Biography: business and industry Books

Book SynopsisA modern resissue of a bestselling classic by the author of the #1 bestseller THE BIG SHORTTrade ReviewPraise for LIAR'S POKER: 'An amazing book, readable, funny and mind-boggling ... one of the great business books of all time' * Punch *Read all about it: headlong greed, inarticulate obscenity, Animal House horseplay . . . * The Sunday Times *Immense verve and wit * 20/20 Magazine *A highly immoral book * Daily Mail *Wickedly funny * Daily Express *As traders would say, this book is a buy * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisFrom a brilliant historian at the Harvard Business School, here is a masterful, in-depth portrait of five extraordinary figures-Ernest Shackleton, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Rachel Carson-that illuminates how great leaders are made in times of adversity and the diverse skills they summon in order to prevail.Trade Review'A close analysis of five gritty leaders whose extraordinary passion and perseverance changed history . . . a gripping read on a timeless and timely topic!' Angela Duckworth, bestselling author of Grit 'The most important, coherent, values-based, servant leadership book I've ever read' Howard Schultz, executive chairman of Starbucks'As important and inspiring as it is urgent' Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and three-term mayor of New York'Vividly shows the qualities shared by five of history's greatest leaders - and how we can all tap into those same qualities to overcome challenges and confront crises in our own lives' Arianna Huffington, Editor-in-Chief, The Huffington Post

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Book SynopsisBased on the chart-topping BUSINESS WARS podcast re-imagined using Sun Tzu's THE ART OF WAR as a guide, THE ART OF BUSINESS WARS features stories and lessons from history's greatest business rivalries revealing why some companies triumph while others crumble.Business is a fight for survival. In business as in war, leaders match their wills in pursuit of opposing outcomes, they devise strategies, and marshal resources for victory. Success can turn on the smallest of details; a single tactical blunder can topple an empire. Ultimately, one side triumphs - and victory is all that matters.In The Art of Business Wars, David Brown, host of the hit podcast Business Wars, masterfully frames some of the biggest business rivalries in history using revered Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu's insights and pragmatic advice. Each rivalry tells a story of combined wits, strategies, and resources. Brown chronicles the rise of companies as they vanquish rivals, formulate innovative plans, and adapt to keep up with shifting needs. The goal? Stay ahead of the competition and emerge victorious.By compiling powerful insights uncovered over hundreds of podcast episodes and more than a year of in-depth research, Brown has developed a formula for business intrigue rich in popular history. The stories in The Art of Business Wars will inspire you, and the lessons you can draw from them - about determination, ingenuity, patience, grit, subtlety, and other traits that contribute to a victorious enterprise - are invaluable, whether you're a creative freelancer or the CEO of a multinational manufacturer.

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Book Synopsis*SHORTLISTED FOR THE FINANCIAL TIMES BUSINESS BOOK 2022**A TIMES BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEARS 2022**A NEW YORK TIMES BEST BUSINESS BOOK 2022**A FORBES ESPANA TOP TEN BOOK 2022**A PROJECT SYNDICATE 2022 BEST READ*'A fascinating study of the tech giant and its symbiotic relationship with the Chinese government' - Guardian'Vital . . . More than a corporate hagiography, Ms. Chen's book offers insight into the company via executive interviews and exclusive details.' New York Times'Influence Empire by Lulu Yilun Chen is so much more than the long-awaited story of Tencent and its vital everything app, WeChat, the messaging tool used by 1.3 billion people. It's also the sobering account of an entire generation of high-flying Chinese tech entrepreneurs, whose wings were clipped by the omnipotent hand of their own government.' -- Brad Stone, author of Amazon Unbound and The Everything StoreORDER NOW: the first definitive look at Tencent, one of the world's largest tech companies. __________In 2017, a company known as Tencent overtook Facebook to become the world's fifth largest company. It was a watershed moment, a wake-up call for those in the West accustomed to regarding the global tech industry through the prism of Silicon Valley: Facebook, Google, Apple and Microsoft.Yet to many of the two billion-plus people who live just across the Pacific Ocean, it came as no surprise at all.Founded by the enigmatic billionaire Pony Ma, the firm that began life as a simple text-message operator invested in and created some of China's most iconic games en route to dreaming up WeChat - the Swiss Army knife super-app that combines messaging, shopping and entertainment. Through billions of dollars of global investments in marquee names from Fortnite to Tesla and a horde of start-ups, Ma's company went on to build a near-unparalleled empire of influence.In this fascinating narrative - crammed with insider interviews and exclusive details - Lulu Chen tells the story of how Tencent created the golden era of Chinese technology, and delves into key battles involving Didi, Meituan and Alibaba. It's a chronicle of critical junctures and asks just what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur in China.__________'There's so much fascinating detail here.' -- The Times'Lulu Yilun Chen has written a sharply informed, smart and compelling account of the rise of some of the most powerful companies in China, which also stand among the biggest and richest tech giants in the world. Despite their enormous size and power, few outside of China know of or understand these companies. Now, thanks to Influence Empire: Inside the Story of Tencent and China's Tech Ambition, that will finally change.' -- Howard French, former NY Times Shanghai bureau chief and author of Everything Under the Heavens: How the Past Helps Shape China's Push for Global Power'A book that tells Tencent's story has been long overdue, and Lulu Chen's account is not only comprehensive, but also a gripping business narrative. The globally influential company finally has the account it deserves.' -- David Barboza, The WireTrade Review'Influence Empire by Lulu Yilun Chen is so much more than the long-awaited story of Tencent and its vital everything app, WeChat, the messaging tool used by 1.3 billion people. It's also the sobering account of an entire generation of high-flying Chinese tech entrepreneurs, whose wings were clipped by the omnipotent hand of their own government.' -- Brad Stone, author of Amazon Unbound and The Everything StoreLulu Yilun Chen has written a sharply informed, smart and compelling account of the rise of some of the most powerful companies in China, which also stand among the biggest and richest tech giants in the world. Foremost among them is the biggest behemoth of them all, Tencent, a Swiss Army Knife of a company that combines the services of a half dozen or more of the best-known internet giants in the West. The immense wealth and reach deep into every household in China of companies like these has recently placed them at the center of Beijing's regulatory and political attention. Despite their enormous size and power, few outside of China know of or understand these companies. Now, thanks to Influence Empire: The Story of Tencent and China's Tech Ambition, that will finally change. - - Howard French, former NY Times Shanghai bureau chief and author of Everything Under the Heavens: How the Past Helps Shape China's Push for Global PowerLulu Yilun Chen's Influence Empire is the compelling story of one of the world's most important, but least understood companies. It is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how the curious collision of business, technology and politics in today's China will reshape our world. - - Peter Martin, author of China's Civilian ArmyIn Influence Empire, the long-time tech reporter narrates the emergence of China's tech titans their often-haphazard rises to success, and the struggles between then for revenue and domination of the marketplace... The book asks whether without freedom of thought China's economic miracle can persist. -- The Post'Vital . . . More than a corporate hagiography, Ms. Chen's book offers insight into the company via executive interviews and exclusive details.' -- New York Times'The company, China's largest internet giant, now has a massive portfolio of internet firms across a wide range of sectors, including social media, e-commerce, ride-hailing, gaming, and tutoring. But the future of Chinese Big Tech is very much in question, making the many fascinating stories in Chen's book essential reading for China watchers.' -- Project Syndicate'A fascinating study of the tech giant and its symbiotic relationship with the Chinese government ... With Influence Empire, Chen, a reporter for Bloomberg, seeks to tell the story of arguably China's greatest entrepreneurial success, expose the threads that link Xi Jinping's regime to your Snapchat account, and familiarise us with the company's reclusive, 50-year-old founder Ma Huateng, who goes by the incongruous English moniker "Pony"... The book's most interesting material explores the waxing and waning of the relationship between Tencent and the Chinese communist party, which is eager to, as Chen puts it, "keep the rising class of tech-savvy moguls in place before their economic aspirations turn political."' -- GuardianA book that tells Tencent's story has been long overdue, and Lulu Chen's account is not only comprehensive, but also a gripping business narrative. The globally influential company finally has the account it deserves. -- David Barboza, The WireThere's so much fascinating detail here: the company may serve as a 'towering paean to futurism and commerce' but it still has the Communist Party woven into its fabric, extolling its past glories in the company gym. -- The Times'It's a fascinating story of entrepreneurship, of what it's like to build a company in a Communist state. Chen clearly charts the rise of one of the largest tech and social media companies in the world, which is shadowed by one of the most paranoid governments in the world. In one corner of the ring you have the values of the Communist Party, in the other you have the value proposition of Tencent. Chen goes beyond that, we get the stories behind the headline, the characters, the culture and the back stories.' -- Mimi Alemayehou, Senior Vice President for Public-Private Partnerships, Strategic Growth, Mastercard 'Coming to grips with the tech industry is not easy at the best of times given how quickly the sector evolves. It is even more difficult when it is in China and the relationship (between tech companies) and the government is extremely fluid, yet Influence Empire by Lulu Chen manages to provide important insights across all these dimensions. The book is an engaging look into the Chinese tech world, including the relationship with not just the government there, but also with western capital. It comes at a time, to quote the author 'alliances and allegiances change within the blink of an eye" and "national champions become public enemies overnight." This book will be of interest to a very broad range of people, and rightly so, from tech specialists, economists and corporate executives worrying about disruption of supply chains to those interested in innovation, as well as those assessing the increasing weaponization of tech for national security purposes.' -- Mohamed El-Erian, President, Queens' College, Cambridge University, Advisor to Allianz and Gramercy

