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The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture, and Coolness
A Newsweek technology columnist traces the creation and popularity of the iPod, discusses such topics as Apple's unlikely position at the forefront of the technology, the iPod's role in changing the face of recorded music, and the contributions of CEO Steve Jobs and his team. 100,000 first printing.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published October 23, 2006
21 people are currently reading
1028 people want to read
About the author
Steven Levy
30 books702 followersSteven Levy is editor at large at Wired, and author of eight books, including the new Facebook: the Inside Story, the definitive history of that controversial company. His previous works include the legendary computer history Hackers, Artificial Life, the Unicorn 's Secret, In the Plex (the story of Google, chose as Amazon and Audible's best business book of 2011), and Crypto, which won the Frankfurt E-book Award for the best non-fiction book of 2001. He was previously the chief technology correspondent for Newsweek. He lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
March 19, 2012
If I have one complaint about the Steve Jobs' biography from Walter Isaacson, it's that certain topics could be not covered in sufficient depth. I understand why; the book was about the life and times of one of the most influential people in the last fifty years. Yet, while reading it, I couldn't help but want to know more about many things, not the least of which was the iPod.
Enter The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture, and Coolness by Steven Levy. This is a book about one thing and its cultural impact: the iPod. While the iPhone has arguably made its predecessor obsolete, Levy's book is a compelling trip down memory lane and a fascinating examination of Apple's first blockbuster, non-computer product.
While caught up in the iPod craze, I somehow missed interesting things Levy calls out, like the fact that The Pope actually used one. Levy is an excellent writer and I'll be buying his other books after this posts. The Perfect thing allows us, in retrospect, to appreciate Apple's truly game-changing product and its remarkable run. Buy it.
Enter The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture, and Coolness by Steven Levy. This is a book about one thing and its cultural impact: the iPod. While the iPhone has arguably made its predecessor obsolete, Levy's book is a compelling trip down memory lane and a fascinating examination of Apple's first blockbuster, non-computer product.
While caught up in the iPod craze, I somehow missed interesting things Levy calls out, like the fact that The Pope actually used one. Levy is an excellent writer and I'll be buying his other books after this posts. The Perfect thing allows us, in retrospect, to appreciate Apple's truly game-changing product and its remarkable run. Buy it.
April 2, 2013
Somewhat dated but may still be worth reading if you care about the design process behind the iPod. Interesting discussion about the randomness of "shuffle".
June 17, 2017
This hunk of plastic changed industries
I've been obsessed about the iPod. It's just an MP3 player, so why am I so smitten by it by my own 3rd Gen iPod nano. This book was made to satisfy that question, going into the history of how it's made, plus its impact on the world. Plus it's nice to see the occasional small snippet of that man Steve Jobs. Great read if you're interested in this particular bit of Apple history, written shortly before the iPhone changed everything, again.
For the record, my iPod nano was green, survived a fall, and two hours in a washing machine, was a high point in what was a dark few years in my life, and I can't seem to find it anymore. I love my iPhone 7, and the iPad 2 I'm typing this on, but I do miss that tiny, perfect thing.
I've been obsessed about the iPod. It's just an MP3 player, so why am I so smitten by it by my own 3rd Gen iPod nano. This book was made to satisfy that question, going into the history of how it's made, plus its impact on the world. Plus it's nice to see the occasional small snippet of that man Steve Jobs. Great read if you're interested in this particular bit of Apple history, written shortly before the iPhone changed everything, again.
For the record, my iPod nano was green, survived a fall, and two hours in a washing machine, was a high point in what was a dark few years in my life, and I can't seem to find it anymore. I love my iPhone 7, and the iPad 2 I'm typing this on, but I do miss that tiny, perfect thing.
July 3, 2021
A light read about the history of the iPod and portable music. A good read.
December 14, 2018
I've never had an iPod, but given that Audible was doing a sale this week and that I seemed to be doing an Apple-related set, why not? The Perfect Thing hails the influence of the iPod and shares its history, both how Apple came to experiment with a consumer device and how it used the device to transform the music industry. It's light "reading" (I listened to it, so the description is imperfect), and its datedness has appeal: this is an Apple book written before the iPhone took over everything else, written when Jobs had announced that yes, he had cancer, but it was easily remedied with surgery and all was well now.
When Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 and pushed the company to focus on just four products -- professional and consumer variants of desktop and laptop computers -- his idea for the desktop computers was that they were to become key components in home entertainment, a "digital hub". The iMac came packaged with software like iMovie and iTunes to allow users to create their own videos and play music from the computer -- and not just play the CD, but copy music onto the computer to allow the iMac to be a digital music library. Around the same time, the .mp3 coding format had been established, and there were even clunky attempts at a consumer-marketed mp3 player. Then the inspiration: what if Apple created its own mp3 player, one that would be designed to link perfectly with iTunes?
Although its price gave cause for balking, the device's ease of use and attractive design made it a marketplace winner, changing the way people approached music. Although CD players had already started allowing for more musical freedom -- make it easy to listen to the same song over and over again, or skip weak songs in an album instead of having to manually fast forward and rewind tape -- the iPod and its clones would make it a breeze. Although a certain artform was lost in the process (having an album that told a story when listened to in entirety, in order), most people just wanted to listen to the music they lived, when they wanted it.
The other great influence of the iPod on music was on the industry itself. In the days of Napster and Kazaa, the record companies were seeing the rug pulled out from under them, with CD sales following as people were able to just help themselves to goodies out there for the taking -- along with viruses, malicious jokes, and extremely poor information as people shared files with the wrong artist and title names. Jobs proposed an alternative: iTunes could be more than a music player and CD ripper; it could become a storefront, allowing the record companies a way to adapt to the demand for digital music and maintain an income stream, while giving consumers a safe and legal alternative to obtaining music at a fairly good price -- $0.99 a song.
Levy is a tech enthusiast, an it's therefore not surprising that he completely dismisses all who look askance at the takeover of people by their little devices. Are people retreating from one another and reality by losing themselves in their music whenever they feel like it? Sure, and why not? Although there is truth in Levy's statement that moral panics always erupt around new technologies, it doesn't follow that there aren't legitimate causes for concern when people put themselves into danger or ignore their family and friends (in their very company) by dropping out.
When Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 and pushed the company to focus on just four products -- professional and consumer variants of desktop and laptop computers -- his idea for the desktop computers was that they were to become key components in home entertainment, a "digital hub". The iMac came packaged with software like iMovie and iTunes to allow users to create their own videos and play music from the computer -- and not just play the CD, but copy music onto the computer to allow the iMac to be a digital music library. Around the same time, the .mp3 coding format had been established, and there were even clunky attempts at a consumer-marketed mp3 player. Then the inspiration: what if Apple created its own mp3 player, one that would be designed to link perfectly with iTunes?
Although its price gave cause for balking, the device's ease of use and attractive design made it a marketplace winner, changing the way people approached music. Although CD players had already started allowing for more musical freedom -- make it easy to listen to the same song over and over again, or skip weak songs in an album instead of having to manually fast forward and rewind tape -- the iPod and its clones would make it a breeze. Although a certain artform was lost in the process (having an album that told a story when listened to in entirety, in order), most people just wanted to listen to the music they lived, when they wanted it.
The other great influence of the iPod on music was on the industry itself. In the days of Napster and Kazaa, the record companies were seeing the rug pulled out from under them, with CD sales following as people were able to just help themselves to goodies out there for the taking -- along with viruses, malicious jokes, and extremely poor information as people shared files with the wrong artist and title names. Jobs proposed an alternative: iTunes could be more than a music player and CD ripper; it could become a storefront, allowing the record companies a way to adapt to the demand for digital music and maintain an income stream, while giving consumers a safe and legal alternative to obtaining music at a fairly good price -- $0.99 a song.
Levy is a tech enthusiast, an it's therefore not surprising that he completely dismisses all who look askance at the takeover of people by their little devices. Are people retreating from one another and reality by losing themselves in their music whenever they feel like it? Sure, and why not? Although there is truth in Levy's statement that moral panics always erupt around new technologies, it doesn't follow that there aren't legitimate causes for concern when people put themselves into danger or ignore their family and friends (in their very company) by dropping out.
January 15, 2025
Nice account of all things iPod
I've read a few of Levy's other books, and found him a talented writer on technical subjects. Here, he turns his attention to the iPod, and does a nice job at teasing out its history, development, appeal and impact. Just about everything you might want to know about this remarkable machine is contained in these pages, although Levy doesn't mention the assertion that Steve Jobs' hands-on involvement in its development caused its output to be made somewhat louder, since he is partially deaf.
