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Tim Cook calls Yukari Kane book Haunted Empire “nonsense”, says it fails to capture Apple or Jobs

Today marked the debut of former WSJ Apple reporter Yukari Iwatani Kane’s book “Haunted Empire: Apple After Steve Jobs” (review from this morning) and Tim Cook is not pleased.

The Apple CEO told CNBC the following:

This nonsense belongs with some of the other books I’ve read about Apple. It fails to capture Apple, Steve, or anyone else in the company. Apple has over 85,000 employees that come to work each day to do their best work, to create the world’s best products, to put their mark in the universe and leave it better than they found it. This has been the heart of Apple from day one and will remain at the heart for decades to come. I am very confident about our future.

Update: Re/Code’s telling of the email sent by Apple has an additional sentence:

“We’ve always had many doubters in our history,” he said in the e-mail. “They only make us stronger.”

Yukari Kane also responded to Re/Code:

“For Tim Cook to have such strong feelings about the book, it must have touched a nerve,” Kane said. “Even I was surprised by my conclusions, so I understand the sentiment. I’m happy to speak with him or anyone at Apple in public or private. My hope in writing this book was to be thought-provoking and to start a conversation which I’m glad it has.”

That doesn’t mean it isn’t being sold on iBooks.

Flashback to 2005 when Jobs banned an author’s work from being sold at any Apple Store over an unauthorized bio on him by that author, anyone?

At any rate, I would have never guessed that a single book release would prompt comment from Apple’s CEO. Clearly he’s taking this one personally.

Cook has spent a great deal of time stoking employees and customers alike with promises that new and exciting products are on the way.

At the end of last year, Cook vaguely shared in a company-wide memo his vision for Apple’s next year: “We have a lot to look forward to in 2014, including some big plans that we think customers are going to love.”

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Comments

  1. Tallest Skil - 10 years ago

    >>At any rate, I would have never guessed that a single book release would prompt comment from Apple’s CEO. Clearly he’s taking this one personally.

    Wait, was he asked about it in an interview? I can’t imagine Apple saying anything in such a fashion without being prompted, either. Unless it’s just THAT wrong.

    • dman238 - 10 years ago

      It really is just THAT wrong

    • Zac Hall - 10 years ago

      My understanding is this was largely unprompted aside from CNBC possibly requesting comment.

      • Tallest Skil - 10 years ago

        All the more interesting, then. Thanks!

  2. dman238 - 10 years ago

    Clearly he ISN’T taking this one personally. To me he’s just pointing out the fact that this book reeks of ‘click bait’ and ‘sensationalism’, with no actual meat to it. I mean look at the title.. “Haunted Empire…” lol Talk about the creation of a sensationalist title for a book that is trying to make up for the fact that it doesn’t divulge any new information and lacks any meaningful reason to buy. It’s no wonder it’s getting bad reviews. This book is clearly trying to attach itself to a “well known” brand, cherry-pick it’s own references to accompany the narrative it’s trying to push (i.e. that some how the world’s largest market-cap company is somehow doomed) and then hope to hit the NYT bestseller lists so Yukari Kane can reap the financial benefits of being an “nyt best seller”. This type of ill-conceived journalism is just sad… she was doing better things as a WSJ journalist and really should of stayed there. Please people… don’t waste your money on this ill-conceived trash. Really… Your better off buying Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs or Little Kingdom if you want to know more about Apple.

    • Zac Hall - 10 years ago

      I strongly believe this response is based on Cook’s personal feeling that he should defend Apple and the memory of Jobs. If he wasn’t taking it personal, there would have been no comment (which is what I would have expected).

      • nicequal (@nicequal) - 10 years ago

        Actually, I think it’s strange if he wouldn’t take it personally. Jobs certainly took lots of things very personally, and well, as long it helps Cook stay true to his mission, he can flame book authors all he likes, as far as I’m concerned.

        This is different from assuming that it is a sign of some kind of weakness.

