Walter Isaacson

Walter Isaacson was an influential biographer whose 2011 book on Apple co-founder Steve Jobs rose to become an international best-seller. Born and raised in New Orleans, the young Isaacson quickly distinguished himself a standout student. He was eventually accepted into Harvard University, and left Louisiana at 18 to attend the esteemed university. While studying at Harvard, Isaacson wrote for the university's humor publication, The Harvard Lampoon. Isaacson earned his B.A. from the University in 1974, and was awarded a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship after graduation. By the mid-1970s, Isaacson began his career as a journalist, working first for his hometown newspaper, the New Orleans Times-Picayune, and then moving over to Time Magazine in 1978. He authored his first biography, The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made in 1986, and over the next several years, divided his time between writing for Time, and authoring biographies on some of history's most influential figures. Throughout the '90s and 2000s, Isaacson wrote best-selling biographies on Henry Kissinger, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Edison. Isaacson was named the Managing Editor of Time in 1996, but left the magazine in 2001 to become the CEO of CNN. Then in the late 2000s, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs approached Isaacson about writing his biography. Jobs had already been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and wanted to handpick his biographer. Although initially reticent, Isaacson eventually signed on to the project. He conducted over 40 interviews with Jobs, chronicling his humble upbringing in Northern California, to his rise as the CEO of one of the most influential tech companies of the 21st Century. When Steve Jobs was published in October of 2011, mere weeks after its subject succumbed to cancer, the book became an instant bestseller, shattering all previous sales records for biographies. The book was also bought by Sony Pictures, which commissioned Oscar winner Aaron Sorkin to adapt the book into a movie. In late 2014, however, Sony abruptly dropped the project. Universal Pictures picked up the project shortly thereafter in November of 2014. 2014 was also the year Isaacson published a new tech-themed biography called The Innovators: How a Group of Inventors, Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution. That book was also well-received upon its release in October of 2014.