Tech Titans

Biography Profile Series #3

by Carla Killough McClafferty

Full-color series-six bios in one!

It takes more than one person to bring about change and innovation. Explore the lives of the people who have had a huge impact on technology today. So much more than just your typical biography, TECH TITANS focuses on six of the most prominent figures in the technological world. This book includes all of the biographical information kids need to know (background, family, education, accomplishments, etc.) about Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Jeff Bezos--the men behind Windows, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Amazon! Photographs and quotes are interwoven throughout the text.

Genres: Biography, History, Technology

148 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2012

Reviews

[Valerie McEnroe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this book was published in 2012, it didn't feel outdated at all. It contains the bios of 6 pioneers in the tech industry: Bill Gates (Microsoft), Steve Jobs (Apple), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Sergery Brin and Larry Page (Google), and Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook). It's interesting because they all have about the same story. They were computer geniuses. Except for Steve Jobs, their parents had advanced degrees. They were all way smarter than all the other kids. Except for Bezos, none of them finished college. The book describes their paths to creating the top companies in the world. The companies were already huge in 2012, and nothing has changed dramatically since then, so still highly relevant. I can see a lot of kids being interested in it. Fairly short read.

[Zack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book for free in grade school. It is a decent read.

[Doris Mei · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was awesome. I think that the theme of this story was that even though you had a bad childhood, it doesn't mean that your life is over. In the book it says, " In third grade, Jobs still didn't like school. His reaction was to cause trouble. Jobs and his friend Rick set off explosives in the teacher's desk and let snakes loose" (31). I that shows that after third grade, Jobs decided to do something about hating the school, so he caused trouble. But who knew that Steve Jobs became a successful inventor. Unlike other people, Steve decided to change. He got inspired by his fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Hills. She showed him that there was more to life than causing trouble. I liked this book because I got to learn a lot about the inventors of the Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook. I learned that Mark Zuckerburg, owner of Facebook, was colorblind to red and green. Also, he chose blue for the color of the website because blue was the color that he could see the best.

[Kami · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very informational. I liked it because it taught me a lot of information that I never knew. It taught me to never give up. For example, Steve Jobs was kicked out of a company he co-founded. Although he didn't know what to do for while, he continued doing whatever he could. The text said, "Jobs led Pixar as they revolutionized the way animated movies are made today" (50). Even though Jobs felt crushed for getting kicked out of Apple, he still tried to do his best and he eventually helped Pixar. Also, only a few people believed in Jeff Bezos, yet he kept on trying. For example, Steve Jobs didn't even believe Bezos would be successful with his Kindle. The text said, "In 2010 Jobs introduced the Apple iPad, which can be used as an e-reader" (69). Bezos still introduced the world to the Kindle even though he was criticized. The same person that criticized him also created an e-reader. I wish the book had even more information for each person the author discussed. The book had a lot of information, just not a lot for each person it talked about. It was a great book to read.

[Fiona Chan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book was really good because it was interesting to see the past of these brilliant people. For example, Steve Jobs and his friend, Rick Farentino were troublemakers. In school, he let snakes loose, set off explosives in the teacher's desk, and switched everyone's bikes around. Also, Steve Jobs was adopted and his adopted parents had not graduated from college yet. Finally, Mike Bezos was not Jeff Bezos' biological father. Although some of these people had a bad childhood, they became pretty successful.

[Donna Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently read this book aloud to my husband as we drove to our spring break destination. While it left us both wanting to find out more about each of the tech leaders, it gave a good overview of each man and how his inventions and products have changed our world. This is a great little book for middle school students who are beginning to read biographies.

[Christie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's interesting to read about 6 top technology leaders. I especially enjoyed trying to find commonalities. I was considering buying a classroom set of this book, but felt like some of the treatments weren't fully developed. I also wondered if students would know of some of the men featured. (Note: They're all men.)

[Jose C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

html