Amazon recently declared Walter Isaacson's biography of Apple Inc. co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs the best-selling book of the year. In Japan though, it didn't even make the top five.But that ranking doesn't tell the full story, as fact is, Japan is bonkers for the official biography of the late Apple boss – except for the tweaked cover design of the Japanese-language version.
The book was the sixth best-seller in Japan of books published in 2011, according to the year-end rankings released by Tokyo-based Tohan Corp., the country's biggest book distributor. The biography, split into two volumes was released on Oct. 24 and Nov. 1, giving it just one month to climb the list, which counts print copies distributed from December of the previous year through November...
The biography's hefty Japanese-version ― a combined total of 889 pages – was by far the best-selling book published by Kodansha Inc. this year...
But Japanese Apple fans have one big gripe: the book's cover design. The publishing company said it has received complaints and read many more grumblings online about how the front of the Japanese-language version is different from the one decorating the English-language Simon & Schuster hardcover. The font is much bigger, the extra ink used to write English and Japanese names of the author and translator clutter around Mr. Jobs' head, and there is a drop of color. Local Apple geeks have vexed the variation is an intrusion on the clean and simple design personally approved by the detail-oriented Mr. Jobs...
"We understand that people want a simple design. We believe that given our choices this was the best, most simple version," said Mr. Kakishima. With one million copies on sale it's inevitable people will have dissenting opinions, said the editor.
But would the late Mr. Jobs approve? "Without a doubt," replied Mr. Kakishima.
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