Tuesday, May 8, 2012
"Bringing Up Bebe" by Pamela Druckerman
"Bringing Up Bebe-One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting" is another book that provided me with insights into culturally diverse parenting styles. As an American expat,the author, Pamela Druckerman, gave birth and raised three young children in Paris. She comments on French parents' approach to several parenting issues including: breastfeeding, meals, sleep patterns, daycare, stay-home moms v. working moms, and discipline.
Druckermann appears to percieve French parenting styles as effective within most realms. My opinion is more mixed. Unlike my admiration for several cultural parenting styles highlighted in "How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm" by Mei-Ling Hopgood, I find only a few of the French parenting approaches "interesting" and have difficulty relating to several of the other French approaches.
I am most fascinated and interested in attempting to incorporate, French parents approach to food. In general, French children tend to be less "picky" eaters when compared to American children. Parents introduce their infants at six months to diverse fruits and vegetables, as opposed to American infants introduction to solid food- rice cereal. In order to increase the likelihood that infants will accept different produce, initially rejected foods are re-introduced a little at a time. As they grow older, young French children are expected to share in the adult meal as opposed to having a seperate "kiddie" meals. Also, French children tend to be less disruptive during mealtimes, less likely to refuse food, due to a more healthy appetite since they are served less snacks throughout the day when compared with typical American children. Furthermore, withholding treats (such as desserts and other sugar based snacks) is not encouraged but is allowed in moderation. I have heard this approach before since complete denial of certain foods leads to binge eating when encountering the denied food in a social situation.
I am not as supportive to French parents earlier approach to feeding, specifically breast feeding. While I completely respect that the choice to breastfeed or not is a highly personal choice which is not only not suitable. but may not be biologically feasible, for every mother I am a strong advocate for the nutritional benefits of breastmilk. However, according to the book, it seems that French parents do not place as much emphasis and importance on breastfeeding. One French pediatrician reports that although he explains the science and benefits of breastfeeding to new mothers, "three quarters of the people I work with in the hospital don't believe that breast milk is healthier than formula. They think there is no difference." This results in " a bit more than half ( French mothers) are still nursing when they leave the maternity hospital and most abandon it altogether soon after that." This is compared to America, where "74 percent of mothers do at least some breastfeeding and a third are still nursing exclusively at four months." Not only is the breastfeeding culture more prevalent in America, but mothers seem to receive more external support in the form of lactation consultants and mother support groups.
Another area of personal choice is the choice be a stay-at-home or working mother. Again, I fully respect an individual mothers's choice and am accepting of either choice. This appears to not be the case in France where the vast majority of college educated mothers return to work and tend to look down upon college educated mothers who stay at home as having an inferior social status. As a college-educated mother who is choosing to be a stay-at-home mother, I find this mindset very offensive.
One contributing factor in French mothers choice to continue working, is France's goverment subsidized daycare known as "creches". Creches are geographically prevalent throughout France and provide high quality, affordable child care. Teacher to child ratios are low and caregivers are respected, well-educated professionals.
While I have read several parenting books, I am hesitant in committing to one or more approaches prior to our daughter's arrival since I recognize that no one approach is the "best for your child" and parenting involves flexibility along with trial and error. One controversial area in which experts vie for the conveted spot of solving parents "problems" is the area of sleep managment. According to this book, the majority of French infants sleep through the night by three to four months. Some of the tips French parents offers in order to accomplish this "miraculous feat" is in "the early months, they keep their babies with them in the light during the day, even for naps, and put them to bed in the dark at night." and "give your baby a chance to self-sooth, don't automatically respond, even from birth." Based on the literature I read, while I see validity to these points and admire parents ability to manage a child sleep pattern, I do question whether young infants have the cognitive and emotional maturity to self-soothe themselves.
