Apple CEO Tim Cook Says New Book ‘Haunted Empire’ is “Nonsense” [u]

With today marking the official launch of former Wall Street Journalist Yukari Iwatani Kane’s book Haunted Empire: Apple After Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO has released a statement dismissing the book and calling it “nonsense” as it “fails to capture Apple” and Steve Jobs, reports CNBC:

This nonsense belongs with some of the other books I’ve read about Apple. It fails to capture Apple, Steve, or anyone else in the company. Apple has over 85,000 employees that come to work each day to do their best work, to create the world’s best products, to put their mark in the universe and leave it better than they found it. This has been the heart of Apple from day one and will remain at the heart for decades to come. I am very confident about our future.

This is a rare move for Apple’s CEO to respond to a book debut, considering executives rarely speak out on stuff like this. Maybe Kane’s book was controversial enough that he had to speak out? This comment by Cook will probably drive even more sales of the book, which is also sold in the iBookstore (which means Apple will get its cut).

Haunted Empire is available today from Amazon.ca and the iBookstore.

Update: Re/code includes some more from the Tim Cook response to Kane’s book:

“We’ve always had many doubters in our history,” he said in the e-mail. “They only make us stronger.”

Kane has also responded to Cook’s comments to Re/code:

“For Tim Cook to have such strong feelings about the book, it must have touched a nerve,” Kane said. “Even I was surprised by my conclusions, so I understand the sentiment. I’m happy to speak with him or anyone at Apple in public or private. My hope in writing this book was to be thought-provoking and to start a conversation which I’m glad it has.”