SoHo Apple Store hosts 'Becoming Steve Jobs' book reading, Q&A session with authors

Crown Publishing via Twitter

Authors Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli visited the Apple Store SoHo in New York on Thursday to read selections from their hotly anticipated biography "Becoming Steve Jobs" and field questions from what quickly became a packed house.

Schlender and Tetzeli were featured guests of the SoHo Apple Store's meet and greet series that brings in notable authors, filmmakers, musicians and more to talk about their latest projects. Events are free and open to the public, though some presentations with high profile participants require reservations.

Apple's venue completely filled up for today's discussion, which had the authors reading snippets from the book and answering questions from audience members. Some latecomers were left standing in the aisles, according to people who attended.

Released this week, "Becoming Steve Jobs" draws largely on Schlender's multiple meetings and interviews with Jobs during his time covering Silicon Valley for The Wall Street Journal and Fortune. Schlender first met Jobs during the early days of NeXT and was in contact with the tech guru up until his death in 2011.

Unlike previous books focusing on Jobs' life, including Walter Isaacson's official biography, "Becoming Steve Jobs" found an outpouring of support from Apple itself. Numerous executives, including CEO Tim Cook, design chief Jony Ive, among others, contributed interviews to offer a more complete portrait of Jobs, one that goes beyond his well-known public persona.

Along with behind-the-scenes cooperation, Apple prominently featured "Becoming Steve Jobs" on the iBookstore and even included an iTunes preview link on the SoHo Apple Store's retail webpage advertising today's talk.

"Becoming Steve Jobs" is available for $11.99 on Kindle or $19.83 on hardback through Amazon.com and $12.99 on the iBookstore.