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The Real Deal
- Narrated by: Richard Desmond
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
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Publisher's summary
From the age of five, when he helped his deaf father negotiate advertising contracts, Richard Desmond has always had an eye for business.
In The Real Deal he offers a no-holds-barred account of an extraordinary career that has taken him from cloakroom attendant at a north London club to billionaire media owner.
En route he tells of his early life as a rock and roll drummer, his first steps in the world of magazine publishing as a purveyor of leisure and top-shelf titles, and finally, after decades of paying his dues building smaller brands, his arrival in the big league with the launch of OK! magazine and the acquisition of Express Newspapers, his purchase and sale of Channel 5, and his £80 million investment in the Health Lottery, combining business innovation with help for good causes.
Along the way he imparts many of the secrets of his astounding success as well as giving his forthright opinion (and he always has one) on such diverse subjects as politicians, religion, and the similarities between being a rock and roll drummer and running a business - as well as his views on a cast of characters ranging from Alan Sugar to Victoria Beckham and from Simon Cowell to Jennifer Aniston.
Often controversial, frequently revelatory, always entertaining, The Real Deal is the brilliantly frank account of a life spent at the sharp end.
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- By: Zack O'Malley Greenburg
- Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Michael Jackson, Inc. reveals the incredible rise, fall, and rise again of Michael Jackson's fortune - driven by the unmatched perfectionism of the King of Pop. Forbes senior editor Zack O'Malley Greenburg uncovers never-before-told stories from interviews with more than 100 people, including music industry veterans Berry Gordy, John Branca, and Walter Yetnikoff; artists 50 Cent, Sheryl Crow, and Jon Bon Jovi; and members of the Jackson family.
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The King Lives...Life,Legacy and Love
- By Amazon Customer on 06-22-17
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DisneyWar
- By: James B. Stewart
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 25 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
DisneyWar is an enthralling tale of one of America's most powerful media and entertainment companies, the people who control it, and those trying to overthrow them. It tells a story that - in its sudden twists, vivid, larger-than-life characters, and thrilling climax - might itself have been the subject of a Disney classic - except that it's all true.
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Really interesting story... No ending.
- By rotinaj on 12-18-17
By: James B. Stewart
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Being John Lennon
- A Restless Life
- By: Ray Connolly
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 16 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
What was it like to be John Lennon? What was it like to be the castoff child, the clown at school, the middle-class suburban boy who pretended to be a working-class hero? How did it feel to have one of the most recognizable singing voices in the world but to dislike it so much he always wanted to disguise it? Being John Lennon is not about the whitewashed Prince of Peace of “Imagine” legend - because that was only a small part of him. The John Lennon depicted in this book is a much more kaleidoscopic figure, sometimes almost a collision of different characters.
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Stars taken off for inclusion of MDC’s story
- By rob on 12-09-22
By: Ray Connolly
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Jeremy Clarkson
- The Biography
- By: Gwen Russell
- Narrated by: Richard Dallyn
- Length: 2 hrs and 9 mins
- Abridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
An outspoken personality who divides opinion, Jeremy Clarkson has made a successful career out of his love of cars and speed.
Since becoming Top Gear supremo, the programme has become one of the most widely distributed TV shows on the planet. His candid views on practically every subject under the sun have often landed him in hot water. Love him or loathe him, this fascinating biography tells his far-from-over life story.
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Very poor
- By Amadeo on 05-25-12
By: Gwen Russell
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Barbarians at the Gate
- The Fall of RJR Nabisco
- By: Bryan Burrough, John Helyar
- Narrated by: Bryan Burrough, John Helyar
- Length: 3 hrs and 2 mins
- Abridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Barbarians at the Gate has been called one of the most influential business books of all time, the definitive account of the largest takeover in Wall Street history. Bryan Burrough's and John Helyer's account of the frenzy that overtook Wall Street in October and November of 1988 gives us not only a detailed look at financial operations at the highest levels but a richly textured social history of wealth in the twilight of the Reagan era.
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Abridged and Poorly Read
- By Jake on 01-24-13
By: Bryan Burrough, and others
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Razzle Dazzle
- The Battle for Broadway
- By: Michael Riedel
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 16 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Razzle Dazzle is a provocative, no-holds-barred narrative account of the people, money, and power that reinvented an iconic quarter of New York City, turning its gritty back alleys and sex shops into the glitzy, dazzling Great White Way - and bringing a crippled New York from the brink of bankruptcy to its glittering glory.
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Too long and boring in spite of a vibrant subject
- By harry rohme on 03-04-18
By: Michael Riedel
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The Zeroes
- My Misadventures in the Decade Wall Street Went Insane
- By: Randall Lane
- Narrated by: Randall Lane
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Magazine entrepreneur Randall Lane had a prime seat at Wall Street's biggest greed fest. The Zeroes is a memoir about the excesses and bad behavior of an outsider who got pulled into a crazy, self-contained world.
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A very entertaining tale
- By andy on 11-03-13
By: Randall Lane
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Is Wrestling Fixed?
- I Didn't Know It Was Broken!
- By: Bill Apter
- Narrated by: Bill Apter
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
As a kid growing up in New York in the late '50s, Bill Apter fell in love with professional wrestling, and it wasn't long before he was rubbing shoulders with the greats as a young reporter and photographer. He's since become the world's best-known wrestling magazine personality, and he's had professional and personal relationships with a who's who of the business, like Triple H, Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Sting, and Ric Flair.
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I am certain there is an audience out there somewhere...
- By wally on 08-21-16
By: Bill Apter
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Dethroning the King
- The Hostile Takeover of Anheuser-Busch, an American Icon
- By: Julie MacIntosh
- Narrated by: Joyce Bean
- Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
How did InBev, a Belgian company controlled by Brazilians, take over one of America's most beloved brands after barely a whimper of a fight? With timing - and some unexpected help from powerful members of the Busch dynasty, the very family that had run the company for more than a century. From the very heart of America's heartland to the European continent to Brazil, Dethroning the King is the ultimate corporate caper and a fascinating case study that's both wide-reaching and profound.
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Good Story but Narration Can be Annoying
- By Ken on 10-21-11
By: Julie MacIntosh
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Mar-a-Lago
- Inside the Gates of Power at Donald Trump's Presidential Palace
- By: Laurence Leamer
- Narrated by: Todd McClaren
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
To know Donald J. Trump - to understand what makes the 45th president of the US tick - it is best to start in his natural habitat: Palm Beach, Florida. It is here he learned the techniques that took him all the way to the White House. Painstakingly, over decades, he has created a world in this exclusive tropical enclave and favorite haunt of billionaires where he is not just president but a king. The vehicle for his triumph is Mar-a-Lago, one of the greatest mansions ever built in the US.
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No surprises but would have liked more
- By B. Howard on 02-19-19
By: Laurence Leamer
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Empire State of Mind
- How Jay-Z Went from Street Corner to Corner Office
- By: Zack O'Malley Greenburg
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Some people think Jay-Z is just another rapper. Others see him as just another celebrity/mega-star. The reality is, no matter what you think Jay-Z is, he is first and foremost a business. And as much as Martha Stewart or Oprah, he has turned himself into a lifestyle. This audiobook explains just how Jay-Z propelled himself from the bleak streets of Brooklyn to the heights of the business world.
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It was ok
- By Michelle M. on 01-03-17