A Full Cup: Sir Thomas Lipton's Extraordinary Life and His Quest for the America's Cup

by Michael D'Antonio

An in-depth biography of Sir Thomas Lipton, the founder of Lipton Tea-a portrait of a remarkable self-made man and intrepid sailor.

Today Lipton means tea. However, in his time Sir Thomas Lipton was known for much more. Raised in desperate poverty, he became rich beyond his wildest dreams. He built a global empire of markets, factories, plantations, and stockyards. And his colorful pursuit of the America's Cup trophy made him a beloved figure on both sides of the Atlantic.

In A Full Cup , Michael D'Antonio tells the tale of this larger- than-life figure. Beginning with a journey across the United States just after the Civil War, Thomas J. Lipton developed the ambition and learned the business techniques that helped him create the first chain of grocery stores. Wealthy before the age of thirty, he set his sights on the tea trade, and soon his name became synonymous with his product. Lipton's great business success makes for a compelling story of innovation and achievement. Moreover, though, Lipton's most intriguing creation was a public persona-one of the first formed with the help of a modern mass media-that appealed to millions of ordinary people, as well as the elites in America and Europe. Concocting simple stunts like elephant parades, Lipton mastered the new art of obtaining free publicity. With shameless self-promotion, he became one of the world's most eligible bachelors, a patron of the poor, and ultimately reached legendary heights when he revived the competition for the America's Cup. With one losing attempt after another, the gallant Lipton, who didn't even know how to sail his own yacht, became ever more popular. D'Antonio's biography brings to vivid life this remarkable figure.

Genres: Biography, History, Nonfiction, Sports, Audiobook, Nautical

368 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

A Pulitzer Prize winning writer of books, articles, and original stories for film, Michael D’Antonio has published more than a dozen books, including Never Enough, a 2015 biography of presidential candidate and billionaire businessman Donald Trump. Described variously as “luminous,” “captivating,” “momentous” and “meticulous” Michael’s work is renowned for its clarity, balance, and thoroughness.

His works a have been noted as “best books of the year” or “editors’ picks” by The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, Businessweek, The Chicago Tribune and Publisher’s Weekly. He has appeared on Sixty Minutes, Today, Good Morning, The Morning Show, America, Larry King Live, Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Diane Rehm, Coast-to-Coast, and many other programs.

Before becoming a fulltime author, Michael worked as a journalist in New York, Washington, and Maine. He has written for Esquire, The New York Times Magazine, The Times of London Magazine, Discover, Sports Illustrated, The Los Angeles Times Magazine and many others. He has received numerous awards including the 1984 Pulitzer Prize, shared with a team at Newsday that explored the medical, legal, and ethical issues surrounding the Baby Jane Doe case.

In 2016, Michael has became a regular contributor for CNN, both on-air and on their website. His pieces can be read here: http://www.cnn.com/profiles/michael-d...

D’Antonio has been the recipient of the Alicia Patterson Fellowship, the First Amendment Award, and the Humanitas Award for his Showtime film, Crown Heights. Born and raised in New Hampshire, Michael now lives on Long Island with his wife, Toni Raiten-D’Antonio who is a psychotherapist, professor, and author of three acclaimed books.

Reviews

[Jill H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lipton Tea has one of the most recognizable packaging in the world.......the bright yellow box with the portrait of Sir Thomas Lipton (at least on some of them). But who was Sir Thomas? This book gives us a picture of the man, who was raised in the Gorbals, one of Glasgow's most shocking slums, and through his own drive, intelligence and personality, built a global empire of tea plantations, markets, factories, and stockyards. It is an amazing story about an amazing man who became a beloved world wide figure.......a man who couldn't seem to fail and counted royalty, politicians, inventors, and sportsmen among his long list of friends.

But he did fail at the one thing that meant so much to him - the America's Cup yachting race. With one losing attempt after another, he became even more popular. He was the world's most winning loser. Although in modern times the Cup races have been overtaken in popularity by other sports, it once was the most popular of sporting events and Lipton's challenges captivated the British and Americans. He was also society's most eligible bachelor although there is every evidence that his sexual preference precluded marriage.

The book is well written and even if you have no interest in the sport of yachting/America's Cup, you might just find yourself intrigued by Lipton's life. I would round my rating up to a 3.5 if possible.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though Lipton tea was the first food I ever prepared myself as a kid, I was prepared to dislike Thomas Lipton. As a tea connoisseur (that is to say snob), I felt far beyond the Lipton blend of my childhood. Plus, Victorian entrepreneurs were notorious for abusing laborers with long hours and unsanitary conditions. Was I ever pleasantly surprised! Thomas Lipton worked his way up from poverty by helping his parents, took big risks and made most crazy ideas work, trotted the globe cultivating friendships, offered good service and prices and consistent product, and gave money and food to the poor of Glasgow throughout his life culminating in a large endowment at his death.

