About the Author

Donald Lemke works as a children's book editor. He has written dozens of comic books, including the Zinc Alloy series and the adventures of Bike Rider, and many chapter books for DC Comics. Donald lives in Minnesota with his beautiful wife, Amy, and their not-so-golden retriever, Paulie.

Reviews

In the new graphic-novel Graphic Library: Inventions and Discovery series, Lemke gives readers an accessible time line for the creation of the personal computer and the birth of Apple Computer, Inc., introducing the two young men who got the job done. Wozniak is presented as the technical genius, while Jobs is shown as the marketing dynamo who steered the fledgling company into the mainstream. Background appears in rectangular boxes strung across the panels, while dialogue, in traditional balloons, keys into the personalities of the partners. Although the art is sturdy, its heavy, black details and somber colors aren't particularly appealing; and at a glance it's difficult to tell Wozniak and Jobs apart, especially during the early years of their association, when both had long dark hair and beards. Such snags aside, however, this is still an accessible distillation of an intriguing corporate history that kids might not be inclined to read about in a traditional format. Appended notes, both clear and useful, add more context to the story.-- "Booklist"

Steve Wozniak was always fascinated by machines and computers. In the late 1960's when he was still in high school, computers were enormous and cost "as much as a house" but Woz was determined that he would one day build a machine of his own. Woz left college after a year and went to work for a computer company. In his spare time he worked on building a computer with a friend. It was during this time that he met and became friends with Steve Jobs. Though the two friends had jobs, they kept in touch to work on designing video games and to talk about their computer ideas. In the mid 1970's, Woz began to seriously build a computer circuit board using microprocessors. He hoped to build a powerful circuit board which could be used in a computer that would be small enough to sit on a desk and which would have a keyboard instead of switches. He succeeded and he and Jobs decided to form a company which they named Apple. In the beginning they had a hard time finding the money to get the parts to build their circuit boards and to pay for development, but after they got a backer, Apple took off and the company changed the way computers were built from that time on. Young readers who have an interest in computers and how they work will be fascinated to learn the history of the personal computer. It is hard to imagine that these complex machines had some of their beginnings in a garage in California and yet that is indeed how it happened. With its graphic novel format and its engaging text, this title is perfect for readers who like to learn about people and their achievements. This is one of the many titles in the Graphic Library series.-- "Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Review"