LOSING MY VIRGINITY
Author: Richard Branson
Hubs was the one who passed the book on to me – a paperback that is a good 3 inches thick. I drooled as I took in the thickness (I love endless stories) and I was definitely salivating when I found out that it was an autobiography – my favourite genre.
Richard Branson needs little introduction, of course. But what I did know about him, prior to reading this bare-all bio, was nowhere near to reality, if the book could be taken at each and every word’s value.
In a nutshell, I used to think that here was an eccentric man who was fearless in doing ANYTHING at all, so long as what he did would put the brand Virgin on the map. That much was true, as I learned in the book, but what I eventually discovered were the reasons why he did certain extreme antics and most importantly, the endless struggle and courageous fight that he and his team put up just to keep Virgin afloat.
Mr Branson painted himself as a fighter who would try anything at least once in his life, and appeared to be a very temperamental man, a gentleman who rarely lost his temper – much like Hubs, actually, in the later respect. And in this bio, he obviously did not try to hide any skeleton at all. It was a truly no-holds barred book, even when it came down to his personal and sexual life – yes, the title says it all, actually. Written in the first person, the bio is truly enjoyable, engaging and the thickness of it guarantees a good read for at least 1.5 weeks. Mr Branson is able to laugh at himself shamelessly, and in doing so, you just could not help but to like the man!
Once, during his attempt to get the prestigious Blue Ribbon back for Britain, he managed to get Esso to sponsor his trip. At a dinner with Esso, while giving a toast, he thanked them profusely and elaborately – and during all these while, mistakenly calling them BP (Esso’s rival) in his speech.
The only downside of this book was that there were too much of incomprehensible market and share talk – so much so that at times, I was lost along the way due to my zilch knowledge in the stock industry.
THE TRUIzM
Grab it when you next see it in the library. Until then, discard what you think you knew about Mr Branson. You ain’t seen (or read) nothing yet – till you devour this bio.
Richard Branson needs little introduction, of course. But what I did know about him, prior to reading this bare-all bio, was nowhere near to reality, if the book could be taken at each and every word’s value.
In a nutshell, I used to think that here was an eccentric man who was fearless in doing ANYTHING at all, so long as what he did would put the brand Virgin on the map. That much was true, as I learned in the book, but what I eventually discovered were the reasons why he did certain extreme antics and most importantly, the endless struggle and courageous fight that he and his team put up just to keep Virgin afloat.
Mr Branson painted himself as a fighter who would try anything at least once in his life, and appeared to be a very temperamental man, a gentleman who rarely lost his temper – much like Hubs, actually, in the later respect. And in this bio, he obviously did not try to hide any skeleton at all. It was a truly no-holds barred book, even when it came down to his personal and sexual life – yes, the title says it all, actually. Written in the first person, the bio is truly enjoyable, engaging and the thickness of it guarantees a good read for at least 1.5 weeks. Mr Branson is able to laugh at himself shamelessly, and in doing so, you just could not help but to like the man!
Once, during his attempt to get the prestigious Blue Ribbon back for Britain, he managed to get Esso to sponsor his trip. At a dinner with Esso, while giving a toast, he thanked them profusely and elaborately – and during all these while, mistakenly calling them BP (Esso’s rival) in his speech.
The only downside of this book was that there were too much of incomprehensible market and share talk – so much so that at times, I was lost along the way due to my zilch knowledge in the stock industry.
THE TRUIzM
Grab it when you next see it in the library. Until then, discard what you think you knew about Mr Branson. You ain’t seen (or read) nothing yet – till you devour this bio. 