As the only living son of a poor family, Lipton traveled third class to New York City to seek his fortune. Living rough in New York and the rural South, he labored and saved. He also observed American business practices, particularly marketing and advertising. When he returned to Scotland, he convinced his parents to revolutionize their grocery store by using Thomas’ capitol to buy in bulk at a discount to increase profits, an unheard-of idea at the time. He kept consumer prices low, brightened up displays, and charmed customers with his friendly personality and neatly attired good looks. He soon expanded to a network of stores. Later, he identified Britain’s “newly acquired” Ceylon as a possible place to cultivate the expensive tea being imported from China. And step-by-step he built that business, along with other businesses.

Lipton loved sailing and ocean travel. As a child he built boats out of scavenged materials for himself and friends, and organized races. He never got over the thrill of his first ocean voyage, before motorized travel. Much of the book is about his quest for the America’s Cup, and the many sailing yachts he built, all named Shamrock (I, II, III, etc.) Unlike previous British contenders, he acted with good humor and sportsmanship. Indeed, he strived to always be polite and uplifting, to be a kind host to all, whether entertaining J.P. Morgan, the Prince of Wales, or giving gifts to Glasgow children at his annual Christmas giveaway.

I especially liked reading about Lipton’s advertising in the days when he was building his grocery stores. In addition to wearing a sandwich board himself, he hired 10 very skinny men to march through town wearing “We’re Going to Lipton’s Grocery” signs. A bit later, 10 extremely fat men retraced the route through town wearing “We’re Coming from Lipton’s Grocery” signs. Another time, 10 “buxom” ladies strolled through town wearing the “Going to Lipton’s” signs. And then there were the famous incidents with the elephant…

Anyone who wants to read a truly uplifting story about a Victorian man with grace, style, kindness, and charm will enjoy A Full Cup. Especially tea drinkers. In fact, I’m going to set aside my snobbishness and give Lipton’s Tea another try.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story. Until I read this book, I assumed Lipton's fortune was from tea. I enjoy reading about entrepreneurs. Half this book was on Lipton's obsession with America's Cup.

[Patrick Kuretich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story of rags to riches via hard work and great ideas. Recommended read!

[Wes F · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever drink any Lipton tea? You'll never think of it in the same way after reading this book on the amazing life of Sir Thomas Lipton from Glasgow, Scotland. Brought up in very humble beginnings, where his parents owned one simple grocery story, Lipton went on to become one of the sparkling rich stars of the Gilded Age--a multi-millionaire who owned hundreds of grocery shops all over the United Kingdom, as well as the developer of the Lipton tea brand, with a large branch based in New York City (he owned huge tea estates in Ceylon/Sri Lanka, where he also had a well-equipped & situated mansion in the hills overlooking his fields). Later in life, Lipton become obsessed with seeking to win the America's Cup yachting race--which the U.S. had held for many decades. Lipton did his best, spending a good bit of his fortune over many years, and sponsored a boat and crew for 4 America's Cup races. Americans loved him and he garnered much publicity for his company as a result of his involvement in these races. But, he was never successful in wresting away The Cup. He did receive a special "Cup" for being such a good loser, for so many times--and he soaked up the attention & publicity & goodwill. Lipton was one of the age's pioneering showman for his businesses--adeptly using the new mass media channels to bring attention to his products. Quite a character--always jolly, friendly, outgoing, as well as being known as a shrewd entrepreneur. Thanks, Jeff Woods, for the loan of your old book, through the GLI Library in Kabul!

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only 3 stars because the author kept deviating from the subject and repeated himself and had too much ‘fluff’ in it. Sir Thomas Lipton was an interesting and lovable person. He was giving and ran a business in Scotland and England and the states that brought him out of poverty and was beneficial to many people. My issue with this book is the author would be talking of the Americas Cup, or something else, and then he would start talking about other interesting facts. It literally took me months to read this book. I’m so happy I finished and can focus more on other books on my list.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of a remarkable man, Thomas Lipton. The author tells us about his life in a way that makes you admire him as much as the people on both sides of the Atlantic did. A confident man who understood what it took to start and grow a successful business and who became a self-made millionaire, rising from a slum in Ireland to rubbing elbows with both British and American elites. He also was a huge philanthropist never forgetting what he came from. He was also the ultimate good sport. What an amazing man! A story everyone should read.