Finally, the books depicts French children as being generally well-behaved and respectful. This is primarily due to the parents authorative parenting style, where "no" means "no" with no room for debate or argument. In particular, I admire French parents stress upon respect for other adults. When an adult family friend visits, French children are expected to come out and greet the adult visitor. Unfortunately, this rule is not consistently expected in every American households especially when a child enters the "awkward" pre-adolescence stage and beyond. Another admirable parenting approach is teaching children to "wait", the importance of patience. Patience is a virtue that should be taught early and all of children's demands should not be instantaneously met at the expense of structure and inappropriate interruptions in social situations. A French psychologist advises that "parents should stay in close communication with the child, by embracing him or looking him in the eye. But she must make him realize that he can't have everything right away" . If a child consquently gets frustrated, this is acceptable, since "kids will be damaged if they can't cope with frustration. They (French parents) treat coping with frustration as a core life skill."
"Bringing Up Bebe" book had a more narrative style and included more anecdotal support rather than theoretical support of French parenting approaches when compared to "How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm". Also, some of the information presented in each chapter were redundant and not as well organized as "How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm". However, overally "Bringing Up Bebe" was a fascinating read in one of my primary area of reading interest, cultural studies of international parenting styles.
Druckermann appears to percieve French parenting styles as effective within most realms. My opinion is more mixed. Unlike my admiration for several cultural parenting styles highlighted in "How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm" by Mei-Ling Hopgood, I find only a few of the French parenting approaches "interesting" and have difficulty relating to several of the other French approaches.
I am most fascinated and interested in attempting to incorporate, French parents approach to food. In general, French children tend to be less "picky" eaters when compared to American children. Parents introduce their infants at six months to diverse fruits and vegetables, as opposed to American infants introduction to solid food- rice cereal. In order to increase the likelihood that infants will accept different produce, initially rejected foods are re-introduced a little at a time. As they grow older, young French children are expected to share in the adult meal as opposed to having a seperate "kiddie" meals. Also, French children tend to be less disruptive during mealtimes, less likely to refuse food, due to a more healthy appetite since they are served less snacks throughout the day when compared with typical American children. Furthermore, withholding treats (such as desserts and other sugar based snacks) is not encouraged but is allowed in moderation. I have heard this approach before since complete denial of certain foods leads to binge eating when encountering the denied food in a social situation.
I am not as supportive to French parents earlier approach to feeding, specifically breast feeding. While I completely respect that the choice to breastfeed or not is a highly personal choice which is not only not suitable. but may not be biologically feasible, for every mother I am a strong advocate for the nutritional benefits of breastmilk. However, according to the book, it seems that French parents do not place as much emphasis and importance on breastfeeding. One French pediatrician reports that although he explains the science and benefits of breastfeeding to new mothers, "three quarters of the people I work with in the hospital don't believe that breast milk is healthier than formula. They think there is no difference." This results in " a bit more than half ( French mothers) are still nursing when they leave the maternity hospital and most abandon it altogether soon after that." This is compared to America, where "74 percent of mothers do at least some breastfeeding and a third are still nursing exclusively at four months." Not only is the breastfeeding culture more prevalent in America, but mothers seem to receive more external support in the form of lactation consultants and mother support groups.
Another area of personal choice is the choice be a stay-at-home or working mother. Again, I fully respect an individual mothers's choice and am accepting of either choice. This appears to not be the case in France where the vast majority of college educated mothers return to work and tend to look down upon college educated mothers who stay at home as having an inferior social status. As a college-educated mother who is choosing to be a stay-at-home mother, I find this mindset very offensive.
One contributing factor in French mothers choice to continue working, is France's goverment subsidized daycare known as "creches". Creches are geographically prevalent throughout France and provide high quality, affordable child care. Teacher to child ratios are low and caregivers are respected, well-educated professionals.
While I have read several parenting books, I am hesitant in committing to one or more approaches prior to our daughter's arrival since I recognize that no one approach is the "best for your child" and parenting involves flexibility along with trial and error. One controversial area in which experts vie for the conveted spot of solving parents "problems" is the area of sleep managment. According to this book, the majority of French infants sleep through the night by three to four months. Some of the tips French parents offers in order to accomplish this "miraculous feat" is in "the early months, they keep their babies with them in the light during the day, even for naps, and put them to bed in the dark at night." and "give your baby a chance to self-sooth, don't automatically respond, even from birth." Based on the literature I read, while I see validity to these points and admire parents ability to manage a child sleep pattern, I do question whether young infants have the cognitive and emotional maturity to self-soothe themselves.