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Book SynopsisIn The Kinfolk Entrepreneur, author Nathan Williams introduces readers to 40 creative business owners around the globe, offering an inspiring, in-depth look behind the scenes of their lives and their companies. Pairing insightful interviews with striking images of these men and women and their workspaces, The Kinfolk Entrepreneur makes business personal. The book profiles both budding and experienced entrepreneurs across a broad range of industries (from fashion designers to hoteliers) in cities across the globe (from Copenhagen to Dubai). Readers will learn how today's industry leaders handle both their successes and failures, achieve work-life balance, find motivation in the face of adversity, and so much more. (The book jacket was updated in May 2022; some customers may receive an earlier version of the jacket.)Trade Review"Scandinavia has long been heralded as a source for inspiration, cutting-edge ideas, and design. Williams, editor in chief of the Copenhagen-based quarterly Kinfolk magazine and author of The Kinfolk Home (2015) and The Kinfolk Table (2013), offers material from these three fronts, and more. An eclectic global selection of entrepreneurs-varied by career, perspective, and background-greets readers through strong narratives and exquisite photographs, explaining their working passions and why they do what they do. A Swedish former-athlete-turned-perfumer, a chocolatier, and the creators of a novel concept in residential brokerage sales are among those 40 entrepreneurs singled out for vision, partnership, and community-building proficiencies. Next up are 7 tips that will be helpful to all business founders, from proper hiring to risk management; a selection of recommended supplies (books, desk essentials, and snack foods, all photographed in the iconic Kinfolk style); and one item of advice each from 10 different company owners." -Booklist, starred review

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisA candid business biography book that reveals how bestselling author, speaker, and business consultant Ken Blanchard revolutionized management by leading with love and service.Ken Blanchard transformed modern leadership theory through unlikely means—by catching people doing things right. Written like a novel with warmth and humor, this authorized biography reveals how a mediocre student who was told he couldn't write became a bestselling author and a globally renowned management expert.Through extensive access to personal papers, letters and interviews spanning six decades, Lawrence paints an intimate portrait of the man behind The One Minute Manager and dozens of other influential books. From his early days coaching Cub Scouts to building a worldwide training organization, Blanchard demonstrated that nice guys can finish first by focusing on serving rather than being served.During pivotal moments—his sister's tragic death, losing his home to wildfire, economic downturns threatening his company—Blanchard's optimistic leadership philosophy was tested. Yet his unwavering commitment to bringing out the best in others while leading with love created a lasting legacy that continues to influence organizations globally.More than just a business biography, this is an American success story of someone who achieved greatness not through ruthless ambition, but by genuinely caring about people and helping them reach their full potential. An inspiring roadmap for anyone seeking to lead with both results and relationships in mind.

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Book SynopsisFrom Victoria Glendinning, winner of the Duff Cooper Prize, the James Tait Black Prize and (twice) the Whitbread Prize for Biography.It'sSuccessionin tailcoats and spats This is a vivid and eye-opening group biography, backgrounded by the rise of supermarket moguls from humble beginnings' Sunday TimesWho was John Lewis? What story lies behind the retail empire that bears his name? Behind the glass windows and displays of soft furnishing, this book reveals the family that founded the shops in all their eccentricities, and whose relationships became blighted by conflicts of epic proportions as their wealth bloomed.Born into poverty, John Lewis was orphaned at the age of seven when his father died in a Somerset workhouse. Dreaming of a better life, the young man travelled to London at the start of what would become a retail revolution. From early years as a draper's apprentice, we see how Lewis's first pokey little business opened on Oxford Street in 1864, and expanded as an emerging midTrade Review‘The store that changed shopping was built by a dynasty whose secrets, fights and feuds would have made gripping TV drama … Victoria Glendinning is an eminent literary biographer whose subjects include Vita Sackville-West and Edith Sitwell. So what possessed her to write about a 157-year-old commercial enterprise famous for affordable haberdashery, wedding-list glassware and cute Christmas TV commercials? The answer lies in the subtitle: Glendinning’s story of the Lewis dynasty is extremely “intimate” — a saga of family fights and obsessions, epic stand-offs and wild ambitions, stressed-out womenfolk and unhappy children. It’s Succession in tailcoats and spats … This is a vivid and eye-opening group biography, backgrounded by the rise of supermarket moguls from humble beginnings’John Walsh, Sunday Times ‘You’ll never look at John Lewis in the same away after reading this compelling survey of the family behind the department store … Glendinning’s fascination is contagious, and she blends in the ingredients of a family saga with insights into the partnership’s ethical underpinnings, acknowledging the romance of golden-age bricks-and-mortar retail as well as its uncertain future’Observer ‘She brings the Lewis family to life with wry commentary and telling detail’Financial Times ‘Lucky John Lewis. As company histories go, nobody could wish for a more skilful chronicler than Victoria Glendinning, who has a slew of biographies to her name. She calls her work an ‘intimate history’, and indeed it is full of domestic rows, curious relationships … [It offers] careful documentation of a remarkable retail experiment’Literary Review