To be sure, some of these themes are better developed than others: Levy's very good on the hardware development story and the way in which music has become dissociated from its physical medium (LP, CD, etc) through its transformation into computer files. He's also paints a cogent picture of the history of technical developments in this area, and the way in which the tardiness with which the music industry has reacted has brought about its downfall (he points out that their first encounter with every development resulted in them suing the perpetrator, which he thinks is like trying to turn back time). I found his attempts to define "coolness" less convincing, although there can be no doubt that such an epithet applies to the iPod.
And finally, I thought Levy's idea of "spiritually link[ing]" his book to its subject by shuffling the chapters was misguided in the extreme: books aren't like collections of songs because they (usually) only get looked at once, and people only come across a single copy, in which the sequence is fixed. For an author to assert that his chapters could be read in any order doesn't sound like a good recommendation for the structure of his book.
Originally reviewed 15 July 2008
I've read a few of Levy's other books, and found him a talented writer on technical subjects. Here, he turns his attention to the iPod, and does a nice job at teasing out its history, development, appeal and impact. Just about everything you might want to know about this remarkable machine is contained in these pages, although Levy doesn't mention the assertion that Steve Jobs' hands-on involvement in its development caused its output to be made somewhat louder, since he is partially deaf.
To be sure, some of these themes are better developed than others: Levy's very good on the hardware development story and the way in which music has become dissociated from its physical medium (LP, CD, etc) through its transformation into computer files. He's also paints a cogent picture of the history of technical developments in this area, and the way in which the tardiness with which the music industry has reacted has brought about its downfall (he points out that their first encounter with every development resulted in them suing the perpetrator, which he thinks is like trying to turn back time). I found his attempts to define "coolness" less convincing, although there can be no doubt that such an epithet applies to the iPod.
And finally, I thought Levy's idea of "spiritually link[ing]" his book to its subject by shuffling the chapters was misguided in the extreme: books aren't like collections of songs because they (usually) only get looked at once, and people only come across a single copy, in which the sequence is fixed. For an author to assert that his chapters could be read in any order doesn't sound like a good recommendation for the structure of his book.
Originally reviewed 15 July 2008
February 1, 2021
Levy uses a journalistic style, with occassional dashes of neurotic humor, to tell the story of how Apple did music right. The important thing to keep in mind when reading this book is that it came out in late 2006, five years before Steve Jobs died. You could read this book and enjoy it from the nostalgic perspective of what technology was like in 2006, and what the world felt like before the Great Recession. From this book, you won't gain a deeper understanding of Apple, or Steve Jobs, or the key team members behind the iPod, or the engineering behind the iPod. The level of detail only goes as far as stringing together the socioeconomic impact of the iPod, as well as the business and creative decisions around it from Apple members. I personally had wished to see more interviews with engineers.
My favorite part was the afterword. Added in 2007, Lecy predicts that the iPhone will not be as revolutionary as the iPod. He argues that this is due to his feeling that people simply won't love their phones the way they love their iPods. To paraphrase, he jokes that in order to sell as many iPhones as iPods, people will have to start calling each other more. Levy's afterword is the best part of this book, as it reveals how much the world underestimated the iPhone, Apple, and Steve Jobs.
My favorite part was the afterword. Added in 2007, Lecy predicts that the iPhone will not be as revolutionary as the iPod. He argues that this is due to his feeling that people simply won't love their phones the way they love their iPods. To paraphrase, he jokes that in order to sell as many iPhones as iPods, people will have to start calling each other more. Levy's afterword is the best part of this book, as it reveals how much the world underestimated the iPhone, Apple, and Steve Jobs.
October 9, 2017
TITLE: The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture, and Coolness
WHY I CHOSE THIS BOOK: Part of my reading challenge covering the category, Read a book about technology.
HOW READ: Ebook purchased on amazon
REVIEW: I have never been a huge Apple fan. Not a hater, but not a fanatic. The other of this book is a fanatic, so the book is not particularly impartial. While I could have done without the level of rhapsody, he did go on and on at times, overall I liked this book. I learned a lot about the history of portable audio devices from the recorders created for journalists on the go, to the Sony Walkman, to the various iterations of Ipods. I also learned a lot about the history of Apple as well as the electronics industry as a whole. The thing I like best about these types of stories is reading about smart, creative people who through perseverance change the world. How cool would it be to be one of those people, or one of those type of people.
WHY I CHOSE THIS BOOK: Part of my reading challenge covering the category, Read a book about technology.
