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sparkle_fairy94's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book but not for the reasons I thought. I got it because I was interested in the Epstein connection through Robert Maxwell's daughter Ghislaine, but Ghislaine and Epstein didn't meet until after Robert Maxwell had already died. It was fascinating learning about Maxwell, I really knew nothing about him and it's always fascinating to learn how entwined business and politics are. Maxwell was easy to dislike. He is a very spoiled person who really seems to have been emotionally stunted. He treated everyone around him horribly but of course fueling all of that was an inner loneliness and a fear of inadequacy.
This is a sad story. What I took from this overall is that Maxwell was as much a victim of the Holocaust as any of his family members who didn't survive were. Everything about him can be traced to that one event, It is sad to see how far reaching the effects of it were not only in this one particular man's life but also in everyone he interacted with and had an impact on.
His death was bizarre and I honestly wish more of the book had covered that, but I believe it covered it as thoroughly as possible without diving into the realm of conspiracy theories. I am of the opinion that there is a good possibility he faked his own death. A very interesting read overall.
This is a sad story. What I took from this overall is that Maxwell was as much a victim of the Holocaust as any of his family members who didn't survive were. Everything about him can be traced to that one event, It is sad to see how far reaching the effects of it were not only in this one particular man's life but also in everyone he interacted with and had an impact on.
His death was bizarre and I honestly wish more of the book had covered that, but I believe it covered it as thoroughly as possible without diving into the realm of conspiracy theories. I am of the opinion that there is a good possibility he faked his own death. A very interesting read overall.
loureader's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fascinating read. I knew a bit about Robert Maxwell, mainly that he died in mysterious circumstances and the scandal around him plundering the Mirror group pension fund. But this book gave a wide-ranging portrayal of his life - and death. John Preston's book was based on various sources, including interviews with some of the key people, such as one of Maxwell's sons and Rupert Murdoch.
I thought it was a fairly sympathetic portrait of a man who will be seen by many as beyond redemption, given how many people's lives Maxwell devastated both on a personal level through his bullying and on a wider scale through his questionable (to say the least) financial practices. But I think understanding the personal tragedy that Maxwell experienced will at least gave some insight into the man, even if it doesn't necessarily lead to sympathy.
As interesting as his life was, there was also Maxwell's death. That is a mystery which we will, presumably, never know the answer to. But, I thought the book did really well at explaining the strange events surrounding his death, autopsy and burial. But it's perhaps unsurprising that we were left with more questions than answers.
I thought it was a fairly sympathetic portrait of a man who will be seen by many as beyond redemption, given how many people's lives Maxwell devastated both on a personal level through his bullying and on a wider scale through his questionable (to say the least) financial practices. But I think understanding the personal tragedy that Maxwell experienced will at least gave some insight into the man, even if it doesn't necessarily lead to sympathy.
As interesting as his life was, there was also Maxwell's death. That is a mystery which we will, presumably, never know the answer to. But, I thought the book did really well at explaining the strange events surrounding his death, autopsy and burial. But it's perhaps unsurprising that we were left with more questions than answers.
bexlrose's review against another edition
3.0
I was so very looking forward to this since John Preston wrote an utterly amazing book called A Very English Scandal - go read it immediately. Unfortunately this book fell short of the brilliance of its predecessor, and whilst AVES got an easy 5 stars from me, this one only gets 3.
A non-fiction about the media baron Robert Maxwell. Maxwell had an interesting life, and as scandalous and ridiculous as one would expect of the very rich and very powerful. But nothing so scandalous or outrageous as to be surprising for someone with an already unusual and astonishing life. In fact, his most interesting (and bloody awful) legacy is his youngest daughter Ghislaine Maxwell, of Jeffrey Epstein and sex trafficking fame...so well done her.
He wasn't a nice man, and I don't think he was interesting enough to make a book out of either. 3 stars, because the author is talented enough to make it so.
A non-fiction about the media baron Robert Maxwell. Maxwell had an interesting life, and as scandalous and ridiculous as one would expect of the very rich and very powerful. But nothing so scandalous or outrageous as to be surprising for someone with an already unusual and astonishing life. In fact, his most interesting (and bloody awful) legacy is his youngest daughter Ghislaine Maxwell, of Jeffrey Epstein and sex trafficking fame...so well done her.
