Hello, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Timmyth. I'll never forget the first time I saw an iPhone. I'm talking about the OG iPhone, around 2007, when they were still a relative rarity. I remember how simple yet powerful it was. Everything about it was new and exciting. Now, nearly 20 years and many upgrades later, it's still one of the most popular smartphones in the world. And I think it's safe to say Apple is among the most identifiable companies in the world. The story of that company and the

triumphs and tumult that made it are the subject of a new book, Apple, the first 50 years.

Its author, CBS News correspondent David Pogue, spoke with NPR's Michelle Martin about the book

and how the company became a tech giant.

Odds are, you're listening to my voice at this very moment on a device made by Apple.

Few brands have matched its ingenuity and a reach that's both global and intimate.

Apple products are not just in our offices, but in our schools, homes, pockets,

and our ears, and the company itself, one of the most valuable in the world. But 50 years ago,

it was a very different story. And as insiders, remember, it was by no means assured that the

company would make it to 50 years. CBS correspondent David Pogue tells us fascinating story in 600 pages of

reporting, photos, and interviews with 150 people who shaped the company. The book is Apple,

the first 50 years, and he's with us now to tell us more about it. Good morning, David. Thank you so

much for joining us. Good morning. Thank you. So start with the environment in which Apple, the company was born. A lot of people know that story, but I'm guessing that some people don't.

I mean, in the late 70s, no one had ever seen a computer, no normal person. Computers were in governments and in corporations and the military. It wasn't something for average people. And that was where

this super shy, super genius nerd, Steve Wozniak came along. He thought that computers should be

for everyone. And so he made this first computer, later called the Apple One, and his plan was to give it away, to give

away the design to anyone who wanted to build one. And it was his buddy, Steve Jobs, who said,

no, no, we should sell that. What I find super interesting is that that mission of taking advanced

technologies and trying to put it in everybody's hands hasn't changed

in 50 years. I, for some reason, did not know that there was actually a third founder of Apple.

Yes. But what happened? This is amazing. Yeah, so the two Steve's Wozniak and Jobs

thought that they should start up a little company to market their Apple One.

...