Virgin CEO Richard Branson is Britain's favorite businessman, a brand in himself. But is he a buccaneering balloonist or a devious, single-minded profiteer? Here, in Tom Bower's sensational biography, is the full story of the Virgin man: his friendships, his ambitions, his drug-taking, law-breaking, and steam-rolling tactics. It is a tale of greed, ambition, and ruthless self- creation. Tom Bower is a respected investigative journalist; among his previous books are "Fayed, Maxwell: The Outsider, Nazi Gold, "and the definitive biography of Klaus Barbie.