Reviews
Amazon.com
In this autobiography, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson says one of his prime
business criteria is "fun." Fun made Branson a billionaire, and few business
memoirs are one-billionth as fun as Branson's, nor as niftily written. Not only does it
relate his side of near-death corporate experiences, it tells how the chairman literally
cheated death by gun, shipwreck, and balloon crash.Branson's
empire--now encompassing interests in an airline, pop music, soda pop, e-commerce, and
financial services--began when the dyslexic 16-year-old dropped out of school in 1968 to
found the British magazine Student. His headmaster said, "I predict that you
will either go to prison or become a millionaire." Briefly imprisoned for dodging
customs selling records, Branson got his first million by releasing Tubular Bells,
a maverick recording all the stuffy executives rejected. (1998's Tubular Bells III
puts the series' sales over 20 million.)
Despite wild tales of Branson's wife-swapping and Keith Richards
fleeing naked from Branson's studio at gunpoint with another man's woman, the most
shocking parts of the memoir concern British Airways' James Bond-like "dirty
tricks" campaign against Virgin Atlantic, resulting in the biggest award for damages
in English history.
Though it's filled with famous names, witty quotes, and
pulse-pounding accounts of lunatic balloon adventures, it is as a business thriller that
the book really scores. His instinctive bet-the-ranch tactics could cost him all, or earn
another billion. Either way, Branson will likely remain the most entertaining entrepreneur
in Europe. --Tim Appelo
Customer Comments
jeffparker@ibm.net from Charlotte,NC USA ,
October 12, 1998
Absolute page turner!
This is a great book! I read an excerpt while in London and got it as soon as it was
available here. I read it in 4 days, which is quite rapid for me.
Richard Branson has lived an incredible life, and he details the
successes and failures in his business career and his personal endeavors.
I think this book is highly entertaining and very useful to people
interested in bettering themselves. Branson's business philosophy is described through the
work which opened my eyes to a number of possibilites.
I only wish there was a volume two available that I could look
forward to reading.
alan@catto.org from
Glasgow, Scotland , October 12, 1998
When "losing" really means winning, against convention!
My mother used to tell me that I could achieve anything, since "You're too stupid to
know that you can't do it!". Eventually you may come to believe it. Well, if you're
feeling that way and think that what you're about to do may mean that you'll be cast
adrift in the Pacific Ocean of business, here's the definitive business life raft!
If you've been through anything like RB in business (I have,
although on a VERY much smaller scale) it's good to know that where you came unstuck, or
close to it, others like RB have done so too and triumphed. A brilliant collection of
stories of risking all for everything, time and time again. Mind-saving reading when you
know that you're right, or that you're too determined to let the other person, or
corporate, get the better of you. This is the stuff that exceptional business people are
made of, and in reading this book you might come to realise that you could become an
exceptional business (and family) person too. I did, better late than never!
Read (it took me six nights), enjoy and don't fly BA!
A reader from London,
England , October 5, 1998
A brilliantly written book
Branson uses his editorial skills and has come up with an autobiography which is not dry
and boring, but like his business, snappy and fun. Well done Richard and remember "no
way BA/AA"
alpesh-patel@msn.com from
London, England , September 3, 1998
Gotta be a must
Wow, at last. I have read several biographies about Branson, but an autobiography has got
to be a must.
Like many businessmen it is probably the inspiration from the
boldness of his approaches that are most valuable. It is a kind of "you can do that?
How can I apply this to myself?"
Click here for an
Interview with Branson. |