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Book SynopsisIn The Joys of Compounding, value investor Gautam Baid builds a holistic approach to value investing and philosophy from his wide-ranging reading, combining practical approaches, self-cultivation, and business wisdom. He integrates the strategies and wisdom of preeminent figures whose teachings have stood the test of time.Trade ReviewOver the years, as I’ve realized the importance of learning through wisdom instead of suffering, my favorite gift has been to give a person a great book. This book is going to go to the top of that list. -- Arnold Van Den Berg, founder of Century ManagementGautam Baid presents exactly the types of examples and insights from fabled investment practitioners that I believe can help investors avoid common yet predictable traps. The Joys of Compounding is a most useful reference for lifelong investment learning. -- Thomas A. Russo, managing member, Gardner Russo & Gardner LLCGautam’s book The Joys of Compounding provides a foundational framework on investing that is required reading for all investors. This book is the best investment one can make from those beginning their investment journey all the way to experienced practitioners. Successful investing requires a lifelong love of learning and this book provides a broad array of concepts and tools to guide you with your own personal investments or making investments for your clients. The most comprehensive investing book I have ever read. I highly recommend The Joys of Compounding for anyone interested in becoming a better investor. -- Paul Lountzis, president of Lountzis Asset ManagementGautam's book is wonderfully insightful. It is truly a pleasure to read and a reminder of some of the most essential tenets of sound investing. -- Sanjoy Bhattacharyya, managing partner, Fortuna CapitalGautam Baid is a marvelous role model because he's such a joyful and passionate student of worldly wisdom. This book, which is infused with invaluable insights and inspiring quotations from many great investors and thinkers who have guided him on his journey, is a powerful reminder of how enriching it is to dedicate ourselves to the pursuit of continuous, lifelong learning. -- William Green, author of The Great Minds of Investing and Beyond RichAn instant classic! Gautam Baid’s book is the definitive guide to lifelong learning for investors and anyone seeking to reach their full potential. A must read. -- John Mihaljevic, chairman of MOI GlobalThis edition benefits from a clearer focus on Gautam’s voice and insights as well as offering a fresh opportunity to learn and relearn those key lessons that will make us better investors and better human beings. -- Guy Spier, CEO of Aquamarine Capital and author of The Education of a Value InvestorDestined to become a must-read investment classic. * Rational Walk *This book forces readers to think about compounding in terms of human traits such as positive thoughts, good health, good habits, wealth, knowledge, and goodwill. * Enterprising Investor *Table of ContentsForeword1. Introduction: The Best Investment You Can Make Is an Investment in YourselfPart I: Achieving Worldly Wisdom2. Becoming a Learning Machine3. Obtaining Worldly Wisdom Through a Latticework of Mental Models4. Harnessing the Power of Passion and Focus Through Deliberate PracticePart II: Building Strong Character5. The Importance of Choosing the Right Role Models, Teachers, and Associates in Life6. Humility Is the Gateway to Attaining Wisdom7. The Virtues of Philanthropy and Good Karma8. Simplicity Is the Ultimate Sophistication9. Achieving Financial Independence10. Living Life According to the Inner Scorecard11. The Key to Success in Life Is Delayed GratificationPart III: Common Stock Investing12. Building Earning Power Through a Business Ownership Mind-Set13. Investing Between the Lines14. The Significant Role of Checklists in Decision-Making15. Journaling Is a Powerful Tool for Self-Reflection16. Never Underestimate the Power of Incentives17. Always Think About the Math, but Avoid Physics Envy18. Intelligent Investing Is All About Understanding Intrinsic Value19. The Three Most Important Words in Investing20. Investing in Commodity and Cyclical Stocks Is All About the Capital Cycle21. Within Special Situations, Carefully Study SpinoffsPart IV: Portfolio Management22. The Holy Grail of Long-Term Value Investing23. The Market Is Efficient Most, but Not All, of the Time24. The Dynamic Art of Portfolio Management and Individual Position Sizing25. To Finish First, You Must First FinishPart V: Decision-Making26. Read More History and Fewer Forecasts27. Updating Our Beliefs in Light of New Evidence28. Life Is a Series of Opportunity Costs29. Pattern Recognition30. Acknowledging the Role of Luck, Chance, Serendipity, and Randomness31. The Education of a Value InvestorConclusion: Understanding the True Essence of CompoundingAppendix AAppendix BAcknowledgmentsNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Splendid. . . . haunting and beautifully written. . . . This is a terrific book.” — Washington Post "An incredible story." — People “A dramatic tale expertly told of rapacious ambition, decadent excess, and covert and overt tyranny and trauma. . . . With resplendent detail, the authors capture the gasp-eliciting extravagance of the Vanderbilt Gilded Age mansions. . . . With its intrinsic empathy and in-depth profiles of women, this is a distinctly intimate, insightful, and engrossing chronicle of an archetypal, self-consuming American dynasty. . . . Irresistible.” — Booklist (starred review) “Marked by meticulous research and deep emotional insight, this is a memorable chronicle of American royalty.” — Publishers Weekly “A remarkably frank and tender undertaking.” — The New York Times on The Rainbow Comes and Goes "Meaningful, revealing." — The Wall Street Journal on The Rainbow Comes and Goes “Fascinating, forthright, philosophical, and inspiring, these mother-and-son musings on family, life, death, forgiveness, fame, and perseverance are at once uniquely personal and deeply human.” — Booklist (starred review) on The Rainbow Comes and Goes “Cooper is a storyteller with plenty of heart. . . . A smart, soulful page-turner. . . . Strong stuff, and in Cooper’s hands, well told.” — People on Dispatches from the Edge “His vignettes from the world’s horrorscapes rise above the swagger of many journalistic memoirs because Cooper writes with competence as well as feeling. . . . Intriguing.” — Washington Post Book World on Dispatches from the Edge

