No Sir Richard, I don't want to hear about your Virginity... (Losing My Virginity - Richard Branson)

Member Name: Clayeree

Product:	Losing My Virginity - Richard Branson
Date:	09/09/09 (42 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very very interesting

Disadvantages: Lack of detail on how Virgin was built up

Whether you love him or you hate him, there's no arguing with the fact that Sir Richard Branson is a very gifted entrepreneur. I had no real opinion on him as a person before I read this book, but I was fascinated by just how he has managed to become so sucessful.

This book tells the story of Sir Richard Branson's life right through from his childhood. Everything is covered in it from the early days of Virgin Music to his exploits in hot air balloons and boats. I read the original 1998 edition which disappointingly finished in 1993. However an updated edition was published in 2007 which covers, amongst other things, September 11th, the Iraq War, the flotation of Virgin Mobile and the creation of the new space travel venture Virgin Galactic.

I found this to be an absolutely fascinating book and was hooked all the way through. I was not expecting this book to be so interesting but instead found that there was not a boring sentence in it; it grabs your attention at the beginning and keeps you interested throughout.

Losing My Virginity is written very candidly although perhaps too candidly at times. The phrase, 'too much information' springs to mind at certain points of the book (the title of the book should give you a clue to one of these!)

However, the book does not reveal many secrets about building up a successful company. The Virgin group seemed to grow very quickly from a tiny business just starting out to the diverse range of businesses it is today. Its reputation grew quickly and I was left wondering exactly how Richard Branson became so successful because the book really did not give me any clues. I was left wanting more information on his business dealings although the chapters on his other exploits such as ballooning and sailing, were amazing. The chapters dealing with the lawsuit against British Airways were especially compelling because you are given an inside (albeit one-sided) perspective on events that made headline news.

Since this book was published, Sir Richard Branson has written two further books, 'Screw It Let's Do It: Lessons in Life' first published in 2006 and 'Business Stripped Bare: Adventures of a Global Entrepreneur' first published in 2008. As far as I can tell without reading them, the first is a sort of motivational book with examples from the Virgin businesses as case studies. The second is currently in my pile of books to read so hopefully that will provide me with what I felt I was missing out on in this book.

Summary: Fascinating, well-written and very candid this is an exceptionally good read