Losing My Virginity: The Autobiography - Softcover

Branson, Sir Richard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0753513005 ISBN 13: 9780753513002

Publisher: Virgin Books, 2007

Synopsis

This fully updated edition of Sir Richard Branson's bestselling autobiography features his latest intrepid ventures in the areas of health, environment, media and, of course, exploration.

Discover new details about Sir Richard's commitment to the future, through the Virgin Health Bank and its contribution to regenerative medicine, Virgin Fuels' pledge of £200 million to renewable energy projects, and his charitable body Virgin Unite. Sir Richard also discusses the earth-based launch of Virgin Media, and the progress toward the literal 'launch' of Virgin Galactic and a new era of commercial space travel.

Featuring many new insights into his family life, Losing My Virginity is an amazing memoir, a definitive business guide and an inspirational story that reveals Sir Richard's unique philosophy on business, the Virgin brand and life.

About this title

Review:

Love him or loathe him, you've got to admit it, Richard Branson has drive. And guts. And enough ambition to sink a battleship--or perhaps that should be a jumbo jet--or even a whole company of jumbos if the Virgin Atlantic/British Airways debacle (which takes up a huge chunk of this already huge tome) is anything to go by.

Branson's autobiography makes immensely fascinating reading. Whatever you think of Britain's most famous entrepreneur, the odds are that you will enjoy reading his autobiography. You may snort at descriptions of his "poor" childhood--spent eating bread and dripping while living in a house the majority of us visit on Bank Holidays and attending a "minor" public school. You may groan at memories of early initiative tests: how about being ejected from the family car and told by his mother to find his way home--at the age of four? You may flinch at accounts of his early business days as an unwashed, unshod, hippy magazine publisher living en famille with his staff in the crypt of a West London church. But, all in all, you'll get to understand where the guy's coming from--man.

And, like the man himself, there's no holds barred here. Richard bares his soul, from childhood, school days (cheating at exams), loves and losses (lost one wife when a spot of wife-swapping went drastically wrong--for him), death-defying adventures (yes, the balloons are all there), to the rise and rise of the Virgin empire. His interviews for Student magazine and the early days of Virgin Music read like a chronicle of popular music and culture in the late 20th century. Famous names bounce off every page. Prepare to be enthralled by the life and times of a walking publicity machine. --Carey Green

Review:

"Branson has a list of achievements unmatched by any other UK businessman. For anyone burning with entrepreneurial zeal, his reminiscences are akin to a sacred text" (Mail on Sunday)

"Grabs you on page one and never lets go... a rollercoaster ride... read what makes this brilliant and hardworking man tick" (Spectator)

"Candid and humorous" (The Times)

"An incredible man, and this is an incredible autobiography... a great read - sex, balloons, intrigue and money" (Sunday Business)

"Branson bares his soul - and everything else - in a non-fiction blockbuster... a must-read" (Business Age)

About this edition

• Publisher: Virgin Books
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0753513005
• ISBN 13: 9780753513002
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 624