A Passion to Win Book

Sumner Redstone should be dead. At least that's what the prologue to this autobiographical tale of business trial and triumph reveals, telling the story of Redstone's narrow escape and painful recovery from a Boston hotel fire in 1979. It might also be what some of Redstone's business adversaries secretly wish after reading this revealing book. Redstone began life in a hardscrabble Boston neighbourhood in the early 1920s, the son of a Jewish entrepreneur and a woman determined to see her children excel. Instilled with this drive to succeed at an early age, Redstone went from the academically tough Boston Latin school to Harvard, on to a military career breaking Japanese codes during World War II, back to Harvard for law school and then spent the next seven years immersing himself in a profession based on reason and justice, ideals that he claims hold his life together. Realising that practising law was just a business, however, he went on to enter the real business arena, joining the movie drive-in company his father had founded and very quickly expanding it, taking over its leadership and changing the company's name to National Amusements, Inc. Redstone's story details his experiences at the helm of this company--taking on the big studios by challenging film industry practices and finally acquiring Viacom in 1987. Many of the juicy bits lie in tales of Redstone's subsequent years with Viacom, his involvement with the Clintons and the company's acquisition of both Paramount and Blockbuster. Redstone is obviously a tough player, not averse to overriding team decisions when he believes in his own vision and not afraid to litigate (or threaten litigation) when he feels unjustly treated. But he's also book-smart and business-savvy and his story offers many titbits of advice on deal making and power-playing when the stakes are high. A Passion to Win is a tell-all from a seriously high vantage point in corporate entertainment and as Redstone's personal account of all that helped and hindered on his way to the heights (jam-packed with big-name players in the entertainment business, law, finance and politics), it's sure to be a source of anxiety for some and a titillating read for many. --S KetchumRead More