A Diary of a Called Woman

"Oh, screw it, let's do it." That's the philosophy that has allowed Richard Branson, in slightly more than twenty-five years, to spawn so many successful ventures. From the airline business (Virgin Atlantic Airways), to music (Virgin Records and V2), to cola (Virgin Cola), to retail (Virgin Megastores), and nearly a hundred others, ranging from financial services to bridal wear, Branson has a track record second to none. Losing My Virginity is the unusual, frequently outrageous autobiography of one of the great business geniuses of our time. When Richard Branson started his first business, he and his friends decided that "since we're complete virgins at business, let's call it just that: Virgin." Since then, Branson has written his own "rules" for success, creating a group of companies with a global presence, but no central headquarters, no management hierarchy, and minimal bureaucracy. Many of Richard Branson's companies--airlines, retailing, and cola are good examples--were started in the face of entrenched competition. The experts said, "Don't do it." But Branson found golden opportunities in markets in which customers have been ripped off or underserved, where confusion reigns, and the competition is complacent. And in this stressed-out, overworked age, Richard Branson gives us a new model: a dynamic, hardworking, successful entrepreneur who lives life to the fullest. Family, friends, fun, and adventure are equally important as business in Branson's life. Losing My Virginity is a portrait of a productive, sane, balanced life, filled with rich and colorful stories: Crash-landing his hot-air balloon in the Algerian desert, yet remaining determined to have another go at being the first to circle the globe Signing the Sex Pistols, Janet Jackson, the Rolling Stones, Boy George, and Phil Collins Fighting back when British Airways took on Virgin Atlantic and successfully suing this pillar of the British business establishment Swimming two miles to safety during a violent storm off the coast of Mexico Selling Virgin Records to save Virgin Atlantic Staging a rescue flight into Baghdad before the start of the Gulf War . . . And much more. Losing My Virginity is the ultimate tale of personal and business survival from a man who combines the business prowess of Bill Gates and the promotional instincts of P. T. Barnum.

For this definitive biography, acclaimed journalist and bestselling author Tom Bower was granted unprecedented access to Simon Cowell and those around him—and the result is a fascinating multilayered portrait of one of the world’s most intriguing television personalities ever to dominate the music industry. Simon Cowell has made an international name for himself as the no-holds-barred judge on the television phenomenon American Idol. He’s been called mean, arrogant, brash, and unapologetic, but his stinging barbs and smug personality have also earned him cheers from fans, as well as millions of dollars, a string of exotic beauties, and industry clout to develop his own projects. But Cowell’s true reward is revenge. Sweet Revenge is the ultimate insider’s account of Simon Cowell’s rise to fame—even as others plotted his downfall—from his cheeky exploits as a British school lad to his failures as a frustrated young music exec in London to his explosive rivalry with Simon Fuller over the genesis of the Idol franchise to the PR disaster that nearly sunk his wildly successful show The X Factor. Conducting more than 150 interviews with industry power players, Cowell’s inner circle, and Cowell himself on a private jet, chartered yacht, at his L.A. home, and on the studio lot, Tom Bower pulls back the curtain on a man who is at once insecure, ambitious, easily bored, vain, needy, and driven, a man who will go to any limit to secure his success. Cowell is also revealed as a loyal friend and loving son. His father, to whom Cowell was particularly close, became his most trusted adviser and mentor. ISBN:2147483647 Author:Tom Bower

Intense personal experiences of South Africa’s brutal social system, a sense of stifled creativity and a distaste for politics made Bessie Head leave for Botswana on an exit permit at the age of 27. There, in her chosen rural ‘haven’ of Serowe, and despite a severe mental breakdown, she wrote the novels and stories that earned her international recognition as one of Africa’s most remarkabble and individual writers. A Woman Alone is a collections of autobiographical writings, sketches, and essays which covers the entire span of Bessie Head’s creative life, up to her death in 1986 at age 49. It reveals a woman of great sensitivity and vitality, inspired through her knowledge of suffering in a ‘reverence for ordinary people’ and finding some healing for her own anguish in a quiet corner of Africa. " " ISBN:2147483647 Author:Bessie Head