Finally, the books depicts French children as being generally well-behaved and respectful. This is primarily due to the parents authorative parenting style, where "no" means "no" with no room for debate or argument. In particular, I admire French parents stress upon respect for other adults. When an adult family friend visits, French children are expected to come out and greet the adult visitor. Unfortunately, this rule is not consistently expected in every American households especially when a child enters the "awkward" pre-adolescence stage and beyond. Another admirable parenting approach is teaching children to "wait", the importance of patience. Patience is a virtue that should be taught early and all of children's demands should not be instantaneously met at the expense of structure and inappropriate interruptions in social situations. A French psychologist advises that "parents should stay in close communication with the child, by embracing him or looking him in the eye. But she must make him realize that he can't have everything right away" . If a child consquently gets frustrated, this is acceptable, since "kids will be damaged if they can't cope with frustration. They (French parents) treat coping with frustration as a core life skill."
"Bringing Up Bebe" book had a more narrative style and included more anecdotal support rather than theoretical support of French parenting approaches when compared to "How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm". Also, some of the information presented in each chapter were redundant and not as well organized as "How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm". However, overally "Bringing Up Bebe" was a fascinating read in one of my primary area of reading interest, cultural studies of international parenting styles.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
"Lucky Girl" by Mei-Ling Hopgood
Following Mei-Ling Hopgood's highly satisfying read "How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm", I decided to learn about her personal journey through her memoir "Lucky Girl". "Lucky Girl" recounts Hopgood's discovery of her birth parents and family in Taiwan as a young adult, following a happy mid-western childhood raised by white American parents.
Unlike traditional birth parents discovery stories, Hoppgood does not glamorize her "reuinion" with her birth family. Not only does she face cultural barriers (i.e., language, customs and social differences), she must learn to adjust to the unique family dynamics. Over the years, family secrets slowly unravel including the existence of another sister who was born few years following Hopgood's birth and now lives with her adopted family in Switzerland, and her father's "second family" consisting of an illegitimate son and daughter. While she develops a bond with her birth sisters, the discovery of these secrets reinforces her revelation that she is indeed a "lucky girl" as she was saved from being raised by birth parents who did not appreciate the value of daughters and instead gained a second chance in life through her adopted parents unyeilding love.
Mei-Ling Hopgood ends her fascinating and honest memoir with her feelings about her seven month daughter. Unlike her birth parents, she not only values but treasures her daughter. As she recalls her daughter's birth, she can not fathom how anyone other than herself could take better care of her daughter. She is in awe of "how intimately the rhythms of mother and daughter are intertwined". As I await the impending birth of our daughter, even as I feel her move inside me, I too reflect upon how much she will be treasured and loved.
Unlike traditional birth parents discovery stories, Hoppgood does not glamorize her "reuinion" with her birth family. Not only does she face cultural barriers (i.e., language, customs and social differences), she must learn to adjust to the unique family dynamics. Over the years, family secrets slowly unravel including the existence of another sister who was born few years following Hopgood's birth and now lives with her adopted family in Switzerland, and her father's "second family" consisting of an illegitimate son and daughter. While she develops a bond with her birth sisters, the discovery of these secrets reinforces her revelation that she is indeed a "lucky girl" as she was saved from being raised by birth parents who did not appreciate the value of daughters and instead gained a second chance in life through her adopted parents unyeilding love.
Mei-Ling Hopgood ends her fascinating and honest memoir with her feelings about her seven month daughter. Unlike her birth parents, she not only values but treasures her daughter. As she recalls her daughter's birth, she can not fathom how anyone other than herself could take better care of her daughter. She is in awe of "how intimately the rhythms of mother and daughter are intertwined". As I await the impending birth of our daughter, even as I feel her move inside me, I too reflect upon how much she will be treasured and loved.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
" How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm and Other Adventures in Parenting" by Mei-Ling Hopgood
As I prepare for motherhood, of course I rely on books a key source of information. I not only enjoy gaining practical knowledge from professionals but also from those "in the trenches" i.e., mothers as they share their personal trials, tribulations, and joys of motherhood. I am culturally curious about not only our shared commonalities but how much we can learn from other cultures. Therefore, I could not resist a book, such as this one, that discussed parenting approaches from around the world.