HOW READ: Ebook purchased on amazon
REVIEW: I have never been a huge Apple fan. Not a hater, but not a fanatic. The other of this book is a fanatic, so the book is not particularly impartial. While I could have done without the level of rhapsody, he did go on and on at times, overall I liked this book. I learned a lot about the history of portable audio devices from the recorders created for journalists on the go, to the Sony Walkman, to the various iterations of Ipods. I also learned a lot about the history of Apple as well as the electronics industry as a whole. The thing I like best about these types of stories is reading about smart, creative people who through perseverance change the world. How cool would it be to be one of those people, or one of those type of people.
October 7, 2025
A good (if short) read that took me back to a different time. It’s an incredibly interesting book - made even moreso by the passage of time. At nearly 20 years since it was written, a lot has changed - but a lot of the memories and feelings tied to that time are still there. It was a nostalgic and reflective experience to remember some of the quirks of the iPod world - and just how different it was from the times before (and how different it is since).
The streaming world offers a lot of good thi ngs - but there was something about having every song you own in your pocket that was a different (and oddly comforting) experience. My biggest takeaway from this book is surprising: I may have to track down an older iPod.
The streaming world offers a lot of good thi ngs - but there was something about having every song you own in your pocket that was a different (and oddly comforting) experience. My biggest takeaway from this book is surprising: I may have to track down an older iPod.
April 26, 2023
almost as perfect as the iPod itself! Levy takes us on a wild ride through the development of the iPod, and it's like reading a drama-filled soap opera. Who knew something as simple as a music player could be so scandalous?
But seriously, Levy does a fantastic job of highlighting the behind-the-scenes action that went into creating the iPod, and it's a wild ride. From Apple's intense competition with its partners to the fight for control over the device's design, it's like a reality TV show for tech nerds.
But seriously, Levy does a fantastic job of highlighting the behind-the-scenes action that went into creating the iPod, and it's a wild ride. From Apple's intense competition with its partners to the fight for control over the device's design, it's like a reality TV show for tech nerds.
November 7, 2020
If you can get past the fanatical reverence for Steve Jobs, and some fairly superficial analysis of its cultural impact, it’s the definitive version of how the iPod was conceived, designed, and built (with a deeper level of technical detail than you might expect, a plus).
The book also gives a good historical overview of personal music players which I appreciated.
The book also gives a good historical overview of personal music players which I appreciated.
November 18, 2025
Dated, somewhat hagiographic history of the iPod. Still, Levy had some valuable insights, especially the chapters on shuffling and podcasts. Even if you don’t care about some of the finer details about the iPod, the book is interesting as a historical document given how it speculates about the future.
March 13, 2022
Very interesting. I liked the idea that the audiobook was designed to "shuffle" the chapters so that each reader has the possibility to hear it in a different way.
October 1, 2022
Book on the iPod, written pre iphone,and before the death of Steve Jobs.
September 10, 2024
I loved this book! I loved the iPod. It truly was a “tectonic shifting” piece of technology. Steven Levy is one of my favorite tech writers.
July 14, 2024
This book is definitely of an era, an era before smartphones no less, so take that into consideration. While a lot of the book is outdated information, it is also a time capsule to a world before the iPhone, a simpler time. It is a fascinating look into a world where practically everyone was smitten with a sleek new music player, the iPod, one of the biggest gadgets of my lifetime. It is very nostalgic to me as someone who grew up during the heyday of the iPod. I would recommend it to someone with a similar history with the iPod.
April 10, 2011
It’s a fanboy’s paen to a favorite gadget.
This book gives a good history of the iPod and a description of its cultural significance. What really annoyed me about the book is that it seems to take the perspective that Apple and more specifically Steve Jobs can do no wrong. Any mistakes that must be admitted are at most minor, charming quirks. The fanboy tone really got on my nerves.
As always, Steven Levy does a wonderful job of describing what it was like to actually be one of those who developed the iPod. He provides snippets from a wide variety of insiders and you feel the emotional impact of their struggles and successes. The iPod doesn’t seem like such an amazing invention now, but the challenges that were overcome in developing it were impressive. The discussion of the effects of everyone carrying around entire collections of music in their pockets and living with their own personal soundtrack to life was fascinating, if a little shallow. I would heartily recommend this book to anyone who is interested in how the iPod came to be what it is.
I came out of this book wanting to buy any other music player but an iPod. When the author praises iTunes, I really have to wonder if he’s using the same iTunes that I’ve struggled with. The Apple attitude seems to be "We’re way cooler than you so shut up and do it our way" and I resent that. I want a music player that works the way I want it to.
