This is the book which millionaire businessman Richard Branson doesn't want you to read: "What I have read, has offended me on every single level.

It is a foul, foul piece of work from the first words to the last," he says, according to the dust-jacket. Bower certainly paints a sinister picture of the man who likes to appear as the ever-smiling hero, showing how he has used stunts and headlines to help create and sustain his business empire.