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Gripping and fast-moving... the reporting and the level of detail are astounding… a riveting picture of a figure the world does not know very well, but should.” — Washington Post “Rempel assembles a dizzying amount of information about the deals that made [Kerkorian] one of the richest men in America… Now in this most exhaustive biography, he remains as he was in life, a man of great wealth, power, honor, and mystery.” — New York Journal of Books “The book provides a remarkably detailed and fascinating look at the career of an idiosyncratic tycoon.” — Booklist “Chockablock with dialogue and intimate detail assembled by deep research… All sorts of celebrities—in business, sports, and elsewhere—glide through the text… [The Gambler] is the compelling story of a Horatio Alger.” — Kirkus Reviews “an engrossing story of a self-made man.” — Publishers Weekly “I recommend that every Armenian buy a copy of Kirk’s biography and suggest it to their non-Armenian neighbors, friends and colleagues. Kerkorian’s incredible accomplishments bestow a great honor upon Armenians worldwide!” — The California Courier “A fast-moving, dramatic narrative of [Kerkorian’s] larger-than-life business career.” — Washington Times “The Gambler is an excellent tour de force biography of a true rags-to-riches impressario… A class act of a biography! — Seattle Book Review “Informative and entertaining...Rempel’s The Gambler does justice to Kerkorian’s life and legacy.“ — CDC Gaming Reports, Inc. “With The Gambler, Rempel has done Las Vegas and a generation of business entrepreneurs a great service, adding rich detail to the business titan’s deals and controversies. Kerkorian’s life is a reminder of how far Americans can go” — KNPR

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Book Synopsis"Although Reminiscences. was first published some seventy years ago, its take on crowd psychology and market timing is a s timely as last summer's frenzy on the foreign exchange markets.Trade Review"...certainly one of the most entertaining books ever written about stock trading..." (Money magazine, November 2007) "...is a classic that gives readers a sense of a trader's mind..." (Wall Street Journal, August 7, 2006) "... an engaging read, chock-full of pearls of wisdom and amusing anecdotes...candid and analytical style evoking sympathy for the narrator." (Money Week, October 2006) "... contains timeless advice on the markets." (The Independent, Extra, Thu 13th March)Table of ContentsChapter I - 3 Chapter II – 14 Chapter III – 27 Chapter IV – 35 Chapter V – 49 Chapter VI – 60 Chapter VII – 71 Chapter VIII – 77 Chapter IX – 89 Chapter X – 104 Chapter XI – 116 Chapter XII – 127 Chapter XIII – 141 Chapter XIV – 153 Chapter XV – 168 Chapter XVI – 176 Chapter XVII – 190 Chapter XVIII – 203 Chapter XIX – 210 Chapter XX – 216 Chapter XXI – 227 Chapter XXII – 241 Chapter XXIII – 259 Chapter XXIV – 269

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Book SynopsisLessons in business and life from the executive who helped shape the modern airline industry   Frank Lorenzo is the epitome of the American dream. A first-generation American and entrepreneur, Lorenzo started an airline advisory business in his mid-twenties based on little more than bravado and ultimately rose to control the largest fleet of airplanes in the free world. Flying for Peanuts recounts how Lorenzo grew his empire from nothing and helped shape the airline industry as we know it.Flying for Peanuts explains how the son of Spanish immigrants put himself through Columbia College by driving a Coca-Cola truck and then grew the fledgling advisory into ownership of Texas International Airlines. At TIA, he fought through the industry’s transformation, in part by introducing the new, low-cost model for fares that are a major part of the industry today. From there, through a series of shrewd moves and a hostile takeover, Lorenzo became CE

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Book SynopsisConspiracy theories are legion. Conspiracies are rare. And of the few that do exist, fewer are ever discovered, let alone explained. This story is the exception. In 2016, media giant Gawker was forced to declare bankruptcy after a $140 million dollar judgment in court over an illegally recorded sex tape of Hulk Hogan. The case was no accident: it was the result of a nearly decade-long plot masterminded by Facebook and Paypal billionaire Peter Thiel. With exclusive access to all the key players, Ryan Holiday takes us behind the scenes of this extraordinary and at times surreal story, and transforms the events into both a dissection of that controversial methodology - conspiracy - and an eye-opening cautionary tale on the use, abuse and consequences of power and secrecy in the modern age.Trade ReviewThis book is the Art of War for any 21st century conspirator... a brilliant meditation on strategy, with numerous lessons -- Robert Greene, author * The 48 Laws of Power *This is a fantastic read about two thoroughly dislikeable men. * Sunday Times *Gripping narrative - Holiday has written one helluva page-turner. -- William D Cohan * New York Times *Riveting...an astonishing modern media conspiracy...that is a fantastic read. Holiday is a fine writer. He brilliantly elucidates... [with] a reporter's eye for detail. * The Sunday Times *Brilliant and terrifying -- Rich Cohen, author of The Fish that Ate the Whale and contributing editor of Vanity FairAn artful examination of how true power really works and how it affects all of us. -- Michael Lombardi, host of GM Street on The Ringer and former CLeveland Browns general managerEvery one of Ryan Holiday's books is appointment reading for me. If he writes it, I make the time to read it. -- Brian Koppelman, producer and creator * Billions *Praise for Ryan Holiday: 'Holiday is part Machiavelli, part Ogilvy, and all results -- Tim Ferriss * The 4-Hour Workweek *Holiday is one of his generation's finest thinkers -- Steven Pressfield, author * The War of Art *When playing for high stakes, Ryan Holiday is my secret weapon. His unique stealth manner makes him essential for winning. -- Aaron Ray, partner of the management company The CollectiveI don't have many rules in life, but one I never break is: If Ryan Holiday writes a book, I read it as soon as I can get my hands on it. -- Brian Koppelman, screenwriter and director, Rounders, Ocean’s Thirteen and Billions

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Book SynopsisAn amazing portrait of how grifters came to be called visionaries and high finance lost its mind.' Charles Duhigg, bestselling author ofThe Power of HabitThe definitive inside story of WeWork, its audacious founder, and the company''s epic unravelling from the journalists who first broke the story wide open.In 2001, Adam Neumann arrived in New York after five years as a conscript in the Israeli navy. Just over fifteen years later, he had transformed himself into the charismatic CEO of a company worth $47 billion. With his long hair and feel-good mantras, the six-foot-five Neumann looked the part of a messianic Silicon Valley entrepreneur. The vision he offered was mesmerizing: a radical reimagining of work space for a new generation. He called it WeWork.As billions of funding dollars poured in, Neumann''s ambitions grew limitless. WeWork wasn''t just an office space provider; it would build schools, create cities, even colonize Mars. In pursuit of its founder's vision, the company spenTrade Review“Only a handful of books capture the zeitgeist of a business era. Add this one, a wild saga that caps a decade when founder-worshiping investors threw billions at well-spun visions—even those of a megalomaniac whose new-age real estate enterprise’s losses piled up as fast as its valuation climbed. The duo who broke the story of WeWork’s rise and fall have now artfully fleshed it out in a book whose colourful narrative is undergirded by deep context about the times, and enablers, that made Adam Neumann possible. John Helyar, #1 New York Times-bestselling co-author of Barbarians at the Gate “Eliot Brown and Maureen Farrell owned the WeWork story as it was unfolding. And now, with The Cult of We, we finally get the chronicle we deserve of a madness that consumed venture capital, corporate America and the world. It's an amazing portrait of how grifters came to be called visionaries, billions of dollars were bestowed on bong-hit ideas and high finance lost its mind.” —Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit “Whether you know a lot or a little about the fall of WeWork, you won’t be able to put down The Cult of We by Wall Street Journal reporters Eliot Brown and Maureen Farrell. Their book is teeming with incredible details. While heroes are in short supply, the schadenfreude you’ll feel about the spectacular downfall of those who deserve it is delightful.’ Bethany McLean, bestselling co-author of The Smartest Guys in the Room ‘The lines between vision, bullshit, and fraud are narrow, and if you tell a thirty-year-old male that he is Jesus Christ, he’s inclined to believe you. The idolatry of founders in Silicon Valley will rage until the music stops playing. The Cult of We is a cautionary tale and a crisp page-turner.’ Scott Galloway, New York Times bestselling author of The Four