This book gives a good history of the iPod and a description of its cultural significance. What really annoyed me about the book is that it seems to take the perspective that Apple and more specifically Steve Jobs can do no wrong. Any mistakes that must be admitted are at most minor, charming quirks. The fanboy tone really got on my nerves.
As always, Steven Levy does a wonderful job of describing what it was like to actually be one of those who developed the iPod. He provides snippets from a wide variety of insiders and you feel the emotional impact of their struggles and successes. The iPod doesn’t seem like such an amazing invention now, but the challenges that were overcome in developing it were impressive. The discussion of the effects of everyone carrying around entire collections of music in their pockets and living with their own personal soundtrack to life was fascinating, if a little shallow. I would heartily recommend this book to anyone who is interested in how the iPod came to be what it is.
I came out of this book wanting to buy any other music player but an iPod. When the author praises iTunes, I really have to wonder if he’s using the same iTunes that I’ve struggled with. The Apple attitude seems to be "We’re way cooler than you so shut up and do it our way" and I resent that. I want a music player that works the way I want it to.
Read
January 19, 2008Levy describes what he sees as the huge success and impact of the iPod not only as a personal entertainment device but as a force that has changed how we not only consume media but even create it. He describes the creation of the iPod as a saving angel for a struggling Apple when it began to design the product in the late 90s. He marks Apple's success as a combination of hard work nailing exactly the right mix of features and craftsmanship, artistic design, the no-compromise leadership of Steve Jobs, and a small dash of luck of having the right product at the right time.
Not only was the device a sales success, Levy argues, but it's software sibling iTunes paved the way for the music industry to save itself from the spiral decline of cd sales and rise of illegal file-sharing services.
He closes with a chapter on podcasting, which he says has leveled the playing field, allowing individuals to broadcast time-shifted audio or even video as easily as major corporations. He holds out high hopes for this democratization of media creation, and notes this as a major shift never achieved since the creation of modern electronic media.
Not only was the device a sales success, Levy argues, but it's software sibling iTunes paved the way for the music industry to save itself from the spiral decline of cd sales and rise of illegal file-sharing services.
He closes with a chapter on podcasting, which he says has leveled the playing field, allowing individuals to broadcast time-shifted audio or even video as easily as major corporations. He holds out high hopes for this democratization of media creation, and notes this as a major shift never achieved since the creation of modern electronic media.
July 24, 2023
TITLE: The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture, and Coolness
WHY I CHOSE THIS BOOK: Part of my reading challenge covering the category, Read a book about technology.
HOW READ: Ebook purchased on amazon
REVIEW: I have never been a huge Apple fan. Not a hater, but not a fanatic. The other of this book is a fanatic, so the book is not particularly impartial. While I could have done without the level of rhapsody, he did go on and on at times, overall I liked this book. I learned a lot about the history of portable audio devices from the recorders created for journalists on the go, to the Sony Walkman, to the various iterations of Ipods. I also learned a lot about the history of Apple as well as the electronics industry as a whole. The thing I like best about these types of stories is reading about smart, creative people who through perseverance change the world. How cool would it be to be one of those people, or one of those type of people. — reading The Perfect Thing.
WHY I CHOSE THIS BOOK: Part of my reading challenge covering the category, Read a book about technology.
HOW READ: Ebook purchased on amazon
REVIEW: I have never been a huge Apple fan. Not a hater, but not a fanatic. The other of this book is a fanatic, so the book is not particularly impartial. While I could have done without the level of rhapsody, he did go on and on at times, overall I liked this book. I learned a lot about the history of portable audio devices from the recorders created for journalists on the go, to the Sony Walkman, to the various iterations of Ipods. I also learned a lot about the history of Apple as well as the electronics industry as a whole. The thing I like best about these types of stories is reading about smart, creative people who through perseverance change the world. How cool would it be to be one of those people, or one of those type of people. — reading The Perfect Thing.
September 1, 2007
This is supposedly a book about the iPod and the how and why of Apple's success with it, but really it's just a book about how much Steven Levy loves his iPod, Apple Computer and Steve Jobs. (He loves them all a whole lot.) He spends most of his time on the iPod and Apple and the genius of Steve Jobs, but he also goes into the history of the mp3 player and the Walkman and some of the culture surrounding the iPod (assessing your co-workers personality via their iTunes library!) Best of all, worried that the shuffle feature isn't really random since his iPod seems to have a preference for Steely Dan, Levy sets out to find out if it really is random. I'm not even an iPod junkie and this was a really fun, addictive read, I suspect mostly because Levy is so very much in love with his iPod and Apple and Steve Jobs.
