| ||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Trade in Branson for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Plus, get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Review
Praise for ‘Branson’:
'An addictive read, packed with sex, money, tantrums – top quality.’ Guardian
'One of the most devastating books of the year…an explosive book. Bower reveals a remarkable and sinister picture of the man who likes to appear as the ever-smiling hero.' Daily Mail
'Bower's book is a devastating indictment.' Sunday Times
'A damning biography…startling accusations.' Daily Express
Review
'Way more spicy than the usual corporate arse-lick'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Entertaining expose of Richard Bransons business career. The book isnt particularly well written but highlights the hypocrisy of the ubiquitous Richard Branson frequently voted top of the business pops. Branson comes across as a puerile, opportunistic, astonishingly crass and unpleasant man.
His main sources of profit would appear to be when he has nestled himself under the protective wings of the state, his airlines (having a dual monopoly on flights to america with BA from heathrow) and trains (having monopolys on various travel routes). He has milked money from both of those ventures and insufficiently carefull partners (who he seems to serially latch onto and suck dry at a phenomenal rate) to finance an extraordinary number of business ventures that have fallen rather flat while he stashes money away into offshore accounts. The news industry plays a bit part in this pretty sordid story, the amount of free publicity and boosting he has recieved from compliant journalists and media organisations probably runs into hundreds of millions of pounds.
Worth buying for the picture of a rather battered Branson dangling on a bungee rope after colliding with a hotel wall on one of his numerous publicity stunts. Well worth reading.
His main sources of profit would appear to be when he has nestled himself under the protective wings of the state, his airlines (having a dual monopoly on flights to america with BA from heathrow) and trains (having monopolys on various travel routes). He has milked money from both of those ventures and insufficiently carefull partners (who he seems to serially latch onto and suck dry at a phenomenal rate) to finance an extraordinary number of business ventures that have fallen rather flat while he stashes money away into offshore accounts. The news industry plays a bit part in this pretty sordid story, the amount of free publicity and boosting he has recieved from compliant journalists and media organisations probably runs into hundreds of millions of pounds.
Worth buying for the picture of a rather battered Branson dangling on a bungee rope after colliding with a hotel wall on one of his numerous publicity stunts. Well worth reading.
18 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is an excellent book to read if you want an alternative profile of RB rather than accepting the one portrayed in the popular media. Amazing detail of conversations and Virgin businesses.
27 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
When I ordered this book I didn't realise it wasn't the official biography and within a few pages I'd decided this book was just an indictment of one of Britain's best loved businessmen by an author in essence jealous of Branson's success, feeling that he'd cheated to get to the top. My conclusion when I'd finished the book was that this book could have been so much better had the author stuck to fact and not opinion.
There's no doubt this book is well researched - I'm tempted to suggest that since I haven't heard of much in the way of legal action by Branson following its publication, its content is probably highly accurate (it's even got a very negative comment on the book by Branson himself on the back cover). In fact, from a content point of view I found it a very interesting book and a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining read. In particular, I was fascinated by the way Branson juggled his different ventures throughout this history of the Virgin brand.
What I was not so keen on however was the way in which the author used every opportunity he could in the book to draw conclusions that each event showed another reason why Branson was a cheat, a sulk, a bully, and a hypocrite. I found this rather sad as I felt it showed that strange British phenomenon of trying to knock down success stories of people who have made it. The world of business is not a nice place, to believe that any successful business is whiter than white is churlish - in some ways, the book provides a great introduction to how important brand marketing is, and that is something even the author acknowledges Branson is superb at.
Would I recommend this book? definitely, but be warned, there is a lot of opinion there which I don't really feel is warranted.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Brave Mr Bower. Again.
'Sir' Richard, our greatest entrepreneur? Er, no. As Bower carefully documents, Branson is a dealmaker with an astute grasp of self-promotion and a flair for publicity in an age... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Gary Morgan
Very well researched
The research that the author has put into this is amazing. That Branson hasn't sued is a good indication that it is accurate. Read more
Published 17 months ago by The Emperor
If you admired Branson once, read this, it'll change your mind!
Essential reading, Bower reveals the dark side of a chancer who's conned his way into becoming the Nation's favourite tycoon. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Mr. W. Plummer
Utter Discontent of Tom Bower
Tom Bower, is doing exactly what he accuses Richard Branson of. He makes money at the expense of others. Read more
Published 21 months ago by jesper
Eye opener....
What is good about this book is not that it tells you how bad Branson he is, he is just one from the herd, but to open your eyes and make you see behind the hype, no matter who is... Read more
Published 22 months ago by undervas
well-researched but negative agenda
Incredibly detailed analysis. However I feel that the author kind of spoils it by being so hostile to Branson throughout. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Study Shortcuts and Exam Tips from Oxford Grads
Gives you Stereo Vision
I read this book and found it informative, well researched and very readable. Im sure that Branson isnt an angel but the reason I liked this book is because it gives you the... Read more
Published on 17 Oct 2009 by A reviewer called
Another winner from Tom Bower
Having read Broken Dreams, Tom Bower's riveting read on the corrupt world of football transfers, it was the combination of author and subject matter that interested me in this... Read more
Published on 22 Aug 2009 by F. G. Lelliott
Balanced
This is the best Branson story in my view. His own books gloss over too much of his life events but with Bower's book I enjoyed getting the nitty gritty and hearing the other side... Read more
Published on 20 Aug 2009 by Kelkoozee
journalist on a mission!
Bower is described in the preface as 'a distinguished jounalist.' Perhaps he is but there is little evidence of it in his biography 'Branson. Read more
Published on 19 July 2009 by M. Donovan
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