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Book SynopsisPrashant Desai started D:FY to build India's sports brand, but after 30 months and Rs 30 crore losses, he teamed up with Rajiv Mehta. Despite initial failures, they decoded the issues and found success secrets, turning the venture around.

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Book Synopsis''The definitive account of a sensational trade'' Michael Lewis, author of The Big ShortAutumn 2008. The world''s finances collapse but one man makes a killing.John Paulson, a softly spoken hedge-fund manager who still took the bus to work, seemed unlikely to stake his career on one big gamble. But he did - and The Greatest Trade Ever is the story of how he realised that the sub-prime housing bubble was going to burst, making $15 Billion for his fund and more than $4 Billion for himself in a single year. It''s a tale of folly and wizardry, individual brilliance versus institutional stupidity.John Paulson made the biggest winning bet in history. And this is how he did it.''Extraordinary, excellent'' Observer''A must-read for anyone fascinated by financial madness'' Mail on Sunday''A forensic, read-in-one-sitting book'' Sunday Times''Simply terrific. Easily the best of the post-craTrade ReviewSimply terrific. Easily the best of the post-crash financial books -- Malcolm GladwellGreg Zuckerman was the first to tell the world about John Paulson's sensational trade . . . He's written the definitive account of a strange and wonderful subplot of the financial crisis * Michael Lewis, author of Liar's Poker *A must-read for anyone fascinated by financial madness * Mail on Sunday *A forensic, read-in-one-sitting book * Sunday Times *Extraordinary, excellent * Observer *Compelling * Economist *Zuckerman takes us to Wall Street's heart of darkness, where mushroomed a $1 trillion subprime mortgage market that only the few, the brave, the smart dared short. This is at once a great page-turner and a great illuminator of the market's crash. * John Heylar, co-author of Barbarians at the Gate *Much, much more than a brilliant account of Paulson's trade of the century; this book also provides a highly enjoyable and lucid journey through the analytical and emotional maze that constituted the financial markets on the eve of the Great Recession. Compulsory reading. * Mohamed El-Erian, CEO of Pacific Investment Management Co and author of When Markets Collide *A magnificent insider look at how Paulson and others profited off of subprime's demise... insightful and gripping. * Marketfolly.com *

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Book SynopsisIn praise of Charlie D. "Falloon's eloquent explication of the life of the legendary Charlie D delivers a good read while exposing that most under-publicized commodity of them all-a mega-trader with a low public profile whose superhuman trading abilities were exceeded by only one thing-the extended reach of his heart and soul. " -Patrick H.Table of ContentsCigar Smoke. Larger than Life. Unstung by the Sting. Lotto. Caddyshack. God Doesn't Trade Bonds. Super Bowl MVPs. Atlas Shrugged. The Other Side of Vegas. 308 East Roberta. Full Throttle. Bozo Bonds. Epilogue. Acknowledgments. Permissions Acknowledgments.

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Book SynopsisA witty account of Waugh''s time in Abyssinia as a war correspondentIn 1935 Italy declared war on Abyssinia and Evelyn Waugh was sent to Addis Ababa to cover the conflict. His acerbic account of the intrigue and political machinations leading up to the crisis is coupled with amusing descriptions of the often bizarre and seldom straightforward life of a war correspondent rubbing shoulders with less-than-honest officials, Arab spies, pyjama-wearing radicals and disgruntled journalists. Witty, lucid and penetrating, Evelyn Waugh captures the dilemmas and complexities of a feudal society caught up in twentieth-century politics and confrontation.

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Book Synopsis''Witty, compelling and never mawkish'' Observer''Written with a sure touch . . . Adie has a natural understanding of what it is like to be unsure of your origins'' Sunday Telegraph''A cracker of a subject . . . (Adie) writes with an engaging, forthright immediacy'' New Statesman* * * * * *Bestselling author and BBC reporter Kate Adie writes vividly, inspiringly and from many fascinating perspectives about what it means to be an abandoned child.What''s your name? Where were you born? What is your date of birth? Simple questions that we are asked throughout our life - but what if you didn''t know the answers? Journalist and presenter of BBC Radio 4''s From Our Own Correspondent Kate Adie uncovers the extraordinary, moving and inspiring stories of just such children - without mother or father, any knowledge of who they might be, or even a name to call their own.Trade ReviewAn exceptional account by a remarkable woman * Michael Parkinson on THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS *The paciest and most entertaining history book to come my way * Ian McIntyre, The Times on CORSETS TO CAMOU *Sharp, witty and full of insights into the BBC and the sometimes crazed world of broadcasting * Daily Express on THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS *

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Book Synopsis''Reported with skill and personal insight'' The TimesBestselling author and the most famous woman in a flak jacket Kate Adie sets out on a fascinating journey to discover just who is attracted to living dangerously - and why.Ever since her days as a reporter on the front line in Iraq and the Iranian Embassy siege in London, Kate Adie has earned her reputation as one of the most intrepid women of her day. Throughout her career she has regularly reported from the world''s most dangerous war zones - often placing her own life at serious risk. It has given her a curiosity about the people who are attracted to danger. Why when so many are fearful of anything beyond their daily routine, are others drawn towards situations, or professions which put them in regular peril of their lives? It has proved a fascinating quest that has taken her to the four corners of the globe in pursuit of an answer. She has met those who choose a carTrade ReviewA great theme, reported with skill and personal insight * The Times *

