Authorized Steve Jobs Bio Hits Pre-order, Already Tops Charts

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Apple’s unrivaled ability to build pre-launch hype for a product seems to have carried over into an unlikely market: ol’ fashioned books. Like, those things you read.

Publishers Simon & Schuster announced that they’d be publishing the first exclusive biography on the company’s turtlenecked leader, iSteve: The Book of Jobs, two months ago, and the book is now available on Amazon for pre-order.

The 448-page book is already ranked #1 in a few categories, even though its official pub date is over eight months away (March 6, 2012): It’s #1 in Biographies & Memoirs, #1 in Science and #1 in Business & Investing. At the time of writing this, it’s also fluctuating between #12 and #13 overall, and that number seems poised to climb higher.

It was announced in 2009 that author and former TIME Managing Editor Walter Isaacson, who previously penned biographies on other smart guys such as Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin, would be working with Jobs to produce the work.

The Apple figurehead’s notorious secrecy and ascent to the top of the tech world seems to have captivated the interest of Apple fans – whose intense loyalties we’ve investigated before – and hopefully some of the mystery shrouding Jobs will be lifted to make it interesting for casual readers: (i.e. Why all the health secrecy? Why black turtlenecks? Isn’t it hot in Cupertino? WILL THE BOOK HAVE A FRONT-FACING CAMERA?! Etc. etc.)

Pre-order will cost $19.80 for hardcover (34% off the $30 list price), and $14.99 for the Kindle edition.

More on TIME.com:

Will Apple’s iCloud Be the New iTunes?

Apple’s Other Eden: iOS

Why Apple Enthusiasts Are Wrong About Windows 8