Like me, the author comes from a multi-ethnic background. While she is also Asian, she did not learn about her Asian heritage until later in life as she was raised by Caucasian parents in Michigan and only as a young adult returned to Taiwan to meet her biological parents. Her daughter, like our daughter, is bi-racial with an Asian mother and a Caucasian father. While this is definitely not a requirement, her multi-ethnic background sparks her curiousity about multiculturalism. This is revealed in her attempts to incorporate multicultural parenting approaches into her own parenting style. Futhermore, she references different professional sources' (research studies, experts in pediatric care) to validate or refute different parenting approaches.
Obviously, one needs to take into consideration individuality and one can not assume these cultural parenting approaches apply to every parent within a certain culture; however, many of these approaches are culturally specific perspectives that are embraced by many parents within the culture.
Below is a brief summary of different culture's parenting approaches and its application to modern American parents:
* "How Buenos Aires Teach Their Children to Go to Bed Late"- Unlike most American parents who enforce strict sleep schedules for their children, Argentine parents tend to be more lenient and in fact, encourage their children to stay up late. It is not uncommon see young children wide awake and alert as as their parents socialize with friends at restaurants during late dinners. Medical research strongly supports young childrens' need for sleep to promote neurological, physical and emotional well-being. Argentine parents claim they make up for late bedtime with late wake-up times since preschool tend to start later in the day; however, it is not possible for Americans to create such a schedule making this Argentine practice non-viable. However, I do admire the Argentine cultural social norm that views children as an active participant rather then a burden in public places. The author gave examples of social public restaurants (such as in crowded restaurants) where staff members and other patrons do not look at crying, upset children with scorn and embarrassment, instead provide physical and emotional support to parents if needed.
* " "How the French Teach Their Children to Love Healthy Food"- The author introduces this chapter and illustrates this practice with a rural French elementary school that offers their students meals and snacks made from produce grown in its own garden. Although clearly this school is not representative of all French schools, I do like their policy that every child should try a certain produce at least "twice" before refusing to eat it. Eating healthy, non-processed foods is a practice that more modern American parents embrace, when compared to twenty to thirty years ago so while the French set a good example, it is not an entirely novel, culturally specific practice. In addition encouraging children to eat healthy food, the French also respect the sanctity of family mealtimes with the belief "If you value your food and food time, then your child will. If eating is simply something you have to do, between everything else you have to cram into your day, that is probably how your child will think as well." With our busy, fast-based lives and over dependence/attachment to portable electronic devices, unfortunately family mealtimes with uninterupted conversation is not a common practice in many American households. This is a practice that should be embraced to promote family bonding and support, critical to the family units' emotional strength and well being.
* " How the Kenyans Live Without Strollers"- Early in the chapter, the author points out that the use of strollers is not condusive for every society for several reasons including cost and poor quality roads. Consequently, many of these societies depend on alternative means of transporting their infants including baby carriers and slings. While the use of baby carriers and slings are growing, as a society we still overly depend on the use of strollers to transport our young children and although strollers are often practical, we must not ignore the many benefits of carrying babies close to our bodies. Babies who are carried in their parents arms or in a baby carriers receive vestibular stimulation which improves cognitive skills, parent-child attachment and postural development which affects the child's motor development. Studies have also shown that babies who are frequently carried by their mother tend to cry less then "independant" babies who spend most of the day in a crib, stroller or playpen.
* "How Lebanese Families Keep Their Families Close"- Not only Lebanese families, but many other ethnic groups are strong proponents of extended families who live in close proximity or in joint families, where extended family members live in the same house. Unfortunately, job opportunites do not make this option feasible to many families. This chapter identifies the several advantages families have when they live in close proximity including: deep rootedness, security, support and kinship, as a result children are often more emotionally well-adjusted.
