What You See Is What You Get and over 900,000 other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more

Buy New

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
or
Amazon Prime free trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn more
Buy Used
Used - Good See details
Price: £2.40

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
What You See Is What You Get: My Autobiography
 
 
Start reading What You See Is What You Get on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

What You See Is What You Get: My Autobiography [Hardcover]

Alan Sugar
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (151 customer reviews)
RRP: £20.00
Price: £11.80 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £8.20 (41%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.
Want guaranteed delivery by Friday, February 24? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition £4.27  
Hardcover £11.80  
Paperback £4.49  
Audio, CD, Audiobook --  
Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store for more details.

Watch a Related Video



Frequently Bought Together

What You See Is What You Get: My Autobiography + The Way I See It: Rants, Revelations And Rules For Life + Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography
Price For All Three: £36.10

Show availability and delivery details

Buy the selected items together

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought


Product details

  • Hardcover: 640 pages
  • Publisher: Macmillan; first Edition edition (30 Sep 2010)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 023074933X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0230749337
  • Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 15.2 x 22.9 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (151 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 5,663 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Alan Sugar
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

Visit Amazon's Alan Sugar Page

Product Description

Review

'Brash and bold are two adjectives used to describe this ruthless businessman turned TV personality. But Lord Sugar is a self-made man and one of Britain's finest business brains. His story so far is inspirational to the end.' --The Sun

'Sugar is unusual among celebrity memoirists in that he's a clever man who has done a lot with his life, and the tale of his rise from nothing, and nowhere is genuinely revealing.' --Private Eye

'He tells the story with characteristic wit and honesty, adding enough juicy bits of gossip to keep non-business readers onside. Having set the task of writing and marketing a bestselling book there's little doubt he'll be on the winning team.' --Director Magazine

'I'm addicted to autobiographies and What You See Is What You Get is one of the best i've read. Love him or loathe him, Baron Sugar of Clapton is the walking, snarling embodiment of all the values he espouses on The Apprentice. He believes in loyalty, hard work, looking after your family and enjoying your success. His rise to success from a tiny council house in East London is extraordinary and he tells it in the kind of blunt, no-nonsense way that has made him such a hit on television.' --Piers Morgan, Mail on Sunday

'Anyone reading an autobiography of Alan Sugar will want to glean some of his business savvy. And he delivers. Even his section on running Tottenham Hotspur FC provides insights into his attitudes and working methods.' --Sunday Herald

'Aspiring entrepreneurs will welcome the business advice that is ladled out liberally.' --Sunday Telegraph

Product Description

From a Hackney council estate to the House of Lords, this is the extraordinary story of one of our greatest entrepreneurs.

Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
Search inside this book:

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


 

Customer Reviews

151 Reviews
5 star:
 (105)
4 star:
 (28)
3 star:
 (10)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (7)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (151 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

105 of 109 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Hear The Facts From The Horse's Mouth - A Compelling Read, 19 Oct 2010
Alan Sugar was a born opportunist. From a very early age he could see an opportunity to make money where other people saw a pile of junk. Couple this with a fierce desire to do well and we learn - from his autobiography What You See Is What You Get - how he transforms from a young and naive lad to the supremely successful businessman that Lord Sugar is today.

The book takes you on his journey in his own blunt way of speaking, from when he was a poor, young loner to becoming a multi-millionaire in his thirties; a football club chairman in his forties; a Knight of the Realm and a television phenomenon in his fifties; and Lord Sugar, Baron Sugar of Clapton in his sixties.

The first half of the book is mainly about the rise of the company he created - Amstrad. It goes into great detail about how Alan Sugar built it into a multi million pound industry from scratch, using nothing more than common sense, an eye for an opportunity and a self taught ability to negotiate and hustle. There is not much mention of his family in this section, other than briefly covering the main events such as marriage to his wife, Ann, the birth of their children, moving house etc.

The second half covers the period as Tottenham Hotspur's Chairman; how he became a television personality, a Knight and a Lord; and the dignified demise of his beloved company Amstrad.

The book doesn't go into any detail on how the pressures of building up the Sugar Empire impacted his family or friends. It only touches on some points in this area. It does, however, give an insight into how Alan Sugar felt whenever his loyalty was betrayed and in particular, when he became victim to negative media coverage - especially during his time as Tottenham Hotspur Football Club chairman. As well as the harsh, business tycoon we see portrayed in The Apprentice television show, the book also reveals a more sensitive and private side of Alan Sugar.

I don't know if Alan Sugar physically typed the words of the book himself, but there's no doubt that it's written in his own voice - you can just hear him saying things like: "I've bleedin' had it up to the neck with all that crap!" and "Either you get me the bloody boat for five million dollars or stop driving me bleedin' mad!". At times `the voice' seems cocky and full of himself - but then who wouldn't be, with the achievements that Alan Sugar has made to date.

One of the most impressive things about Alan Sugar's life is that he's gone through some major business ups and downs and yet he's never lost his own personal fortune, and it appears that the closeness of his family and inner circle of friends remains intact.

This is a book well worth reading if only to hear the facts from the horse's mouth. But it's also a journey that takes the reader along, through the risk taking, the money making, the conflicts with the media and his adversaries - to the survival of a highly respected business man, famous entrepreneur, decent family man and loyal friend.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


104 of 109 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling read!, 2 Oct 2010
By 
L. Pollitt (Scotland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: What You See Is What You Get: My Autobiography (Hardcover)
I've never watched The Apprentice and didn't know a great deal about Alan Sugar until I read this book. It's a compelling read, especially the section on his early business career. It gives a fascinating insight into the drive required to create a successful business. Alan Sugar comes across as straight-talking, no-nonsense and likeable (although I'm not sure he wants people to think that). As I'm just in the throes of setting up a new business, I found his book both encouraging and inspiring. A great read!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Not what i expected, 11 Nov 2010
This review is from: What You See Is What You Get: My Autobiography (Hardcover)
I have just finished this book and what a surprise! It is not what I expected I did not really like Alan Sugar before I read this book, but I found this book absolutely fascinating I could not put it down Its one of the best autobiographies that I have read it just shows you there are 2 sides to every story especially regarding Terry Venables what sly and corrupt person he was.The press have certainly only portrayed one side to this story but at last Alan Sugar has the chance to put his side.I would recommend this book to everyone it just shows with a lot of hard work even someone from the poorest backgrounds can achieve brilliant results.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
 Go to Amazon.com to see all 4 reviews  4.8 out of 5 stars 
Were these reviews helpful?   Let us know
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews











Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

This product's forum
See all 2 discussions...  
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Look for similar items by subject


Feedback


Amazon.co.uk Privacy Statement Amazon.co.uk Delivery Information Amazon.co.uk Returns & Exchanges