[Anne Boardman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this a chapter a week with a tea group and found Thomas Lipton fascinating. His business and marketing sense was incredible and reading about his eccentric pastimes was fun. Well connected in both the UK and the US made him a beloved character. Thus when he mounted a challenge for the America's Cup multiple times he won in business and socially whether he won the sailing races or not. Not a lot about tea but an enjoyable read nonetheless.

[Kevin O'Connell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading about someone other than those whom we associate with the Gilded Age. Learning about someone from across the pond was a nice change. The boat races got a little much by the last description.

[Doug Wiseman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting back story on Thomas Lipton youth and fortune, but coverage of the America's cup races was disappointing.

[Jj Kwashnak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horatio Alger popularized the rags to riches stories 19th century writing. During this era though, some would live this story in real life. This includes Sir Thomas Lipton, rising from poverty in Glasgow to create an empire of grocery stores across Great Britain, and a world-wide tea empire. A master of what business refers to as vertical integration, he owned the slaughterhouses for ham and plantations for tea which he marketed under his name in his stores. More importantly he also came of age in a time when wealth bought entrance to society, if not membership.

In recounting his amazing rise from poverty to wealth and success would make for an interesting story, but Lipton was not famous for success, he was also famous for failure. Despite his limited experience, he became an avid fan of yachting, and became fixated on winning the America's Cup - at the time the most famous and prestigious sports trophy in the world. Five times he would pour the equivalent of millions of today's dollars into challenges, and five times he would lose to the New York Yacht Club. In the process, however, he won the heart and affection of an America of the Gilded Age of the early 20th century.

D'Antonio recounts Lipton's story in a very breezy and readable style. While the first half focuses on Lipton's rise to success, and his devotion to business and philanthropy, the second half takes us through the businessman's fight again and again to win the Cup, each time coming away unfailingly cheerful, and speaking about the next time. At times the book seems to try a bit hard to make events sound more dramatic than they are and the subject comes across as everlastingly hard-working, civic minded, cheerful and positive with barely a hint of scandal or even character flaws. Most of the negative that is focused upon is not due to problems in Lipton's character, but of a social hierarchy that allowed a successful businessman entrance yet denied acceptance of a "mere grocer" in their world. Still this does not take away from the overall enjoyability of the story, even in our current age of focusing on the flawed hero.

In his early life, Lipton was a businessman, and in his second career, he became the sportsman, and the philanthropist. Successful in his endeavors, noted banker Samuel Jarvis remarked "No greater sportsman has ever been born, and he is a greater diplomat than sportsman."

[Bob H · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story is a vividly-written, well-paced account of a remarkable life of the 19th and early 20th Century. Though the label -- Lipton -- is ubiquitous -- it was still a series of pleasant surprises for me to read of how a poor boy from a Scottish slum could create new business models and succeed, in the British grocery trade, in U.S. grocery marketing and meat packing, in the worldwide tea trade. His marketing innovations, his creativity at promotion and advertising, his establishment of vertically-integrated management (before there was such a term), from the tea plantation to the grocer's shelf -- all of this would by itself make for a splendid bit of business history.

But, Sir Thomas Lipton seems to have made a remarkable path through Gilded Age society, becoming a friend and confidante of Edward VII's circle and of New York well-to-do, and charming the ordinary people (and press) of Britain and the U.S. in the process. His impact on the America's Cup competition is a remarkable story of the sea and of a sport that bore his stamp as well, from the innovations in sailboat design in his day to the many Lipton Cup yacht races today. For several years at the turn of that century, Sir Thomas was the United Kingdom's contender in the Cup races, at a time when the UK dearly wanted to recapture the Cup. Today, the recent America's Cup races will revive interest in the Cup's history, and there you'll find Sir Thomas. This book is very well-timed indeed.

The prose is direct and never dull, the author's source notes show how diligently he researched the story. He tells of the boat-handling and mishaps in the races without arcane references -- laypeople will understand what went on while people like myself, who are experienced in sailboats, will find it true to life. The book itself is a pleasantly informative experience, even to those who knew something of the sea and of business history.

Highly recommend.

[Jock Mcclees · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only knew of Sir Thomas Lipton regarding his long quest to win the America's Cup since I have sailed my whole life. I thought the book would be primarily about his attempts to win the Cup. Since he had the title of Sir and a lot of money is needed to challenge for the Cup, I assumed he was from the aristocracy. Was I ever wrong.

He started off very poor in Scotland. When he was a young man he went to the US looking for work. He wasn't surviving in New York so he went south. It was not long after the Civil War and he performed the jobs the slaves used to do. He went back to New York and was lucky to get a job for a large new department store opening that was very progressive in the way it ran its business. His talent was recognized and he moved up in the store. He saved up some money and went back to Scotland and worked in his parents little store. He helped grow their business some and then got his own store. It was a great success due to hard work and how he ran the store. This included being very cleanly and light, having very good produce at reasonable prices. He then built the first large chain of grocery stores, started importing tea and also started selling tea in America. Along the way he revolutionized how things are sold, supply chains, advertising and marketing. Sadly, in his old age, he didn't change with the times the way he had when he was young and ultimately lost the grocery chain he had founded. It is a fascinating book about a fascinating man.