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Book SynopsisTHE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO BUILDING AN APP-BASED BUSINESS ''A must read for anyone who wants to start a mobile app business'' Riccardo Zacconi, founder and CEO King Digital (maker of Candy Crush Saga)''A fascinating deep dive into the world of billion-dollar apps. Essential reading for anyone trying to build the next must-have app'' Michael Acton Smith, Founder and CEO, Mind CandyApps have changed the way we communicate, shop, play, interact and travel and their phenomenal popularity has presented possibly the biggest business opportunity in history.In How to Build a Billion Dollar App, serial tech entrepreneur George Berkowski gives you exclusive access to the secrets behind the success of the select group of apps that have achieved billion-dollar success.Berkowski draws exclusively on the inside stories of the billion-dollar app club members, including Instagram, Whatsapp, Snapchat, Candy Crush and Uber tTrade ReviewA practical guide on how to start your mobile app company. A must read for anyone who wants to start a mobile app business * Riccardo Zacconi, founder and CEO King Digital (maker of Candy Crush Saga) *The first book to take a detailed, insightful behind-the-scenes look at the mobile app world. A must read for anyone who wants to know what it takes to build an app into a successful business * Hugo Barra, VP, Xiaomi (and former VP Android Product Management, Google) *George Berkowski knows from the front line how to build fast-scaling digital businesses. Don't start one of your own without taking his advice * David Rowan, Editor, Wired magazine *A fascinating deep dive into the world of billion-dollar apps. Essential reading for anyone trying to build the next must-have app * Michael Acton Smith, Founder and CEO, Mind Candy *George has combined his own experience at Hailo with a thoughtful study of the iconic mobile companies of this era to provide a helpful guide to entrepreneurs and investors trying to understand the emerging mobile economy * Adam Valkin, General Partner at General Catalyst Partners *I loved this book. It provides an entertaining and rigorous yet very practical guide to success in the brave new world of mobile technology. I will never look at apps the same way again * Bill Aulet, Managing Director of the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship and author of Disciplined Entrepreneurship: 24 Steps to a Successful Startup *

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Book SynopsisBen S. Bernanke’s rise to chair of the Federal Reserve, the massive financial crisis, and the Fed’s bold and effective response.Trade Review"Bernanke details the hurdles he faced, from cynically obstructive congressmen to obstreperous regulators and quarrelsome interest rate hawks, as well as hapless policymaking in Europe. During much of the panic, he writes: “The Fed alone, with its chewing gum and baling wire, bore the burden of battling the crisis.” The guts of his story are familiar. It is well narrated with regular flashes of colour…" -- Financial Times"The former chair has penned a lucid account of the crisis and its aftermath... Mr Bernanke’s narrative of his time in office is a lucid, analytical affair… the book provides a robust defence of the Fed’s response to the crisis. Mr Bernanke clearly sees himself as someone who did what was necessary to save the economy from disaster, in the face of a barrage of unwarranted criticism. The result is a book which compels..." -- The Economist"It was Ben Bernanke, not Gordon Brown, who steered us through the 2008 financial meltdown...the book's most interesting chapters are those that deal with the crisis...Above all, [Bernanke] exuded calm, even when there was plenty of inner turmoil. The calmness comes over in this book, and so does plenty of the turmoil." -- The Sunday Times"It was a happy chance that this scholar, known for his work on the Great Depression, was chairman of the central banking system of the US during the biggest financial crisis since the early 1930s. His [Bernanke's] new book, The Courage to Act, provides a fascinating account of the effort to save the world from another such catastrophe." -- Martin Wolf, Lunch with the FT - Financial Times"'Why', asked the Queen during her visit to the London School of Economics in November 2008, 'did no one see it coming?' The most thorough and persuasive explanation yet comes in a book by one of the key people, arguably the key person, involved, Ben Bernanke, chair of the US Federal Reserve Board." -- The Independent"Bernanke's memoir is a crucial document of record that will be invaluable to future historians. As far as any memoir can be, it is an honest and accurate account. There is no hubris or exaggeration: simply a telling of the tale of the most dramatic period in office of any Fed Chairman to date." -- Mervyn King - Prospect"Bernanke was at the helm of the world's most important central bank during the financial crisis of 2007-08... Here he gives a compelling account of what he and the Federal Reserve did and why they did it... the defence of the Fed against its critics is compelling. " -- Best Books of 2015 - Financial Times"This memoir is a much better read than that of his predecessor, Alan Greenspan: the writing flows easily and the book is much better structured." -- The Irish Times

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Book SynopsisA new edition of Cary Reich's engaging biography of Andre Meyer. In this new edition of Financier, Cary Reich presents an illuminating portrait of this ferociously energetic, charming, and ruthless businessman who was a trusted advisor of the Kennedys and an intimate of William Paley and Katherine Graham.Table of ContentsA Tale of Two Financiers. The Picasso of Banking. Up and Coming. Starting Over. Gold Under the Asphalt. André and Ferd. Friends. The Women in his Life. The Avis Saga. Sins of Pride. Zeckendorf. The Incomparable Investor. Money Hungry. Madeleine Malraux. Life at Lazard. Pierre the Duke. The Sage of the Carlyle. Merger Making. Cashing in. Jackie O. A Rendezvous with LBJ. Tidying Up. Eddie Gilbert ... Again. A Deal Under Fire. The Vise Tightens. Fighting for his Life. Adrift. The Torch Passes. The Final Tally. Notes on Sources. Interviews. Sources. Index.

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Book SynopsisInsane Mode is the astounding story of the most revolutionary car company since Ford, revealing how, under Elon Musk's leadership, it is bringing to an end the era of gasoline-powered transportation. Hamish McKenzie, journalist and former writer for Tesla, explores how an unlikely West Coast start-up with an audacious dream to create a new successful US car company, went up against not only the might of the government-backed Detroit companies, but also the massive power of Big Oil. Insane Mode is a story of ingenuity and revolution of how a new world of transportation could change people's lives globally.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review'Bingham and Hames’s accessible, edge-of-the-seat account of how British innovators vaccinated the UK and much of the rest of the world is also a quiet, compelling, non-partisan argument for dialogue between business and politics.' -- Telegraph'Fast-paced and very compelling… The Vaccine Taskforce will always be remembered as British science at its very best.' -- Sir Jonathan Symonds, Chairman of GlaxoSmithKline'The Long Shot is a book about procurement — not normally a subject for a gripping tale. Yet in this case we are dealing with the most successful procurement exercise of our times. And luckily, Bingham delivers on her punchy promise in the prologue to "tell it like it is". As an outsider rooted in business, she offers strong and specific recommendations for transforming government. Most deliciously, she names names.' -- Financial Times'Written with compelling verve and complete authority, this book describes how Kate Bingham ensured that Covid-19 vaccines would be made available to the UK. But the book does more than that. It also demonstrates how science and the effective application of science are critical to solving the world’s problems, and that these solutions will only be delivered with a razor-sharp focus on outcomes rather than on following procedures.' -- Sir Paul Nurse, Nobel Prize laureate'Frank and fascinating.' -- Nature'Kate Bingham’s new book, The Long Shot, is a gripping account of the UK Government Vaccine Task Force’s response to the pandemic by a remarkable, determined, thoughtful, and practical individual who was at the heart of the critical decisions that had to be made. I spoke with her frequently through 2020 as we battled logistical headwinds and the media storms in development of the Oxford vaccine and was always better for our chats, absorbing the positive energy that she emanates and benefiting from her wisdom. Her clarity of thought and action in a such a dark and turbulent time is a seam running through the book, and I know for certain that her efforts saved many lives. But I have to disagree with the title, because the book shows that it really wasn’t such a "long shot" with Kate at the helm.' -- Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group at the University of Oxford‘A blueprint of how industry, academia and government can work together to address a question of global importance, with lessons for other future crises.’ -- John Tregoning, author of Infectious'An excellent read… Capturing the exceptional pace and energy of everyone involved in discovering and producing effective therapies against Covid-19. All in all, this is a book I will treasure.' -- Sir Mene Pangalos, Executive Vice President of AstraZeneca'Essential reading for anyone seeking to learn the lessons of the Covid-19 pandemic.’ -- Matthew Partridge, Money Week‘An incisive behind-the-scenes look at the challenges Bingham faced in her role… The authors combine a lucid explanation of the scientific breakthroughs needed to create the first Covid vaccine with an insider look at the politics that hampered the taskforce’s efforts. The result is a valuable addition to the literature documenting the crisis.’ -- Publishers Weekly