* " How the Japanese Let Their Children Play- While Japanese parents and teachers supervise their children during play, they typically take a "back seat" when dealing with childrens' squabbles and fights, whereas American adults are typically quick to intervene. Children in Japan are encouraged to independantly resolve conflicts. Furthermore, the motivation not to fight signficantly differs between American and Japanese cultures, a comparative study between American and Japanese children revealed that while 92 percent of American children did not fight in order to avoid getting "caught and punsished", 90 percent of Japanese children stated that they did not want to "hurt other children or cause them to feel guilt or shame." Specifically, American children often are taught not to engage in conflict or agressive behavior in order to avoid extrinsic punishment (such as, "time-outs", loss of personal priveleges, verbal reprimands etc.), whereas, Japanese children learn intrinsic consequences of such behavior (including personal embarrassment, shame, and guilt in addition to empathizing with the victim's feelings). While adult nonintervention may not always be appropriate (especially during physical conflicts), teaching children the intrinsic consequences of their behavior may result in lasting, long-term conflict resolution and prevention.
* How Mayan Villages Put their Children to Work- Children in rural hunting-gathering societies typically spend a large portion of their day helping their parents with household and field chores. While of course most American children do not have the opportunity to engage in such chores, this chapter encourages our childrens' increased involvement in daily, routine household tasks (such as cooking, washing, dishes, gardenwork etc.) as "work not only serves the function of helping but enables children to learn they must grow up and be motivated workers.". In other works, it helps build responsiblity and work ethic. A long-term study of young adults determined that "the best predictor of young adults' success in their mid-20s was that they participated in household tasks when they were three or four." The study revealed that early participation in household tasks taught them "competence, self-reliance and self-worth that stayed with them throughout their lives."
* "How Asians Learn to Excel in School"- In general, Asian-American students, often outperform their peers and according to this chapter this is attributed to the value their parents place on academic achievement, in additon, to "differences in student motivation (how much they want to succeed), effort (how hard they exert themselves) and behavior (how much they devote to their studies)." While many Asian parents can be very strict and demanding regarding academic success, parents should maintain a healthy balance of setting standards and encouragement. Furthermore, research has revealed the importance of parental approach towards motivating childrens' academic success, showing how "encouraging a child to work harder can have a greater impact on success than inflating his ego by telling him he's smart." In other words, children intrensically should be encouraged to problem-solve and persevere.
Like me, the author comes from a multi-ethnic background. While she is also Asian, she did not learn about her Asian heritage until later in life as she was raised by Caucasian parents in Michigan and only as a young adult returned to Taiwan to meet her biological parents. Her daughter, like our daughter, is bi-racial with an Asian mother and a Caucasian father. While this is definitely not a requirement, her multi-ethnic background sparks her curiousity about multiculturalism. This is revealed in her attempts to incorporate multicultural parenting approaches into her own parenting style. Futhermore, she references different professional sources' (research studies, experts in pediatric care) to validate or refute different parenting approaches.
Obviously, one needs to take into consideration individuality and one can not assume these cultural parenting approaches apply to every parent within a certain culture; however, many of these approaches are culturally specific perspectives that are embraced by many parents within the culture.
Below is a brief summary of different culture's parenting approaches and its application to modern American parents:
* "How Buenos Aires Teach Their Children to Go to Bed Late"- Unlike most American parents who enforce strict sleep schedules for their children, Argentine parents tend to be more lenient and in fact, encourage their children to stay up late. It is not uncommon see young children wide awake and alert as as their parents socialize with friends at restaurants during late dinners. Medical research strongly supports young childrens' need for sleep to promote neurological, physical and emotional well-being. Argentine parents claim they make up for late bedtime with late wake-up times since preschool tend to start later in the day; however, it is not possible for Americans to create such a schedule making this Argentine practice non-viable. However, I do admire the Argentine cultural social norm that views children as an active participant rather then a burden in public places. The author gave examples of social public restaurants (such as in crowded restaurants) where staff members and other patrons do not look at crying, upset children with scorn and embarrassment, instead provide physical and emotional support to parents if needed.
