Book review – Richard Branson – Losing My Virginity : An Autobiography

Its always fascinating to read the autobiographies of successful personalities’ and celebrities, in the sense that it gives you more than a peek into their lives and a chance to look at the world from their perspective.The Virgin business tycoon’s story is no different and in fact it is extremely honest and candid story telling, filled with strokes of mild humour and talks vividly of his life experiences and the challenges he faced en route setting up the Virgin empire as the world sees now, a book that any budding entrepreneur should read.
Branson describes in detail his many business ventures right from the Student magazine he setup during his college days to the latest space travel business (Did a search myself and it seems that he owns more than 350 companies !! ) Not astonishing really, as Branson talks in the book about how dividing your many companies at the right time is the key to sustain a successful business plan.It was not plain sailing all the time as he explains about the run-ins with the many banks that had lend him money and how many times they were close to pulling the plug on Virgin.
Also described in detail are the much publicized battle he had with British airways, one which he eventually won and which proved to be a game changer for Branson. He also talks about the bonds he share with his tight knit family and close relatives as well as the friendships he has with so many partners without which the dream would not have been possible.
Towards the end of the book he mainly deals his charity programs, especially in Africa and the efforts at conserving the environment with many other global leaders like Al Gore.Indeed being a global personality , he feels it is his duty to give back now,
Richard is quite an adventure freak, a maverick who never likes to stand still.As you read along, you will be intrigued about all the hot air balloon expeditions he ventured upon, some quite personal adventures and much much more.