Chinese readers keen to get copies of Jobs book

Shoppers at the Beijing Books Building browse copies of Steve Jobs' biography on Monday. Zhang Tao / China Daily
BEIJING / GUANGZHOU -Chinese readers eager to learn about the life of Steve Jobs, the enigmatic founder of Apple Inc, have lined up outside bookstores and gone online to order copies of his biography since it was released globally on Monday.

The Chinese version of the book, titled Steve Jobs, hit 30 bookstores in 21 Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, at 10:05 am Monday morning as a way to commemorate Jobs, who died on Oct 5, according to a statement from China CITIC Press, the publisher of the biography's simplified Chinese edition.

Liang Hui, an engineer from Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong province, said he bought the authorized biography, sold for 68 yuan ($10.60), as a way of paying his respects to Jobs.

"I have been a fan of Jobs because of his bold creative spirit since my childhood," he said. "I hope the book will inspire me a lot in my job."

Major e-retailers, including Dangdang and Joyo Amazon, the Chinese subsidiary of US online retailer Amazon.com have started to deliver pre-ordered copies to customers.

The biography, written by Walter Isaacson, a former executive at CNN and the US magazine Time, topped Joyo Amazon's best-seller list on Monday. The book was originally scheduled for release next year but the date was moved up because of the death of Jobs, whose gadgets such as the iPhone and iPod have become a part of many people's lives.

The biography like Jobs' products has been well-received in China.

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