* " "How the French Teach Their Children to Love Healthy Food"- The author introduces this chapter and illustrates this practice with a rural French elementary school that offers their students meals and snacks made from produce grown in its own garden. Although clearly this school is not representative of all French schools, I do like their policy that every child should try a certain produce at least "twice" before refusing to eat it. Eating healthy, non-processed foods is a practice that more modern American parents embrace, when compared to twenty to thirty years ago so while the French set a good example, it is not an entirely novel, culturally specific practice. In addition encouraging children to eat healthy food, the French also respect the sanctity of family mealtimes with the belief "If you value your food and food time, then your child will. If eating is simply something you have to do, between everything else you have to cram into your day, that is probably how your child will think as well." With our busy, fast-based lives and over dependence/attachment to portable electronic devices, unfortunately family mealtimes with uninterupted conversation is not a common practice in many American households. This is a practice that should be embraced to promote family bonding and support, critical to the family units' emotional strength and well being.
* " How the Kenyans Live Without Strollers"- Early in the chapter, the author points out that the use of strollers is not condusive for every society for several reasons including cost and poor quality roads. Consequently, many of these societies depend on alternative means of transporting their infants including baby carriers and slings. While the use of baby carriers and slings are growing, as a society we still overly depend on the use of strollers to transport our young children and although strollers are often practical, we must not ignore the many benefits of carrying babies close to our bodies. Babies who are carried in their parents arms or in a baby carriers receive vestibular stimulation which improves cognitive skills, parent-child attachment and postural development which affects the child's motor development. Studies have also shown that babies who are frequently carried by their mother tend to cry less then "independant" babies who spend most of the day in a crib, stroller or playpen.
* "How Lebanese Families Keep Their Families Close"- Not only Lebanese families, but many other ethnic groups are strong proponents of extended families who live in close proximity or in joint families, where extended family members live in the same house. Unfortunately, job opportunites do not make this option feasible to many families. This chapter identifies the several advantages families have when they live in close proximity including: deep rootedness, security, support and kinship, as a result children are often more emotionally well-adjusted.
* " How the Japanese Let Their Children Play- While Japanese parents and teachers supervise their children during play, they typically take a "back seat" when dealing with childrens' squabbles and fights, whereas American adults are typically quick to intervene. Children in Japan are encouraged to independantly resolve conflicts. Furthermore, the motivation not to fight signficantly differs between American and Japanese cultures, a comparative study between American and Japanese children revealed that while 92 percent of American children did not fight in order to avoid getting "caught and punsished", 90 percent of Japanese children stated that they did not want to "hurt other children or cause them to feel guilt or shame." Specifically, American children often are taught not to engage in conflict or agressive behavior in order to avoid extrinsic punishment (such as, "time-outs", loss of personal priveleges, verbal reprimands etc.), whereas, Japanese children learn intrinsic consequences of such behavior (including personal embarrassment, shame, and guilt in addition to empathizing with the victim's feelings). While adult nonintervention may not always be appropriate (especially during physical conflicts), teaching children the intrinsic consequences of their behavior may result in lasting, long-term conflict resolution and prevention.
* How Mayan Villages Put their Children to Work- Children in rural hunting-gathering societies typically spend a large portion of their day helping their parents with household and field chores. While of course most American children do not have the opportunity to engage in such chores, this chapter encourages our childrens' increased involvement in daily, routine household tasks (such as cooking, washing, dishes, gardenwork etc.) as "work not only serves the function of helping but enables children to learn they must grow up and be motivated workers.". In other works, it helps build responsiblity and work ethic. A long-term study of young adults determined that "the best predictor of young adults' success in their mid-20s was that they participated in household tasks when they were three or four." The study revealed that early participation in household tasks taught them "competence, self-reliance and self-worth that stayed with them throughout their lives."
* "How Asians Learn to Excel in School"- In general, Asian-American students, often outperform their peers and according to this chapter this is attributed to the value their parents place on academic achievement, in additon, to "differences in student motivation (how much they want to succeed), effort (how hard they exert themselves) and behavior (how much they devote to their studies)." While many Asian parents can be very strict and demanding regarding academic success, parents should maintain a healthy balance of setting standards and encouragement. Furthermore, research has revealed the importance of parental approach towards motivating childrens' academic success, showing how "encouraging a child to work harder can have a greater impact on success than inflating his ego by telling him he's smart." In other words, children intrensically should be encouraged to problem-solve and persevere.
