Peter Elkind’s ‘The Trouble With Steve Jobs’ Epic in Fortune

Summary of the “trouble” Apple has with Steve Jobs, uncovered by Fortune editor-at-large Peter Elkind in a 7,500-word piece: he waited nine months before having surgery for his pancreatic cancer (a six-hour “brutal and complex” procedure where 1 in 20 patients die), the stock options backdating saga, and he’s an asshole.

I liked this bit best:

Jobs is notoriously secretive and controlling when it comes to his relationship with the press, and he tries to stifle stories that haven’t received his blessing with threats and cajolery.

This story is one of them. While Jobs agreed to be interviewed by my colleague Betsy Morris on the subject of Apple’s selection as America’s Most Admired Company, he refused to comment for this story, which had been in the works for months.

So refusing to talk to a reporter who is (a) digging into the details of Jobs’s personal life, and (b) writing what is, without question, a negative piece — that constitutes “threats and cajolery”?

★ Wednesday, 5 March 2008