The Maximalist: The Rise and Fall of Tony O'Reilly

by Matt Cooper

I am a maximalist … I want more of everything.'Tony O'Reilly strode into the twenty-first century an Irishman apart. Strikingly good-looking, athletically gifted, irresistibly charismatic and phenomenally wealthy, he had everything any man could want. For many, he was a hero, the living embodiment of Irish potential; for others, he was an arrogant and overbearing presence at the heart of power. Without doubt, he was the most powerful unelected Irishman of the past 50 years.His philosophy was 'I am a maximalist … I want more of everything.'But it was never enough. And today, O'Reilly's empire and the formidable reputation it established lie in tatters.In this landmark biography, Matt Cooper draws on an abundance of new material, including interviews with many of O'Reilly's closest family, friends, associates and rivals, to uncover the man behind the myth. An Irish epic, it documents in unflinching detail and with great subtlety the meteoric rise and slow unravelling of an Irish icon.

Genres: Biography, Business, Nonfiction

713 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 18, 2015

Reviews

[Adrian Fingleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read. I had always wondered about the details of Tony O'Reilly's early career, the Erin Foods into Heinz era, and his rugby prowess. It's a good book, well paced, fills in a lot of the missing pieces for me, and is quite a balanced look at the entrepreneur's strengths, weaknesses, and foibles. A good read. AND I managed to read it on my Kindle using borrowbox from my local library. Which made me feel, however briefly, like a tech God.

[Michael Meade · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb book written with nearly impossible attention to detail . Simply mind blowing amount of facts , information and summary details . An absolutely must read for any aspiring business person . Sets out the meteoric rise of a true Irish Legend ( legend in the true sense of the word ) Brilliant , brutal and utterly honest . Superb