"Steve Jobs" by Walter Isaacson
I typically avoid reading biographies and prefer to read personal memoirs/autobiographies, since based on prior experience most biographies tend to be either too sensational (and I want to read the truth not fiction) or pedantic, like a text book filled with dry facts. Walter Isaacson's biography on the iconic Steve Jobs was refreshingly neither. Based on interviews with Steve Jobs and important players in his life, the book skillfully recounts Jobs' life and career. Inserted quotes,which vividly illustrate events and candidly captures both Jobs' and other's opinions or perspectives, throughout the text allows the book to read like a novel and provides credibility.
Jobs will be remembered as a visionary and genius in his creation of products that changed the way we view and manipulate our world. Isaacson's biography provides an insight into the origins and development of such revolutionary products as the Pixar animation technology, iPod, iPhone and iPad alongwith its noteworthy predecessors including Apple I & II, Apple Macintosh and iMac.
Of course, Jobs did not singlehandedly create these products. Guided by visionary and innovative strategic philosophies, his team of bright engineers and business leaders propelled these products. Jobs was ademant in creating a product-driven rather than a profit-driven (although ultimately high quality products yield long-term profits) company. At its core was his drive towards product innovation "Give customers what they want...our job is to figure out what they're going to want before they do." Guided by his design philosphopy "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication", he went to great lengths to avoid unnecessary parts, promote user friendlenes while maintaining style and functionality. To employees chagrin, this sometimes meant very last minute changes to the product because he didn't like the product's shape, color or feel.
Job strove for perfection and placed high, sometimes unreasonable, demands upon his employees. He spoke his mind, believing it was his "job to be honest. I know what I'm talking about and usuallly I'm right.". However, he was known to distort reality, verbally abuse employees and collegues, engage in tantrums and irratically change his mind (i.e., one day he would outright reject and critisize someone's idea, while the next day he would embrace and often claim the same idea as his own.) However, ultimately he viewed his behavior as a means to an end "As every day passes, the work fifty people are doing here is going to send a giant ripple through the universe. I know I might be a little hard to get along with, but this is the most fun thing I have done in my life." When he asked his former human resources director, Ann Bowers, to describe his behavior during Apple's early days she aptly responded "You were very impetuous and very difficult. But your vision was compelling. You told us, "The journey is the reward." That turned out to be true."
Jobs' competitors may not have as readily accepted his volatile temperament, including his most public "rival" Microsoft's founder and CEO, Bill Gates. Apple and Microsoft always maintained completely different technological and business models. Apple had a closed system; while Microsoft had an open system.Both Jobs and Gates asserted their company's model was far superior to the other and they were known to publicly scoff at each other's ideologies and products. In fact, the intense rivalry is what ultimately sparked the birth of the iPad. Job learned from a boastful member of Microsoft's design team that Microsoft had plans to create a tablet operated by a stylus. This fueled the birth of the IPad, as Jobs became determined to beat his competition with a far superior product that did not require a stylus, which Jobs deemed as an unnecessary and ineffective tool. This product would be a multi-touch device with an onscreen keyboard, thus eliminating the need for a mouse or stylus. It was touching that they finally put their rivalry assise and reached a common ground during Gates visit to Jobs in his final days. At this meeting, they discussed their shared committment to their families and their shared vision for increased integration of computers and eduction. Even more surprising, they finally acknowledged each others' business model strengths with Gates admitting "I used to believe that the open model would prevail. But you prove that the integrated vertical model could also be great." and Jobs responding "Your model worked too."
Isaacson brought to light key events and episodes in Jobs' life such as his high school and college days, drug use and quest for spirtualism in India. He also shared his relationships with close friends (including his Steve Wozniak, college friends, signficiant romantic relationships) and family (his illegitimate daughter,his biological and adopted parents, his biological sister). While many readers may have been disappointed that Isaacson did not delve deeply into Jobs' personal relationships like most "tell-all" biographies, Isaascon mantained a dignified balance between revealing the truth and preserving respective for Jobs' family.
