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Sweet Revenge: The Intimate Life of Simon Cowell
by
Tom Bower
For this definitive biography, acclaimed journalist and bestselling author Tom Bower was granted unprecedented access to Simon Cowell and those around him—and the result is a fascinating multilayered portrait of one of the world’s most intriguing television personalities ever to dominate the music industry.
Simon Cowell has made an international name for himself as the no...more
Simon Cowell has made an international name for himself as the no...more
ebook, 384 pages
Published
April 24th 2012
by Ballantine Books
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"Survival in the music industry required luck, talent, relationships, and brazenness. Those with only three out of the four qualities would inevitably fail. To climb to the very top, as Cowell had, also required single-mindedness, selfishness, and stardust."
I've read a lot about Simon Cowell before - interviews and biographies. They all hint at what this uncovers but while others hinted at a quirky guy with drive and a big idea, this book gets closer and builds on what's come before by exposing...more
I've read a lot about Simon Cowell before - interviews and biographies. They all hint at what this uncovers but while others hinted at a quirky guy with drive and a big idea, this book gets closer and builds on what's come before by exposing...more
I had always - secretly - wanted to meet Simon Cowell. But not any more. Tom Bower has cured me of that.
The first half of this biography made me think Cowell should be fronting one of those "Ten years ago, I was a miserable loser. But just look at me now! And the secret is...." In inauspicious Act I to his career, for sure.
As well as learning that Cowell is VERY generous to his many ex-girlfriends (and so very hetrosexual), this book had lots of interesting stuff about the inner workings - if th...more
The first half of this biography made me think Cowell should be fronting one of those "Ten years ago, I was a miserable loser. But just look at me now! And the secret is...." In inauspicious Act I to his career, for sure.
As well as learning that Cowell is VERY generous to his many ex-girlfriends (and so very hetrosexual), this book had lots of interesting stuff about the inner workings - if th...more
I am always interested in learning about how people I think are interesting get where they are today. I thought the author did a great job of telling Simon's story objectively. He didn't gloss over the mistakes made, the vanity or the enemies. Simon doesn't have a clean life or noble objectives, but he was innovative in seeing the profit of music and television. It was a little bit difficult to keep all the players straight. There were so many people involved at Sony, all the television stations...more
Jul 18, 2012
eden
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people interested in the music/television business; this is not for Simon fangirls
Shelves:
read-2012
Review removed due to Amazon's acquisition of Goodreads.
Mildly interesting. Simon benefited from a rich father, constantly helping him out with jobs, money, place to stay, contacts. Simon makes lots of mistakes, but has the cushion to learn from them and bounce back. He likes his yacht. I find this stuff interesting, but not everyone will. The making of bands and artists, Pete Waterman from Stock, Aitken, Waterman, Dannii Minogue, Paula. how he learns from others' success, like Simon Fuller's Spice Girls. I like X-Factor, so it's interesting to see h...more
I hate to admit it but I struggled to finish this which was a shame because I was really looking forward to a gripping biography. Tom Bower spends equal time going over Simon's past and his family and all his success with X Factor etc and LOT of time explaining relationships with Simon's contacts (how they met etc). However, it's left a bitter taste in my mouth to hear that Simon's call's the women who he "spends time with" as "toys".
Am I glad I spent time reading this - yes, but only because it...more
Am I glad I spent time reading this - yes, but only because it...more
Quite an interesting biography on a man whose chosen mistress is power. I find Simon to be a fascinating and driven man who will accomplish just about anything he sets his mind too. I do admire his honesty and straight forwardness where others might find him arrogant and obnoxious. I had to read this book immediately, downloading it to my Nook the moment I knew that it was released. One of the better biographies I have read.
A well-researched, in-depth look at the meteoric rise of Britain's most notorious TV personality, Sweet Revenge gives great insight into the backstage machinations of Cowell's TV shows, his climb through the ranks of the music industry and his real opinions on the talent show winners and losers who have paraded across Britain and America's TV screens for the last ten years. Well worth a read.
I don't like Cowell in any way, but I do get hopelessly addicted to his shows, something which embarrasses me but is also something I have to embrace. I was quite shocked in the end how much I got drawn into this, and how much I actually learnt about Cowell. Altogether, a very interesting book- I just couldn't resist it and I am glad to have read it now.
Terrible, that's the only word I have to say about this. Its so well planned that Simon Cowell would have had a hand in this, you can tell by reading this.
