( CNN ) When Walter Isaacson 's biography of Steve Jobs came out in October 2011 -- less than three weeks after Jobs ' death -- it crystallized many popularly held perceptions of the Apple co-founder . Yes , Jobs was brilliant . And yes , Jobs also could be a bastard . Isaacson 's book contained numerous examples of Jobs ' cruel behavior , such as verbally abusing employees whose work did n't meet his exacting standards . Now a new book is presenting a kinder , gentler portrait of the mercurial tech exec . `` Becoming Steve Jobs , '' by Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli , seeks to humanize Jobs through interviews with those who knew him in the latter , wildly successful phases of his career , when some of his rough edges had softened . The book , which went on sale Tuesday , has created a strange irony . Unlike Isaacson 's book , it 's an unauthorized bio , one that was not given Jobs ' blessing before he died . And yet Apple , mindful of Jobs ' legacy , has clearly endorsed this new vision of their former CEO over the Isaacson version . `` I thought the Isaacson book did him a tremendous disservice . It was just a rehash of a bunch of stuff that had already been written , and focused on small parts of his personality , '' says current Apple CEO Tim Cook in the new book . `` You get the feeling that ( Steve 's ) a greedy , selfish egomaniac . It did n't capture the person . The person I read about there is somebody I would never have wanted to work with over all this time . Life is too short . '' Other Apple execs also have heaped praise on `` Becoming Steve Jobs '' while criticizing Isaacson 's bestseller . `` Best portrayal is about to be released - Becoming Steve Jobs ( book ) . Well done and first to get it right , '' tweeted Eddy Cue , Apple 's chief of software , last week . And Jony Ive , Apple 's head of design , said in a New Yorker profile last month , `` My regard ( for Isaacson 's book ) could n't be any lower . '' Isaacson , for his part , told the New York Times recently that he tried to present a balanced view of Jobs : `` My book is very favorable and honest , with no anonymous slings , '' he said . Although Jobs ' life and career have been well chronicled , the new book contains some fresh tidbits : . -- In 2009 , when Jobs was dying of cancer , Cook offered his boss a piece of his liver but Jobs refused , saying , `` No , I 'll never let you do that . '' -- What was likely the last movie Jobs watched before his death was an odd choice : `` Remember the Titans , '' the sentimental Disney drama about a racially integrated high school football team in 1971 . `` I was so surprised he wanted to watch that movie , '' Cook recalled . `` I was like , 'Are you sure ? ' Steve was not interested in sports at all . '' -- And Jobs ' famous commencement speech at Stanford University in 2005 almost got derailed before it started . A police officer turned him and his family away from the campus , saying the parking lot was full , and expressed skepticism that the scruffy Jobs , wearing his usual jeans and black T-shirt , was really the event 's keynote speaker . Raves from Apple aside , early reviews of `` Becoming Steve Jobs '' have been mixed . `` 'Becoming Steve Jobs ' offers a more rounded portrait of the man not only because it does n't lean as heavily on its interviews or stretch for historical weight like Isaacson 's book , but because it brings in Schlender 's personal interactions with the Apple co-founder , '' wrote Mic Wright for The Next Web . `` But the closeness of Schlender 's connection with Jobs is also problematic , '' added Wright , saying `` ... there 's a sense of seeking to explain away bad behavior . '' `` While the book never attempts to portray Jobs as a saint , it provides ample evidence to suggest that the brash , perpetually impatient young millionaire learned how to control his worst tendencies , eventually becoming a loving father and respected mentor , '' wrote Jeremy Horwitz in 9 to 5 Mac . `` Like other good books that have been written about Jobs , it does n't provide the definitive story of his life , but instead adds some new and interesting details that are worth considering alongside what was previously known . ''
New book , ` Becoming Steve Jobs , '' offers a gentler vision of the mercurial CEO . Apple execs have praised the new book over Walter Isaacson 's 2011 bestseller . Among new book 's tidbits : When Jobs was dying , Tim Cook offered piece of his liver .