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Book SynopsisFrom the host of NPR?s Planet Money, the deeply-investigated story of how one visionary, dogged investor changed American finance forever.Before Bill Gross was known among investors as the Bond King, he was a gambler. In 1966, a fresh college grad, he went to Vegas armed with his net worth ($200) and a knack for counting cards. $10,000 and countless casino bans later, he was hooked: so he enrolled in business school.The Bond King is the story of how that whiz kid made American finance his casino. Over the course of decades, Bill Gross turned the sleepy bond market into a destabilized game of high risk, high reward; founded Pimco, one of today?s most powerful, secretive, and cutthroat investment firms; helped to reshape our financial system in the aftermath of the Great Recession?to his own advantage; and gained legions of admirers, and enemies, along the way. Like every American antihero, his ambition would also be his undoing.To understand the winners and losers of today?s money game, journalist Mary Childs argues, is to understand the bond market?and to understand the bond market is to understand the Bond King.

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Book Synopsis''Comprehensive . . . a definitive history'' The Times ''Battle For The Bird is an absolute triumph of reporting and storytelling.'' Ashlee Vance, bestselling author of Elon Musk ''If you want to understand how one of the most powerful social networks in history managed to be such a dramatic corporate disaster, you must read Kurt Wagner''s deeply reported inside story.'' Sarah Frier, author of Financial Times and McKinsey 2020 Business Book of the Year No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram''Informative, clear, accessible . . . a primer on the social media site'' Sunday Independent __________On October 28th, hours after completing a $44 billion takeover of Twitter, Elon Musk Tweeted to his millions of followers ''The bird is freed.''Musk''s takeover of Twitter was one of the most audacious and remarkable deals in tech history. The Battle for Twitter takes readers back to the very be

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Book SynopsisThe true story of the Getty family as featured in the TV series Trust and the movie All the Money in the WorldBoardroom battles, sex, money, drugs, power, crime, tragedy, and family intrigue; at the centre stands the figure of John Paul Getty, the grandfather, an eccentric oil billionaire believed to have been the richest man in the world. Married and divorced five times, he had five sons, and yet was cheated of his dearest ambition-to found an oil dynasty. His angelic youngest son died at age twelve after years of illness. Of the remaining four sons, three proved to be hopeless businessmen and, one by one, dropped out of Getty Oil. Only one had the talent to take the helm of the family business, and he was groomed for the part. And then he killed himself.With his cherished hopes of a family dynasty crushed, John Paul built a magnificent museum as a monument for all time to his success. But money tainted even his philanthropy; the Getty Museum haTrade ReviewElegant and immensely readable -- Robert Lacey * The Times *A useful reminder that being rich is not enough * The New York Times *Russell Miller shows a life of great and inspiring entrepreneurial achievement, coupled with the hubris of Getty’s personal tragedies * New York Magazine *Table of ContentsPrologue: The Midas contagion Part One: The Making of an Oilman 1903–23 1. ‘Set another place for breakfast’ 2. ‘You’ll have to start at the bottom’ 3. ‘Congratulations, Paul, it’s making thirty barrels’ 4. ‘This is oil land!’ Part Two: The Wayward Husband 1924–48 5. ‘Who was that girl with Paul?’ 6. ‘He should dress you in sable’ 7. ‘My first thought was this is THE girl’ 8. ‘Teddy phoned. Miss her so much’ 9. ‘My dearest darling left to join Papa’ 10. ‘A simple Irish girl of deep spirituality’ Part Three: The Richest Tycoon 1949–64 11. ‘In the name of God, the Merciful and Compassionate…’ 12. ‘Where is the oil, where is the money?’ 13. ‘I don’t believe in giving my competitors a head start’ 14. ‘A billion dollars isn’t what it used to be’ 15. ‘Good, old-fashioned, vulgar fun’ Part Four: The Family 1965–85 16. ‘Bad health, bad news and death’ 17. ‘Don’t let me be killed’ 18. ‘A lecher, a miser, a womaniser’ 19. ‘Money to fuel the legal engines forever’ 20. ‘Not all the Gettys are interested in becoming billionaires’ 21. ‘A curse on the family’ Epilogue: The courage of Martine A Note on the Author

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Book SynopsisFrom the New York Times bestselling author of Return of the King comes the story of LeBron James''s incredible transformation from basketball star to sports and business mogul.With eight straight trips to the NBA Finals, LeBron James has proven himself one of the greatest basketball players of all time. And like Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan before him, LeBron has also become a global brand and businessman who has altered the way professional athletes think about their value, maximize their leverage, and use their voice. LeBron, Inc. tells the story of James''s journey down the path to becoming a billionaire sports icon - his successes, his failures, and the lessons both have taught him along the way. With plenty of newsmaking tidbits about his rollercoaster last season in Cleveland and high-profile move to the Lakers, LeBron, Inc. shows how James has changed the way most elite athletes manage their careers, and how he launched aTrade ReviewWindhorst knows himself some LeBron, as he demonstrates here in detailing how a basketball player transformed himself into a shrewd entrepreneur worth well over a billion dollars . . . A fascinating look inside the prototype for the new corporate athlete * Booklist *This is a shoo-in for business-minded sports fans * Publishers Weekly *

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Book Synopsis“Traveling the world with my father, watching him interact with people, famous and ordinary, observing up close his balls-out sense of adventure, and having a larger-than-life personality to live up to had a profound effect on me and the formation of my character.” —From the foreword by Steve Aoki, Grammy-nominated producer and Billboard award-winning DJ Hiroaki “Rocky” Aoki was a man who succeeded in everything he pursued. From world-class wrestling, ballooning, underwater exploration, and car and boat racing to founding Benihana, Rocky’s passion for life infected all around him and accelerated the exchange of Japanese culture and cuisine with America. Rocky’s rags to riches story, from dishwasher and busboy to owner of a multi-million-dollar restaurant empire, is a wild American dream realized unlike any other. Running and expanding the business would be all-consuming for most people—not to mention battling the perception of otherness—but Rocky would not be deterred. His determination for the business rivaled the drive he demonstrated in his other interests, some of which almost killed him. American Hiro by Jack McCallum, who had full access to Rocky Aoki and those in his enterprises, provides the only full inside account of one of the most famous symbols of cultural assimilation and capitalistic zeal in modern US history—a champion in business, sports, and life.