It goes from his childhood, roots, right up to today. I really think that the avenue and telling of this book about Simon and how he reacts to different things edited by him.
It goes from his childhood, roots, right up to today. I really think that the avenue and telling of this book about Simon and how he reacts to different things edited by him.
didnt like the writing style and whilst some of the details of cowells life are fascinating he author managed to drag out each item too far. He also refers to all the characters by surname only which only added to the confusion and made reading awkward. Haven't finished it and have no intention to.
If you like Simon Cowell (which I do) you will find this an interesting read. It really does chronicle his life in the music industry and his general manipulation of people. His ambition and drive is admirable. The book will only be of I Teresa to people who watch his tv shows and have followed his career.
This was a brilliantly written account of Cowell's professional career. There was some information at the beginning as to his early years and family history, but this was mostly an account of his ascent to the top of the music and tv business. While some of the business jargon was slightly confusing to someone who has no knowledge of the subject, all areas where this happened were fleeting and necessary to understand the bigger picture.
If you like Simon Cowell, you will love this book.
If you like Simon Cowell, you will love this book.
There isn't much gossip in this book it majorly describes how much money Cowell has made. I went into this book thinking I quite liked the man and now have no time for him, pompous, arrogant, and with no care for anyone other than himself this book isn't really worth a read.
Jun 17, 2012
Barbara Kinsky
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
auto-biographies
I am loving this book but if you are not a Simon Cowell fan or supporter you will not enjoy this book. I now admire the music mogul even more than I did before. From a man who was semi-poor, who was laughed at continuously for music flops to a self-made well respected millionaire today - unbelievable!!
Probably more than a person needs to about inside tv program/network politics. To sum up the book's take on Simon: he is a narcissist and very competitive and even revengeful toward his colleagues. He finds most people boring and and I happen to find this book about Simon boring.
Extremely clunkily written, so much so that I had to re-read numerous sentences to be clear about the author's meaning. I persevered because I find the subject matter interesting (in an horrific car-crash kind of way), but overall this was a frustrating read.
I am a fan of Simon Cowell, but I could not get through the book. It was from the library so I did not feel bad when I put it down. I found it boring. Maybe I should have plugged along, but I hate to read just for the sake of reading.
It has some interesting points but on the whole it drags. Unless you are either a music business buff or obsessed with Simon Cowell it's not a great read.
Interesting in parts.
Uninteresting in parts...mainly figures and excessive detail of names etc.
Enjoyed reading it for the main part.
Uninteresting in parts...mainly figures and excessive detail of names etc.
Enjoyed reading it for the main part.
A good biography, somewhat too one-sided and focused on numbers. Yet, Simon Cowell is so interesting that it was easy to finish it.
good read if you are interested in his celebrity lifestyle. the end was quite sudden as i thought i had loads more pages to read
If you want to read about Simon Cowell wanting to make money, this book is okay. Not for the non Simon Cowell fan.
Interesting read, but not ground breaking or earth shattering.
Not as good as I thought it would be , but still an interesting read
Very boring and dissapoimting. Just a load of boring facts
Loved reading what really goes through Simon's head and seeing how insecure he really is and also how good he is at disguising it. A must read for any Simon Cowell fan!
I found this book totally boring. The only reason I read it to the end was because my husband bought it for me.
I wasn't living in the country during Cowell's rise to mega stardom so I found the book interesting. If you're looking for scandal this is not the book for you. It focuses on his business interests and only dips into his somewhat weird private life. Despite everything I think I'm still a little bit in love with him!
Sep 13, 2012
Sdhall0824
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
biography,
gave-up-on
I was very disappointed in this book. Lots and lots of detail on the music business which I had no interest in. I struggled through about half way until I just wasn't interested any more. Outside of determining this man is totally self-absorbed and neurotic, there wasn't much worth reading. Didn't finish.
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Tom Bower (born 28 September 1946) is a British writer, noted for his investigative journalism and for his unauthorized biographies.
A former Panorama reporter, his books include unauthorised biographies of Tiny Rowland, Robert Maxwell, Mohamed Al-Fayed, Geoffrey Robinson, Gordon Brown and Richard Branson.
He won the 2003 William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award for Broken Dreams, an investigatio...more
More about Tom Bower...
A former Panorama reporter, his books include unauthorised biographies of Tiny Rowland, Robert Maxwell, Mohamed Al-Fayed, Geoffrey Robinson, Gordon Brown and Richard Branson.
He won the 2003 William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award for Broken Dreams, an investigatio...more
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