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'60 Minutes' features previously unheard interviews with Steve Jobs

 

Ahead of Monday's release of the authorized biography of Steve Jobs, CBS news magazine 60 Minutes offered a closer look at the book and the life of the Apple co-founder.

The TV special included excerpts of taped interviews Jobs did with the author of the book, Walter Isaacson. Speaking about his book, Isaacson said he believe it's a look at Jobs that's "fair," offering a closer look at the man, including his strengths and flaws.

Isaacson said in the interview that Jobs was "petulant" and "brittle," and said he could be very mean to people. But he was also a man who demanded perfection, something taught to him at a young age.

Isaacson said when Jobs was young, his father showed him how to build a fence, and taught him that the back of the fence had to look just as good as the front — even though no one would see it.

It was that attention to detail that helped make Apple's products so appealing, but also made Jobs a difficult manager to work for. The interview discusses the origins of Apple, the clashes Jobs had with employees at the company, and how he was eventually chased away, only to come back and save Apple years later.

Isaacson described Jobs's house as a "normal" home in Palo Alto, Calif. The Apple co-founder said that was important to him — he didn't want to live a "nutso lavish lifestyle" that rich people often do, even though he was worth more than $7 billion.

"I made a promise to myself, I said I'm not going to let this money ruin my life," Jobs said in one taped interview.

Isaacson also showed off personal family pictures provided by Jobs just before he died. The family was pictured in portraits and on vacation, and Isaacson flipped through the images on a white iPad 2.

He also said that as recently as August Jobs expressed hope that new treatments might help him beat cancer. He told his biographer that he wouldn't read Isaacson's book as soon as it came out, but would instead wait six months to a year.

Isaacson's book, entitled "Steve Jobs," goes on sale Monday in a hardcover edition, as well as digitally through Amazon Kindle and Apple's iBooks.

The TV interview that aired Sunday evening also discusses Jobs's search for his biological mother and a chance encounter with his biological father, his reluctance to undergo surgery to treat his pancreatic cancer, his secret liver transplant, and his desire to conquer the television market. The full interview is included in two segments below:

The news program also included a number of Web extras, featuring even more content on Jobs and the new biography. The segments include what Jobs felt about his rivals, more details on his secret liver transplant, and his critical advice given to U.S. President Barack Obama. These four clips are included below:

The 60 Minutes episode that aired on Sunday also featured a segment on how the iPad and its touchscreen interface has been a major benefit for people afflicted with autism: