The ''Complex Chinese Character'' edition of Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs' bio is a hit in Taiwan, surpassing Harry Potter sales

The ''Complex Chinese Character'' edition of Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs' biography is already a hit in free and democratic Taiwan, and will likely be a hit in communist
Red China too when the Simplified Chinese Character edition goes on sale in Beijing as well. Jobs has penetrated the Bamboo Curtain separating Taiwan from China. Few people can do that!

In Taiwan, Huang Wan-ru, a 31-year-old female office worker loves the book and says that what interests her most about Jobs is his childhood and early work experience.

"I admired his unique personal style, always being true to himself, which was never affected by others," Huang, who owns an iPod, iPhone and iPad, told a reporter recently.

Eslite, a major book chain in Taiwan, said it was offering offer free apples and apple-shaped notepapers at 12 of its outlets to the first 100 people who showed up Monday dressed in black turtlenecks, Jobs' signature wear., according to TV news reports in Taiwan.

All of Eslite's outlets are packaging the Taiwan edition in paper bags bearing a picture of Jobs.

A 22-year-old college student surnamed Kuo told a Taiwanese TV reporter that for his part he would like to know how Jobs managed to come back from his frustrations.

"I'm curious about the time when he was kicked out of Apple and founded NeXT Computer. I think it was a transition point in his life," Kuo said.

Eslite's sales of the book are expected to reach 200,000 copies in the first three months, approaching the record set when the first book in the Harry Potter series by British author J. K. Rowling was released, according to sources,

Commonwealth Publishing Group, the exclusive Taiwanese publisher of the biography, said it had planned to do a first print of 100,000 copies, but decided to run 220,000 copies instead based on the warm reception.

On a message board outside the Eslite bookstore, fans have posted memorial messages such as "Thank you for teaching us how to think creatively," "Thank you for changing the world" and "We're all proud of you and all miss you."

One fan wrote "Thanks for making us realize the meaning of 'never give up.'"

ALSO

The authorized biography of Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson was released after its early arrival on Kindle yesterday. CBS News’ 60 Minutes broadcast an interview with Isaacson about the book and his conversations with Jobs. The interview is online, via Catharine Smith at The Huffington Post.

Stephen Shankland at CNet looks at the “wealth of detail” in the book, while Bill Weir at ABC News runs through the book’s “11 most startling revelations.” Meanwhile, Zach Epstein at BGR.com writes about one of Jobs’ final projects, Apple’s smart TV, and how it could be a “game-changer for gaming.”