Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

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

Average Customer Rating:

Best book I've read in a while

Customer Rating:

I bought this book whilst I was traveling in Asia and found mysef unable to put in down. The book goes right from his boarding school days right through to him setting up the world elders. Although the book leaves out no detail I thought that there would be more on his actual thoughs and feelings. However I would recomed this book to anyone it's full of adventure both in bussiness and Bransons record attemts. U cant read this book without loving his attitude and making u feel like there's something we all can do to change the world. A truly well written and unlifting book.

Very Exciting!

Customer Rating:

I got this book at an airport (seem to buy a lot of books in airports!) It was a brilliant read. I could not wait to pick the book up in between holiday stuff! The only thing I found a little irritating was the fact that Richard Branson seems to write with a real self indulgance. It would be nice to read about his life in a bit more of an unbiased way. But hey who am I to critise a man who has made millions!!

Excellent	Customer Rating:
I loved this book. Branson is so honest throughout. He's an amzing person. I could not put the book down from start to finish!

Losing My Virginity: The Autobiography	Customer Rating:
Losing My Virginity: The Autobiography. This was gift, I kept putting it off before reading. Once I started I could not put it down. A great book, very well written and interesting. Its time for the updated version or book two.

Jewels of wisdom from Richard, I just craved more!

Customer Rating:

I'm glad I read this book, the chronology of it flows exceptionally and it's like finding a real gem of understanding reading his anecdotes and reactions to situations that come his way. The most interesting parts for me was understanding his business start-up and development (the first half I would say), this could sell the book on its own. Problems: Ok, I'm not sure about everyone else's reasons, but the reasons why I chose to read this book in the first place was to understand how and why Mr Branson approaches business in the way he does and what EXACTLY his methodology and thought processes are/were. Perhaps it's curiosity, tips, self-evaluation, whatever. Anyway, all the other peripheral stuff like his ballooning trips (multiple and repetitive) and the social conscience he develops and promotes toward the end just really slow down the momentum of the book. I guess I wanted consistent and unadulterated nitty gritty insight into the grey matter of a stupendously successful businessman but there were only snippets and cryptic clues throughout that verged on frustrating. But whatever, it's Richard: he and his philosophies are awesome and you should buy this book just to contribute to the Virgin Empire.