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Book SynopsisFrom the author of the Sunday Times Number One Bestseller Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White HouseRupert Murdoch is one of the greatest deal-makers alive. His companies possess extraordinary political and cultural power. Whether it is the Sun and the rise of Thatcher, BSkyB and the transformation of football, or Fox News and the war on terror, we have been living in the age of Murdoch since the late seventies. But who is he? What drives him? With unprecedented access to Murdoch and his inner circle, Michael Wolff chronicles the astonishing growth of the mogul’s giant media kingdom. Drawing upon hundreds of hours of interviews he offers us a portrait of a Machiavellian titan; overbearing, but loving, father; love-struck husband; and a cynical and brilliant newsman. The resulting book is unrivalled in its intimacy and candour and tells a tale of business that is both the story of a man’s life, and the story of our times.Trade ReviewUp close and personal * Independent *Wolff provides rich insights into the workings of News Corp, his relations with wives and children, his handling of rivals and enemies. He explains all vividly and lucidly, and doesn’t pull his punches * Guardian *Full of interesting titbits and insights * Irish Times *A deeply satisfying experience…full of the kind of detailed ticktock that makes business seem brutally exciting * New York Times *Gripping…fascinating * Los Angeles Times *

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Book SynopsisThe story Hebden Bridge, told through the experiences of three generations of the prosperous Spencer family who made clothes for working men in the nineteenth century.

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Book SynopsisThis is a fascinating combination of biographical material about the great Scottish engineer Thomas Telford (1757-1834), and a modern travelogue that revisits the places in the Highlands and Islands where he worked over a period of 20 years. Scotland was provided with desperately-needed civil infrastructure - nearly 1000 miles of roads, 1200 bridges, many harbours, and the monumental Caledonian Canal. Telford's programme of work was one of the greatest sustained efforts by any individual in the years of Britain's industrial revolution. And yet it is little celebrated in Scotland, let alone the rest of Britain and the wider world. After working in England and Wales for nearly 20 years, Telford was called back to his native land to address huge problems in the Highlands and Islands. These included unemployment, depopulation, Highlanders dispirited by poverty and suppression following the two Jacobite uprisings, compounded by living in mountainous regions almost totally isolated from the rest of Scotland. Thomas Telford has been widely painted as a brilliant engineer totally devoted to his work, a somewhat one-dimensional character. However, the author shows him differently, as a man of the Scottish Enlightenment, a rounded character with a love of poetry and the natural world, a good companion and a generous friend. A Scotsman Returns reveals him as a person who, in spite of the humblest start in life, displayed great social skills in his dealings with Scots both haughty and humble during his 20-year commitment to the Highlands and Islands. The author retraces an extensive Highland Tour made by Telford and the Poet Laureate, Robert Southey, in 1819. The two men were drawn together by Telford's love of poetry and Southey's admiration of the engineer's remarkable work in the Highlands. Southey kept a journal of the tour, which remained unpublished for a century and is still not widely known. Comments on the places they visited, the sights they saw, their social interactions, and Southey's intelligent interest in Telford's roadmaking, bridgebuilding and, above all, the Caledonian Canal are featured. Telford's work in other areas of the Highlands and Islands is also covered, principally in Caithness, Sutherland, and the Hebridean Islands. There are further discussions of the social and political environment in which Telford operated, including the Highland Clearances. This travelogue, beautifully illustrated in full colour with over 100 photographs of Telford's surviving infrastructure, is complemented with modern views of the places where he worked. A Scotsman Returns is a wonderful collection of Telford's remarkable achievements and will encourage readers worldwide to explore the routes followed by Telford as he developed Highland infrastructure.

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Book SynopsisBorn in 1852 in a small coastal town in Scotland, Helen D’Oyly Carte, through academic brilliance and an incredible talent for ‘managing chaos’, developed and ran the world’s foremost top entertainment and hospitality organisation with her husband, Richard D’Oyly Carte (known as D’Oyly). By the age of 30, she was running five Gilbert & Sullivan companies for the Savoy Group in the United States, crossing the Atlantic thirty times, and for the next three decades she ran the Savoy Theatre, the Savoy Hotel, Claridges and Simpson's-in-the-Strand. She was the only one trusted by the prickly, brilliant William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, to keep them from breaking apart, as they so regularly wanted to do. From a conventional upbringing, she chose to remain in London after the emigration of her family to Australia, first as an actress, then working alongside D’Oyly – she took over the reins as he became ill in the late 1880s. Until her death in 1913, she flourished and was famous, interviewed and admired, in a competitive, vibrant London that was the centre of world power and commerce. Queen of The Savoy charts Helen’s course from Wigtown to the West End, where running a company with hundreds of employees, led to her fame and fortune. The artists Whistler and Sickert were friends and immortalised her in portraits. She was known in her time as the true founder of the Gilbert and Sullivan franchise and this biography will bring to light, some 110 years after her death, the extraordinary role that she played in one of Britain’s greatest success stories.Trade Review‘This lively account of the life of Helen D’Oyly Carte is an extraordinary journey through the arts and business in Victorian and Edwardian Britain, as seen through the eyes of the ‘Queen of the Savoy’. Surfacing the stories of women who have often been rendered invisible is dependent on painstaking research. Elisabeth Kehoe has left no stone unturned in her excavation of the life story of this exceptional woman - an act of tenacity by the author that matches the essence of the subject of this fascinating book.’ - Professor Jo Fox, Pro Vice Chancellor (Research and Engagement) and Dean of the School of Advanced Study, University of London

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Book SynopsisFrom Market to Stock Market is the astonishing story of Bill Adderley who, from the humblest of beginnings, created one of the most successful retail chains in Britain today. Dunelm, Britain's leading homeware group, has over 180 superstores and a market value on the London Stock Exchange of 2.2 billion. The son of poor Irish immigrants, Bill grew up in a council house in Leeds, sharing a bed with his three brothers. He got his first job at fifteen, working as a Saturday Boy' at the local Woolworth, and went on to become a Woolworth manager when he was twenty-one. In the 1970s however Woolworth's went into steep decline and Bill left to start up his own business, selling seconds and reject goods on a stall in Leicester market. His first coup was a truckload of reject slippers, followed by reject Marks & Spencer curtains from which he made enough money to start a company that grew into the Dunelm homeware furnishings group. In 2006, Dunelm Group Plc listed on the stock market, since when the shares have increased six-fold. At the age of fifty-eight, Bill passed over the executive reins to his son Will and now lives a quiet life near Leicester with his wife Jean.

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