June 26, 2010
This book was very hit and miss for me. Two things became clear very quickly: Steven Levy was smitten at the first click of his iPod, and he's very thorough in his reporting. Both of those work against him at times. I found the chapters about identity and shuffling the most insightful, but elsewhere, there was so much history and so many names packed into chapters that it was difficult to keep everything straight.
Also, for what it's worth, I don't think that "shuffling" the chapters (books were apparently printed with the chapters in different orders) really adds anything to the book. In fact, in places it led to repeated information or a sequence that just didn't make sense. Overall, though, it was a well-written and informative book, and I plan to use a section of it for a class I'm teaching in the fall.
Also, for what it's worth, I don't think that "shuffling" the chapters (books were apparently printed with the chapters in different orders) really adds anything to the book. In fact, in places it led to repeated information or a sequence that just didn't make sense. Overall, though, it was a well-written and informative book, and I plan to use a section of it for a class I'm teaching in the fall.
January 8, 2012
The Perfect Thing covers the story of the Ipod as it was developed and released to the public. It looks not only at the business and the technology but also the sociological effects of the Ipod and what it did to shape culture in the United States. It is a very well written book that the reader can move through easily. I agree with the other reviews that this is a light and fun read with not a ton of substance but just enough to learn something new if you are not familiar with how the Ipod was developed. Overall the book was entertaining and worth the time to read if you want to learn more about how the Ipod has shaped culture in the United States.
July 9, 2015
- from the jacket: "October 23, 2001, Apple Computer, a company known for its chic, cutting-edge technology (if not for its dominant market share) launched a new product with an enticing promise: You can carry an entire music collection in your pocket. It was called the iPod. What happened next exceeded the company's wildest dreams. Over 50 million iPods have been sold in 5 short years. In fact, it is the fastest selling product in history. An excellent overview of the history of the iPod, how it has changed our behaviour, and even our society. Now Apple's iTunes is revolutionizing the entire broadcast/recording industry."
August 19, 2012
Now that iPod's popularity has been surpassed by the next big thing (again an Apple product), it is interesting to read this book written at its heyday. Levy chronicles the development of the iPod- showing how many existing technologies came together at the right time to create a beloved product. Levy wrote this book with "stand-alone" chapters, which do not need to be read in order. While this would be great for a professor who wants to pick and choose sections for a class curriculum, the requisite repetition is a bit annoying for the reader who reads the book in its entirety.
April 7, 2007
Who would have thought it possible to write a "page-turner" about the iPod? Picked it up to read on a break and had to check it out to finish it. Makes technology understandable to someone who has a very passing acquaintance with it. Very much a sociological study as well, it explains how the "coolness factor" comes into play when Jobs runs Apple and why this little piece of tech has become such a cultural icon.
May 10, 2007
When Alison loaned my this book, she said, "You shouldn't read this because it's [work VP's] new favorite book; you should read it because you love your iPod." And she was right.
I started using the shuffle function on my iPod more after reading this book, because of the author's fascination with it and the concept of randomization in general. I think it's made me enjoy my iPod even more, which is an unusual outcome from reading a book.
I started using the shuffle function on my iPod more after reading this book, because of the author's fascination with it and the concept of randomization in general. I think it's made me enjoy my iPod even more, which is an unusual outcome from reading a book.
December 20, 2008
Steven Levy starts The Perfect Thing with iPod history, probably the first take on iPod's story which gives credit to actual group of people responsible for iPod instead of giving an over-credit to Jobs as many literatures do. Then he continues on to how iPod goes through its business saga, came to define owners personality, and lastly shape a new culture. The Perfect shines on the last two account.
May 25, 2015
I loved this book. I don't own an iPod, but I do own 5 other MP3 players and am nuts about digital music. But I've always thought and still do think the iPod is the most creative, beautiful digital music player invented. The author traces the origins of the iPod, but more interestingly, writes about the impact of the iPod on the way we listen to music, on the way music is consumed as well as the "hipness" of this little revolutionary device.
February 21, 2012
I picked up this book ahead of Jobs biography as I had just finished Steven Levy's "In the Plex" which is an exceptional effort by the writer. However, this book was bit of a let down and perhaps could ve been finished by wasting just half the rain forests by saving the paper. Nonetheless its a good account of the phenomenal rise of iPods. If you could read with skipping pages, it's a good read. If you intend to read it from cover to cover, it ll be hard to finish....
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews