Losing My Virginity: How I've Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way this question feed

asked by tubi on November 14, 2006 2:32 AM
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


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One of the most interesting businessmen I've ever read about. A true maverick who proves you can create great wealth, do a lot of good for others, and have a great time doing it.
reviewed by aries on November 27, 2006 2:52 PM

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I bought "Losing My Virginity" after reading and enjoying his latest book "Screw It, Let's Do It", which is a quick read... I wanted to know more about his life.

As with "Screw It, Let's Do It", he covers his life from early childhood to business mogul. "Losing My Virginity" contains a lot more details though. Although it is probably impossible to understand how hard Branson worked to get where he is, he does a good job of telling the story of how he started out, how he struggled in his early days, the many disappointments he had, and the successes they had that eventually snowballed into the business empire that Virgin is today.

By his own admission, Branson is not an academically brilliant man. He's just a regular guy who goes after what he wants with all he has. He doesn't let failures along the way derail him from achieving his goals.

This book is a great read that I highly recommend.
reviewed by redryder on November 29, 2006 7:09 AM

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After being amazing by Virgin Megastore and Virgin Airlines, I wanted to get to know the man behind the sloping red graphic. Anyways, reading this book was a joy. I am rarely found reading bios or auto-bios for that matter. Branson has such a casual approach and style of speaking, it makes for a nice read.

As a side note, you can learn a lot about the life of an entrepreneur and how to grown a business by reading about how Branson does it. This is a book even a Yank can enjoy.
reviewed by willie on November 29, 2006 10:46 AM

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