its decline through 1998. He emphasizes that the personalities of Apple founders, Steven Jobs and Steven Wozniak (or Woz), marked Apple's corporate culture with a kind of insaneness that made it great even as it contributed to the company's difficulties. He presents the two Stevens as deeply flawed individuals - one the creative, socially inept, technical genius, the other the narcissistic, untrustworthy tyrant. In places, Malone risks introducing distortions into the story in the interest of drama, especially when he imagines what Woz or Jobs might have been thinking or why they may have taken certain actions. Otherwise, we at getAbstract say sit down in your easy chair with this novelistic business history. Even those who are familiar with the broad outlines of the Apple story will find it fascinating.
Rating:
Summary: A worthy history of Apple Computer
Review: Having been an Apple enthusiast since the Apple IIe, I was intrigued by this new history book an Apple Computer. I was very impressed with the scope of the book ranging from the earliest days of Jobs and Woz all the way to the iMac introduction.
What has been funny to see is that the author paints a dismal picture of the future of Apple and here they are thriving like they did in the old days. Now, if this is the handiwork of Steve Jobs, I do not know. I like Mr. Jobs, the author does not appear to like him. I believe that he was out of control in his younger days at Apple (pre-Sculley years), but that he has matured and grown up to be a VERY successful businessman (CEO of 2 Fortune 500 companies ain't bad).
I would definately recommend Infinite Loop to any of my friends. It is a slow read, and the timelines are out of sync. (You read about Spindler getting fired from Apple in the chapter before Spindler starting the ill-fated licensing of the MacOS.) I only remember the later timeline because I remember keeping up with it as it happened.
Rating:
Summary: A worthy history of Apple Computer
Review: Having been an Apple enthusiast since the Apple IIe, I was intrigued by this new history book an Apple Computer. I was very impressed with the scope of the book ranging from the earliest days of Jobs and Woz all the way to the iMac introduction.
What has been funny to see is that the author paints a dismal picture of the future of Apple and here they are thriving like they did in the old days. Now, if this is the handiwork of Steve Jobs, I do not know. I like Mr. Jobs, the author does not appear to like him. I believe that he was out of control in his younger days at Apple (pre-Sculley years), but that he has matured and grown up to be a VERY successful businessman (CEO of 2 Fortune 500 companies ain't bad).
I would definately recommend Infinite Loop to any of my friends. It is a slow read, and the timelines are out of sync. (You read about Spindler getting fired from Apple in the chapter before Spindler starting the ill-fated licensing of the MacOS.) I only remember the later timeline because I remember keeping up with it as it happened.
Rating:
Summary: Revealing, Informative, Interesting, Humorous
Review: I know that no book can be as accurate as real life. However, I like the fact that the author maintains a journalistic accuracy yet being a good storyteller, like finding humor, and presenting the events with geographical & chronological details. It is important for writing any corporate case study. What I like about this book specially that it covers Apple from many aspects, like the personalities involved, events, and technologies as they were being shaped, and other parallel events going on in other companies, and Silicon Valley. I can imagine that there must be a lot of work done by author to uncover those several glimpses, some of which are now about 2 decades old. The book gives due credit to Steve Wozniac and Jef Raskin. The importance of Steven Wozniac has always been undermined. If Woz weren't there, Steve Jobs would not be there either. What would have Jobs sold to begin with! Jobs could have never started a company and survived in a high-tech industry (till IPO ) without riding on the back of a tech-genius, simply because in high-tech industry it is the technical superiority that matters most. Regarding the negative criticism on Apple I think it is rational, simply because it has been proven by there own sales numbers and fact that companies like Microsoft, Compaq etc did a lot better despite that they were late beginners, in the game of Personal Computing. Atleast in last 15 years Apple had been good at making mere hype. It takes a lot more than that to succeed as a market leader than just producing cosmetic superiority and a good PR department. Hey guys, sometimes the computer really need to do the real work (like in banks, supermarkets, police, telephone exchanges, airline etc etc etc.), which has been always invisible to Apple'ites. Apple'ites have always been good to appreciate beauty because it just needs eyes, but have failed to appreciate inside technologies running the world, simply because, to appreciate those technologies, it takes (rarely found) brains.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely excellent
Review: I've read a number of books on Apple, Steve Jobs, and the early days of personal computing, but this one stands out as the most complete, compelling, consistent, and fair minded. Michael S. Malone tackles not only the entire history of the Jobs/Wozniak relationship and the history of Apple, but he also provides a lot of background information about the rest of the industry and what it was like in the Valley at various periods in the story. I've heard that 'The Little Kingdom' is considered to be the best Apple book out there, but it's near impossible to find. From my experience, Infinite Loop is definitely the best one and an outstanding history of the entire computer industry as well.
Rating:
Summary: Pleasant reading
Review: Just an excellent example of jibberish....
Rating:
Summary: An "Insanely Great" Book
Review: Let it be known that I'm not a Mac lover. I dislike ALL GUI's, including Windows. I still use DOS (a REAL operating system!) on my home PC, and will never use anything else. However, I've always liked rags-to-riches stories, and Apple's certainly qualifies. I've read just about every book on Apple there is, but this is definitely the best. The author has an uncanny ability--born of a real in-depth understanding of the industry-- to analyze and explain events, so that readers can make sense of them. When reading this book you'll feel not only like you were actually there at the time, but like you can simultaneously see into both the past and the future of Apple and the PC industry. You learn much more from reading this book than you could imagine. Malone is not afraid to tell the truth about Jobs--he had some value, but mostly he was a disaster. And Malone also knows enough to appreciate Woz's genius. (When is Woz going to get the Nobel Prize in electronics that he has always deserved?) This book would be a bargain at twice the price.
Rating:
Summary: Exquisitly Written
Review: Michael Malone did a pretty good job with this book. He has got an explosive combination of ingredients in this book: A perfect plot (Apple Computers History), amazing characters (Steve Jobs just as an example), Intrigue, Drama, Joy, and a lot more. Michael Malone mixed all this ingredients the right way, writting a very good novel/business book. He his sophisticated in his writting, yet very simplistic. I loved finishing the book understanding what he meant by infinite loop. I strongly advise you to find it out for yourself. You will not get disapointed and you will keep turning those pages very rapidly just like a good thriller. Don't get intimidated by the size of the book, or by the fact that is a corporate history book. In fact it is, but it could also be a science fiction novel. That's what is makes it so great.
Rating:
Summary: 600 pages and I read it twice
Review: Michael S. Malone's Infinite Loop: How The World's Most Insanely Great Computer Company Went Insane is the tale of a company that had it all - and blew it.In the early days of personal computers, Apple had superior technology and customers that displayed fanatical product loyalty. Its young founders became instant archetypes of the bravado and creativity that made the U.S. high-tech industry the envy of the world. But Jobs and Wozniak achieved too much too early in life, and Apple, it seems, lost its magic. From the unique vantage point of having grown up with Jobs and Wozniak, and having covered Apple for years as a journalist, Malone manages to tell a fascinating behind-the-scenes story of the world?s most insanely great company. As a technophile, I very much enjoyed this book. As a Mac addict I couldn?t help wanting to put my hands over my eyes and scream as I read about some of the company?s great blunders. No review would be complete without also noting that while Malone brings to this account authority and understanding of the big picture, his disgust with Steve Jobs at times oozes from the pages of this book. Still, Infinite Loop is a great read and the most comprehensive account of Apple Computer?s history. I also recommend The Little Kingdom by Michael Moritz (if you can find it).
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