He wasn't a nice man, and I don't think he was interesting enough to make a book out of either. 3 stars, because the author is talented enough to make it so.
generalheff's review against another edition
4.0
This book really knows how to start a biography of a larger-than-life character like Robert Maxwell. No lede about his childhood or early years in business, this book jumps almost to the end with his triumphant, bombastic entrance to New York and purchase of the Daily News - an epitomisation of his grandiloquence and vanity. After this perfectly pitched start - hardly a new technique, beginning near the end, but a well-executed one - the book pivots to his childhood and treads a more familiar, chronological beat.
And what a childhood it was: for a person born in the late 80s, I am only aware of Maxwell through references in programmes like early Have I Got News For You, or episodes of Drop the Dead Donkey. I knew about his publishing empire and egomania but I had no idea his story had such a humble and, at times, heroic start. Losing most of his family in concentration camps, he joined the war fighting the Nazis and seems to have had several miraculous escapes. He appears to have lied repeatedly about some of these escapades - and may have committed war crimes by executing a civilian mayor - but there is a surprising and seemingly indubitable bravery and courage at the centre of Maxwell's early life that I was totally unaware of.
Once the book enters his publishing-empire phase, it trips up slightly. The personal side - his wife, his many children, his home - are well covered. But his Pergamon period and various business ventures are not described with the same panache. A quick glance at John Preston's bibliography suggests business reporting is not his forte and that is evident here. I, first and foremost, read this book to gain a better understanding of the controversial businesses I've known about since I was a child. Yet I left without a particularly clear view of what was merely bluster and what he actually achieved - and he did appear to achieve something despite his bluster, such as putting scientists at the centre of his publishing efforts.
The book is on firmer ground discussing the thriller-esque nature of his death, falling off a yacht in mysterious circumstances. Reading this today - after Ghislaine Maxwell, the boat's namesake, has been sentenced for child sex trafficking - adds piquancy and relevance. The discussion of how Maxwell was, ultimately, buried in Israel against a tight deadline to comply with Israeli law and customs, is a particular standout. As is the description of the repeated, botched autopsies that mean we will never really know how he died.
All in all, this is a very well written book that starts with a bang and closes equally impressively. If only the business side of the story was handled with similar skill (a secondary author with a relevant background could have helped shore this up? then this would have been a first rate biography of a fascinating if incredibly flawed and mendacious man. Well worth a read for the curious, nevertheless.
And what a childhood it was: for a person born in the late 80s, I am only aware of Maxwell through references in programmes like early Have I Got News For You, or episodes of Drop the Dead Donkey. I knew about his publishing empire and egomania but I had no idea his story had such a humble and, at times, heroic start. Losing most of his family in concentration camps, he joined the war fighting the Nazis and seems to have had several miraculous escapes. He appears to have lied repeatedly about some of these escapades - and may have committed war crimes by executing a civilian mayor - but there is a surprising and seemingly indubitable bravery and courage at the centre of Maxwell's early life that I was totally unaware of.
Once the book enters his publishing-empire phase, it trips up slightly. The personal side - his wife, his many children, his home - are well covered. But his Pergamon period and various business ventures are not described with the same panache. A quick glance at John Preston's bibliography suggests business reporting is not his forte and that is evident here. I, first and foremost, read this book to gain a better understanding of the controversial businesses I've known about since I was a child. Yet I left without a particularly clear view of what was merely bluster and what he actually achieved - and he did appear to achieve something despite his bluster, such as putting scientists at the centre of his publishing efforts.
The book is on firmer ground discussing the thriller-esque nature of his death, falling off a yacht in mysterious circumstances. Reading this today - after Ghislaine Maxwell, the boat's namesake, has been sentenced for child sex trafficking - adds piquancy and relevance. The discussion of how Maxwell was, ultimately, buried in Israel against a tight deadline to comply with Israeli law and customs, is a particular standout. As is the description of the repeated, botched autopsies that mean we will never really know how he died.
All in all, this is a very well written book that starts with a bang and closes equally impressively. If only the business side of the story was handled with similar skill (a secondary author with a relevant background could have helped shore this up? then this would have been a first rate biography of a fascinating if incredibly flawed and mendacious man. Well worth a read for the curious, nevertheless.