Apple has withdrawn all books by publishing firm J. Wiley from its Apple stores in an effort to suppress a forthcoming biography of Steve Jobs entitled iCon.

The author, Jeffrey Young, has already written one biography of Jobs and believes that the recent update was more complimentary than his previous work. iCon covers the period from Jobs leaving Apple in the mid-1990s to the present day.

"This was a new Steve Jobs," reads the book's prologue. "Humbled by failure, elevated by the birth of his children, mellowed with age, yet still as headstrong and perhaps even more certain of his own decision-making than ever before, he now understood that it really was the many others who did the work: Apple is a team sport."

A J. Wiley spokeswoman confirmed that the ban was worldwide, but maintained that work was progressing to resolve the situation.

"We hold to the highest standard of ethical behaviour and integrity in everything we do," she stated.

"We have a long-standing good relationship with Apple that we want to maintain, and our titles sell well through its retail stores.

"All of the titles in question, which represent a small selection of our technology list, are available through other outlets, both online and bricks and mortar."