'I want the book to be open and honest' Bernie Ecclestone
It was his one condition before agreeing to work with Susan Watkins, accomplished biographer and writer - his first, and only, official biography must tell the truth. The true story behind Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One's billionaire boss is even more dramatic than the many myths that have grown up around this extraordinary character. It is the story of a petite, partially-sighted man born with a genius for making money. From an impoverished rural backwater in Suffolk he fought his way to world prominence. The child who got up at five in the morning to deliver newspapers on two separate routes, before collecting the cakes he would resell for a hefty profit in the playground, now entertains kings and keeps prime ministers waiting.
A principal part of Bernie's success is of course F1 and the Grand Prix tour, which he has shaped into the world's richest sport. But this is much more than a motorsports biography - it is a business story, an extraordinary life-story, a study of how one man, fired with determination and an undeniable Midas touch became one of the UK's richest, most
powerful and most controversial businessmen.