Lord Black: The Biography

Rating:
Summary: Best objective work on subject yet.
Review: A serious book on Conrad Black... After all that crap in the papers, it's good to know what's true and what's not. Here is a well writen book on a very complex man...

I heard it's the only one of all the forthcoming books on Conrad Black with real interviews with Black himself... Nice to know.

Rating:
Summary: Very Detailed - Lots of Legal Papers Attached - But Short
Review: I have followed Black in the local papers, so speaking for myself a lot of the book is not new. But people who have not followed his personal spending habits will be shocked and entertained when they read the book. As an exceutive he surrounded himself with super expensive pictures and documents, multiple expensive homes, executive aircraft, ets. By some estimates the pictures and documents about Roosevelt alone are worth millions or tens of millions of dollars. He received large amounts of money from companies that in some cases were losing money - according to the book. It is perhaps another case of an executive taking too much compensation for their "work" and leadership in a public company with no controls. But the story does not stop there. It is further complicated by massive off the books non-compete payments and the sale or transfer of assets from the public company to companies controlled by Black without proper SEC or similar disclosures by Black.

This is a very carefully researched and written book on Black. Perhaps the author is trying to make doubly certain that he is not the Defendant in some future legal action by Black. The book is neutral and fair but perhaps not flattering. It is a sophisticated tell all, sophisticated and detailed, but in the final analysis a tell all about a man born rich and who made a lot of money, had or has had many influential friends, and who has stepped beyond the acceptable norms and laws. Evenually he was exposed along with his high living extravagant life style of multi million dollar toys and endless spending and consumption. That is what holds our attention. We are fascinated by the endless spending and all the time dedicated to writing a book on the life of Roosevelt as Rome burned in his corporate world.

The book is a short 275 page biography and it is described by the author as an unauthorized biography, but he did have some access to Black and the author claims to have interviewed many people that were friends or business associates of Black. It is an analysis of the Black story, piece by piece and topic by topic. There are 14 sections covering most of Blacks activities in the last 10 to 15 years, but it also covers briefly some of his earlier years especially in Quebec. There are over 50 pages of additional documents and notes at the end of the book.

My main complaint with the book is the length and the emphasis. Although the book is 275 pages long, it takes almost 100 pages for the author to bring us to Black returning to Toronto and his father's death in 1976 in the chapter the Young Tycoon. There are chapetrs on Barbara and Roosevelt taking up another 30 pages or so, so that does not leave much for the rest of the story, just 150 pages in medium font. Also it is a slow read.

The book is not written in a sensational tabloid style, but it is very detailed and has lots of information. I have followed the saga of Conrad Black and David Radler and the charges of them taking vast sums of corporate money through Ravelston, the holding company, as discovered by Chris brown in New York at Tweedy Brown. I was able to learn a lot new by reading this biography even after reading many articles in the press including articles in the National Post, a paper previously owned by Black.

There has been a lot of media coverage of Black going back over 30 years, and this coverage has intensified since the year 2000 or so. The story is not new but the book adds a lot more detail and discussion plus it contains copies of a number of the important legal documents and timeline summaries. There are personal interviews and comments along with many quotes from Izzy Asper and over 100 others, mostly on his business dealings but some on his famous lifestyle, friends, parties, art, homes, etc.

There are also a chapter and pictures on Barbara Amiel, and another chapter on his religious beliefs, and one on his Roosevelt book. For myself the part on his religious beliefs were all new stuff and they seem to contradict or complicate the rest of his personality. Maybe it is all just a show. Who will ever really know. The reader can draw their own conclusion from the book.

In summary it is less entertaining than some of the newspaper articles but the book is a solid and well researched effort. It is perhaps a bit too short, but it has many added notes, photos, and legal documents. Does one change their opinion of Black after reading the book and all the prior articles and now suddenly admire the man? No.

As a side note, it should be pointed out that the author is a Montreal native or at least resident of Montreal and it is clear that there are some holes in his knowledge of Toronto geography. Black could not have his home on 11 acres near the Bridle Path in Forest Hill as stated in the book on pages 105 and 106, since the lots are all small in Forest Hill, an area north and west of the downtown city core, and north of the famous Casa Loma castle. The Bridle Path is not in Forest Hill but about 10 km north east in an area of large mansions on large lots east of Bayview, and just north of the scenic Don River. Presumably that is where Black has his 11 acre mega home with the other Canadian tycoons and some music stars. Hopefully the rest of the book is more accurate.