
Jim Sachs was a visionary Silicon Valley inventor, engineer, entrepreneur, and businessman who brought to life the world's first, practical electronic book. Jim Sachs died at his home in Atherton, California, on August 15, 2002, surrounded by his loving and devoted family. The cause was lymphoma, which he had battled with courage and dignity for 19 months.
Jim was born in Hanover, New Hampshire, the third son and fifth child of Jeanne O'Sullivan Sachs and the late Dr. Ernest Sachs, Jr. He graduated from Hanover High School in 1973, the university of Michigan in 1977, and was awarded a Masters Degree in Product Design from Stanford University in 1979. In 1980, he married Suzanne Helton of Holland, Michigan.
Jim had a passion for hiking, photography, and skiing. Even as his illness advanced, he found strength to ski in the high Sierras at Lake Tahoe, where he spent so much time with his family. He enjoyed spending days at his boyhood summer home in the Adirondack Mountains near Keene Valley, New York. But Jim's deepest passion was for his family. He prided himself in spending time with them, despite his busy career. He was admired for the wisdom, humor, and love with which he parented his children.
As a child, Jim desired to become a "maker-man," carefully undertaking - and improving - every project Captain Kangaroo suggested. Shirt cardboards and medical adhesive tape were his primary development tools at the time. While a student in junior high school, he learned computer programming and spent hours solving problems posted for college students at Dartmouth College. He always maintained an affection for and allegiance to the Upper Valley in New Hampshire and often visited as a guest speaker at Hanover High School.
Jim's lifelong enthusiasm for building and designing led him to be a true Silicon Valley success story. Best known as the co-designer and patent holder of the original Macintosh mouse, Jim took great pride in what he termed the "business of engineering," where he combined traditional development engineering skills with the business acumen necessary to create new products and to enhance competition among manufacturers.
In 1995, he co-founded SoftBook Press (later acquired by Gemstar-TV Guide), the company that pioneered the first and only electronic reading system that does not require a computer. His goal was to create an electronic device that was as easy to use as any book sitting on a library shelf, and, at the same time, easier to carry around than a backpack full of books. The device that you are now holding is a descendant of his pioneering vision. In connection with his devotion to the printed word, he served on the National Advisory Council of Reading is Fundamental, the nation's oldest literacy organization.
Prior to SoftBook, Jim was Vice President and General Manager for the Playskool Technology Group at Hasbro, creating a preschool multimedia software business. He served as Vice President of Engineering at Worlds of Wonder, developing more than 60 electronic toys over five years, including Teddy Ruxpin, the best-selling animated talking toy in history, LazerTag, and the Jaminator guitar. He was a principal at Hovey Kelley Design, now IDEO, the world's most prestigious product development company. He also co-founded Elfin Technologies, which produced interactive personal robots to augment the home computing experience.
Jim is survived by his wife, Suzanne Helton Sachs, and three children: Jessica, Christopher, and Elizabeth. He is also survived by his mother, Jeanne Sachs of Hanover, NH, and his five siblings: Rusty Sachs of Norwich, VT; Ann Sachs of New York City; Patricia Sachs of Half Moon Bay, CA; Christopher Sachs of Austin, TX; and Robert Sachs of Alexandria, VA; and by his sisters-in-law Margaret Helton of Carrboro, NC, and Carolyn Helton of Menlo Park, CA; and also by a special aunt, Judy Campbell of Knoxville, TN.