PS The latter part of the book does go into his quest for the America's Cup. Interestingly, at the time, the America's Cup race was the best known and most widely covered sporting event in the world. For Lipton, it generated a lot of free publicity (he was a masterful PR man) and boosted sales which helped pay for or more than paid for his Cup challenges.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book wasn't a fast read. And yet, it was a satisfying read. I liked the way the author somehow managed to write in a way to keep the reader at a slower and steadier tempo. It made me savor this book. And there was loads of information to soak up here.

I thought of Lipton in relation to the tea company, but Thomas Lipton was so much more than that. What an amazing business empire he built over the course of a lifetime. And how he used the press and public relations and advertising to promote all his ventures was extraordinary, especially for the times. He was basically for the beginning of his career, a one-man marketing firm!

Then there were the numerous America's Cup races his yachts competed in. It was almost like having 2 books in one--the first about his business, the second about all the America's Cup challenges. This part of the book was exciting, you could almost feel you were viewing the race. The American people just loved Lipton, and he, them. And that feeling is truly conveyed by the author in this book. He had an amazing life.

It's not a book that you will open and be done with in a day, but certainly a "good read." And one that will leave you with a pretty good mental picture of the times and people, especially in Scotland, England, and New York metropolitan area.

[Andrea James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't know much about Lipton before this book, except that I didn't like his tea! And friends in the US ask us to bring proper tea over when we visit from the UK so I'm probably not alone about that.

I found the first half of the book really interesting. I hadn't really thought about Glasgow's naval prowess and history. The book did a decent job of painting the picture of what Glasgow was like in Lipton's youth and early days as a shopkeeper.

The parts about Lipton using cleverly using PR to grow his business were also informative and rather fun to learn about.

The second half or last third of book was a bit more meh for me because so much of it was around aristocratic life. The bits about the America's Cup were reasonably engaging - I have very little knowledge about it.

All in all, I thought it provided decent company on my commutes.

[Marcelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't think I've read a more boring bio, which is a shame because it seems Lipton was quite the character.

The book has too many facts and not enough story telling; I guess you could say it was too anecdotal. D'Antonio will make a statement like 'Lipton was clever' and then he'll give you 10 examples of how clever he was. After example 3, it becomes less remarkable and less interesting. A good editor would have taken care of of the telling statements and gotten rid of the repetitive bits.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who knew that the man who created the Lipton Tea Company was such as entrepreneur and yachtsman. This told the story of his life, starting and growing his business and then leading into the pursuit of the "America's Cup", the yachting challenge between the USA and Great Britain, that would consume his interest for 30+ years. Interesting read but it started to get a bit long, so a downgrade from a 4 star to a 3 star.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a longer time than normal to read this book because I had others I had to read for various reasons. But it's the biography of Sir Thomas Lipton, of Lipton Tea, and his rags to riches story. He only had one minor controversy in his life. Basically a good guy and it's interesting to read about him and the times he lived in.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting to me because of Sir Thomas Lipton's cup donation to the Grand Lake Yacht Club, and I learned a thing or two about immigration to America and the history of the America's Cup. Not sure I wold recommend this to anyone not interested in yacht racing history.

[Eubond · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice history of a man I really knew little about. it was particularly interesting to read about how he took US–style retailing to Glasgow and hire her improved British-US relations with his pursuit of the America's Cup.

[William Curtin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, a must read for those in retail or building a business in general. The only fault was D'Antonio fell in to the "being he didn't have women on his arm, he MUST be gay" trap. Is it possible that some people are just not sexually driven?

[L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book had me hooked even though Sir Thomas's personal life isn't covered in depth (mainly because he didn't have one). Quite a colorful figure and a dynamo of marketing and self-promotion.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story...I heard the author interviewed on NPR and would give him 4 stars for that interview.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book reads quickly and never gets bogged down as so many biographies do. Thomas Lipton led an amazingly interesting and varied life and this biography is well worth the time.

[Thomas Furmato · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. This man was like where's Waldo. An intriguing life and he touched so many people. The book conveys that without dragging out with boring details.

[Rosanna Hynes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very Interesting, however got a little boring for me regarding all the boat racing details. However, his story on how he became so successful was amazing.

[Glenn Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the Americas Cup history. Wonderfully researched.

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

WELL WRITTEN BIO OF DRIVEN MAN