Ultmimately, Isaacson portrayed a candid, insightful look into one of this century's geniuses. Readers will not only acquire knowledge of his often egocentric ideocyncracies and volitile relationships, but more importantly his brilliant vision and unrelenting drive for excellence.
Jobs will be remembered as a visionary and genius in his creation of products that changed the way we view and manipulate our world. Isaacson's biography provides an insight into the origins and development of such revolutionary products as the Pixar animation technology, iPod, iPhone and iPad alongwith its noteworthy predecessors including Apple I & II, Apple Macintosh and iMac.
Of course, Jobs did not singlehandedly create these products. Guided by visionary and innovative strategic philosophies, his team of bright engineers and business leaders propelled these products. Jobs was ademant in creating a product-driven rather than a profit-driven (although ultimately high quality products yield long-term profits) company. At its core was his drive towards product innovation "Give customers what they want...our job is to figure out what they're going to want before they do." Guided by his design philosphopy "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication", he went to great lengths to avoid unnecessary parts, promote user friendlenes while maintaining style and functionality. To employees chagrin, this sometimes meant very last minute changes to the product because he didn't like the product's shape, color or feel.
Job strove for perfection and placed high, sometimes unreasonable, demands upon his employees. He spoke his mind, believing it was his "job to be honest. I know what I'm talking about and usuallly I'm right.". However, he was known to distort reality, verbally abuse employees and collegues, engage in tantrums and irratically change his mind (i.e., one day he would outright reject and critisize someone's idea, while the next day he would embrace and often claim the same idea as his own.) However, ultimately he viewed his behavior as a means to an end "As every day passes, the work fifty people are doing here is going to send a giant ripple through the universe. I know I might be a little hard to get along with, but this is the most fun thing I have done in my life." When he asked his former human resources director, Ann Bowers, to describe his behavior during Apple's early days she aptly responded "You were very impetuous and very difficult. But your vision was compelling. You told us, "The journey is the reward." That turned out to be true."
Jobs' competitors may not have as readily accepted his volatile temperament, including his most public "rival" Microsoft's founder and CEO, Bill Gates. Apple and Microsoft always maintained completely different technological and business models. Apple had a closed system; while Microsoft had an open system.Both Jobs and Gates asserted their company's model was far superior to the other and they were known to publicly scoff at each other's ideologies and products. In fact, the intense rivalry is what ultimately sparked the birth of the iPad. Job learned from a boastful member of Microsoft's design team that Microsoft had plans to create a tablet operated by a stylus. This fueled the birth of the IPad, as Jobs became determined to beat his competition with a far superior product that did not require a stylus, which Jobs deemed as an unnecessary and ineffective tool. This product would be a multi-touch device with an onscreen keyboard, thus eliminating the need for a mouse or stylus. It was touching that they finally put their rivalry assise and reached a common ground during Gates visit to Jobs in his final days. At this meeting, they discussed their shared committment to their families and their shared vision for increased integration of computers and eduction. Even more surprising, they finally acknowledged each others' business model strengths with Gates admitting "I used to believe that the open model would prevail. But you prove that the integrated vertical model could also be great." and Jobs responding "Your model worked too."
Isaacson brought to light key events and episodes in Jobs' life such as his high school and college days, drug use and quest for spirtualism in India. He also shared his relationships with close friends (including his Steve Wozniak, college friends, signficiant romantic relationships) and family (his illegitimate daughter,his biological and adopted parents, his biological sister). While many readers may have been disappointed that Isaacson did not delve deeply into Jobs' personal relationships like most "tell-all" biographies, Isaascon mantained a dignified balance between revealing the truth and preserving respective for Jobs' family.
Ultmimately, Isaacson portrayed a candid, insightful look into one of this century's geniuses. Readers will not only acquire knowledge of his often egocentric ideocyncracies and volitile relationships, but more importantly his brilliant vision and unrelenting drive for excellence.
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