Rating: 
Summary: A good, fairly unbiased biography, of a powerful media mogul
Review: Although the author is a friend of Murdoch, he has written a reasonably unbiased biography. He reports facts without much personal opinion. Personally, the book only reinforced my original beliefs about Murdoch - that he is an man without morals, out to 'conquer' the globe with his media 'empire', not caring what happens to the the working man along the way, as demonstated by his orchestrating of the Wapping strike in order to sack his workforce, which the author describes in detail. Overall, a good account of the life of one of the most poweful men today.
Rating: 
Summary: are you alive? then why haven't you read this book?
Review: billy shawcross - thank god you wrote this book. you'll never look at the media the same after reading this. if you work in media, or busniess for that matter, this is a must.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent "UNBIASED" Biography of the greatest media mogul
Review: Excellent review of easily the most powerful media baron in the world. The author has presented a very brilliant but more importantly, non biased biography that will take you through the rise and rise of Rupert Murdoch. Even if you're in the anti-Murdoch camp, you can't help but to admire this man for what he has created and for what he is today. If you read this, Murdoch, here's to you!
Rating:
Summary: An outstanding look into the passion & vision of KR Murdoch
Review: I'll state from the beginning; I think this is the best book ever written, about one of the most fascinating men in the history of the world.I have read a number of Murdoch "biographies", including, Murdoch: The Great Escape and Andrew Neil's view of Murdoch in "Full Disclosure". Neither of them have the depth and detail that this book does. But it is more than depth and detail which makes this book truly great. It is William Shawcross' ability to capture the feeling of enormous vision and ambition that Rupert Murdoch has which makes this book unique. The story describes how his father built one of the greatest news networks in the Australia, the Herald & Weekly Times, yet had few significant assets of his own, as he was an employee of the company. Thus, while a young Rupert dreamed of ringing the world with satellites that would brodcast news, information and communication around the world, it would be a company owned by his family which would be the beneficiary. Upon his father's death, he moved to Adelaide, where he took over the Adelaide News, which he built into a formidable earner. He then bought numerous papers around the world, continuing is his dream until he had amassed a huge network of newspaper, television, theatrical and television assets around the world. One of the most brilliantly told tales of the book is when Rupert went back to the Herald & Weekly Times in his home town of Melbourne and made an offer for the company. After much toing and froing, he bought the company for several billion dollars. "He bought the house his father built". What makes this book a must buy is that it reads like a long term plan of the News Corporation. You can see how, as a person, Rupert Murdoch is an outstanding manager, visionary and businessman, but you can see that while he manages such a remarkably huge company such as News Corp, he is able to allow in his staff and business units a sense of freedom and entrepeneurial spirit. This book is perfect for people who love business books, or motivation books, or family tales, or media junkies, or any consumers of FOX, News, BSkyB, HWT, TV Guide, FOXTEL, The Simpsons etc. etc. etc. I will finish by saying that immediately after I read this book, I bought News shares at $A5.60. They are now around $A18.00 - I am not surprised. I cannot recommend this book highly enough, BUY IT!
Rating:
Summary: An outstanding look into the passion & vision of KR Murdoch
Review: I'll state from the beginning; I think this is the best book ever written, about one of the most fascinating men in the history of the world. I have read a number of Murdoch "biographies", including, Murdoch: The Great Escape and Andrew Neil's view of Murdoch in "Full Disclosure". Neither of them have the depth and detail that this book does. But it is more than depth and detail which makes this book truly great. It is William Shawcross' ability to capture the feeling of enormous vision and ambition that Rupert Murdoch has which makes this book unique. The story describes how his father built one of the greatest news networks in the Australia, the Herald & Weekly Times, yet had few significant assets of his own, as he was an employee of the company. Thus, while a young Rupert dreamed of ringing the world with satellites that would brodcast news, information and communication around the world, it would be a company owned by his family which would be the beneficiary. Upon his father's death, he moved to Adelaide, where he took over the Adelaide News, which he built into a formidable earner. He then bought numerous papers around the world, continuing is his dream until he had amassed a huge network of newspaper, television, theatrical and television assets around the world. One of the most brilliantly told tales of the book is when Rupert went back to the Herald & Weekly Times in his home town of Melbourne and made an offer for the company. After much toing and froing, he bought the company for several billion dollars. "He bought the house his father built". What makes this book a must buy is that it reads like a long term plan of the News Corporation. You can see how, as a person, Rupert Murdoch is an outstanding manager, visionary and businessman, but you can see that while he manages such a remarkably huge company such as News Corp, he is able to allow in his staff and business units a sense of freedom and entrepeneurial spirit. This book is perfect for people who love business books, or motivation books, or family tales, or media junkies, or any consumers of FOX, News, BSkyB, HWT, TV Guide, FOXTEL, The Simpsons etc. etc. etc. I will finish by saying that immediately after I read this book, I bought News shares at $A5.60. They are now around $A18.00 - I am not surprised. I cannot recommend this book highly enough, BUY IT!
Rating:
Summary: Relatively balanced business biography
Review: Murdoch is, to say the least, one of the more controversial figures in media today. His name still inspires visions of the pitched battles that have arisen around the pieces of his empire and the ethical debates about the role of journalism and issues of media ownership. There is a tremendous amount to be learned from studying Murdoch and the way he built his kingdom, and this book is not to be missed, particularly for people studying media history or the media industry. Shawcross presents a very balanced picture, light on both censure and praise, and manages to give enough personal detail to illuminate the public Murdoch without veering into a personal melodrama. The writing is occasionally a bit dry, but generally of a high quality & the source notes and bibliography are quite valuable in and of themselves.
Rating:
Summary: First rate research but little criticism
Review: Straightforward journalistic over view of Murdoch's career while also giving useful insight into the print and media worlds of Australia and the UK in the 50s to 80s. However, little comment ventured as to Murdoch's underlying motivations or his relationships with family or friends. Stops in early 1990s, so an update or second edition would be good. Author seems a bit infatuated with his subject and reserves his criticism for Murdoch's competitors and critics like Maxwell and Harold Evans.
Rating: 
Summary: Good - but not well balanced
Review: The book is quite exhaustive about his beginnings - and his attitude towards competition, employees and enemies, I was hoping to read more about the political favors that he most definitely got in other countries besides the US, Aus and the UK.
I also wanted to know how these political wheelings and deelings have helped him - because lets fase it - with the amount of money/ business that he inherited, it may not have been too difficult for a few others to achieve the greeatness that Murdoch has achieved in his lifetime.
Also the fact that he is still working might have taken away some of the liberty from the author to shed more light on the ugly side of Murdoch. I would have also liked more coverage of the 90s, when the floodgates were opened for him to capture Europe and Asia.
Rating:
Summary: A must read for making your own empire!
Review: The book shows the basics in growing a business to the attitude it takes to win in the business environment. We should all go for it in everything we do. More power to Rubert! Kevin T.
Rating:
Summary: Good look at the making of a mogul
Review: This a good look at the life and business career of Rupert Murdoch, which still left me with a lot of questions about the man. I certainly admire his business acumen, but I am still not sure whether he is an unscrupulous, immoral shark or simply a good businessman driven by much more ambition than most, and simply doing what is necessary to feed this ambition. Possibly this makes it a good book: Shawcross does not attempt to influence the reader, and sticks to the facts. However, I did not find the book all that engaging. The section about the near-collapse of News is very engaging, though. It is so exciting that it is almost difficult to believe that it is not fiction.
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