      • Cameron Bernhardt - 10 years ago

        Yes, I don’t think it was the fact that it “touched a nerve” or anything like that – merely that he felt the book was garnering too much press for what it actually is: an extended form of what we know as “jumping to conclusions.”

  3. rogifan - 10 years ago

    Either CNBC asked for a comment or this book is just THAT bad. Or maybe it’s both.

  4. Samuel Guzinski - 10 years ago

    “…banned an author’s work from being sold at *an Apple…”

  5. b9bot - 10 years ago

    It’s really just that wrong because this book is about making up what they think was going on and not what really is going on and then claiming in the book that it is fact when in reality its all baseless FUD. Tim Cook of all people knew Steve Jobs the best along with Jony Ive. Not only that but new products are in the works only the anal-ists can’t seem to understand that new products take time to develop into something really special and Apple won’t release them until they are just that. I’ve heard a few bad reviews about this book already so its no surprise that Time Cook doesn’t think much of it either.

  6. OneOkami (@OneOkami) - 10 years ago

    Excellent choice of picture for the article :P

  7. themis333 - 10 years ago

    Reblogged this on Taste of Apple and commented:
    A lot of people would agree. It seems that this book has a different agenda than taking an honest look at Apple’s future.

  8. Tim, don’t get pissed off, there will always be some d*ckhead people like author of this “book”. He wanted you to get mad. I totally agree with what you have said.

  9. Dave Huntley - 10 years ago

    “At any rate, I would have never guessed that a single book release would prompt comment from Apple’s CEO. Clearly he’s taking this one personally.”

    She basically calls him useless so yeah I am sure it is partly personal.

    But this is a badly written book, waste of paper, nothing new, she’s trying to cash in. Just one more riding on the coat tails.. don’t giver her the attention, she doesn’t deserve it.

    Find a made up iphone 6 pic somewhere, much more believable.

  10. Charlie Diaz (@uddiss) - 10 years ago

    Is very simple to judge , but see the clear point of this “Book” was made from a simple mind.
    No having idea what is Apple and the genius and brutal hard work of everybody in Apple…..
    By the way how is this guy a writer LOL …….

  11. borntofeel - 10 years ago

    What a bitch.

  12. Andy Brooks - 10 years ago

    I can’t believe cook actually wasted his time reading this book.

  13. you doing ok Mr. Cook if u continue the same path that u are in at the moment so dont invovle urself with this craps

  14. I noticed on that picture that was took while he said: Your book is totally bullsh*t

  15. herb02135go - 10 years ago

    How many of you trashing this book have read it? Or are you just blindly following the leader?

    I look forward to reading this and have bought an extra copy to donate to the library.

    Some of Apple’s decisions have been poor and, in some cases, its execution even worse.

    I think the title is very appropriate. Just look at how often this website (articles and user comments) talk about Jobs.
    It’s almost fanatical.

    • borntofeel - 10 years ago

      Just look how often this Apple fan website talks about Apple’s founder! Incredible!

      Lol

  16. Trieu Pham (@trieu_pham) - 10 years ago

    I was in attendance at the Churchill club with these authors. Only one of the authors remained optimistic and he had good points on how Apple is in good hands. Yukari’s theory was so bad and came off as a tactic to create a mystique to buy this book…might be good for a hallmark film

  17. superhad - 10 years ago

    I didn’t read the book yet but from the excerpt we got, the author is getting to conclusions, as if Apple can’t be Apple after Steve Jobs. This is a statement and doesn’t take into consideration Cook doing his utmost to take it where Steve would have take it. What was accepted with Steve is not with Cook as he doesn’t have the same charisma.
    She’s getting too early to conclusions and i understand the reaction: kind of “there is another way to look at the company”

  18. Jason Piebes - 10 years ago

    “…I must have touched a nerve…” What a turd! Lying about someone and their organization will ALWAYS get that response. Total trash book and it belongs next to the National Enquirer.

Author

Avatar for Zac Hall Zac Hall

Zac covers Apple news, hosts the 9to5Mac Happy Hour podcast, and created SpaceExplored.com.