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The Polyester Prince: The Rise of Dhirubhai Ambani

by: Hamish McDonald
en

1864484683  9781864484687 

 


The Polyester Prince: The Rise of Dhirubhai Ambani
By Hamish McDonald


 


Summary: A must read for any aspiring entrepreneur
Rating: 5

Hamish McDonald has pulled this one off with a master's touch. It covers decades of Dhirubhai's life - his dreams, struggles, failures and successes.

Too bad this book was banned in India and is out of print. One word to describe the experience - Masterpeice!

I must add, The Library at University of Georgia has two copies!!!



Summary: Finding this book is difficult but worth it
Rating: 4

This book is worth the chase. When you first search for this book [...], you are alarmed at the price. The [...] plus price tag is incorrect, this book is available for less than [...].

Mukesh and Anil Ambani, the sons of the late Dhirubhai Ambani have spared no effort in ensuring that this book is virtually impossible to find. If you go to any book store in India, be it in Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore at any of the chains liks crossroads,odyessey, higgenbothams, oxford or at any used book dealer, you cannot find this book.

Even if you have the ISBN number and you call the Australian publishers, due to lawsuits, they will provide a standard apologetic " we do not have any copies available, we do not intend to reprint". So strike out trying to call the publisher and buying this book.

If you go to any major online book store amazon.com, half.com, overstock.com, ebay etc.. you will not find a copy. If you go to any major public university library or public library across america you will find the standard " we have put your order request into our system, but we still have not heard back from the xyz source".

In europe, south america, australia, nz, japan, india, north america, dubai, western africa, china, russia, central asia.. this book is hard to find.

So your wondering how can I find this book? two options, u can take a chance at the website mentioned by rohit shah below, or you can go to the Harvard University Library in Cambridge, MA, USa which has two copies available.

[...],



Summary: Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani
Rating: 4

The Polyester Prince is a balanced book on India's own robber baron. Mr. McDonald pays tribute to Gujarati traders/ Banias in the first few chapters by acknowledging their exuberance of speech, inventiveness, and commercial drive. Dhirubhai first displayed his diplomatic and negotiating skills during the Junagadh freedom struggle. At Yemen, he exploits the fact that silver content in rial was higher than the pound. There he also learned the fundamentals of business by taking position in rice, sugar, and other commodities. At India, Dhirubhai progressed to trading in REP licenses and later textile manufacturing. One of Dhirubhai's greatest attributes was that he networked and lobbied furiously. He cultivated several journalists, politicians, and bureaucrats including Girilal Jain, Murli Deora, Yashpal Kapur, T.A. Pai, R.K. Dhawan, P.C. Sethi, Pramod Mahajan, and Pranab Mukherjee. Several policies such as the High Unit Value Scheme were introduced for the sole benefit of Reliance and tariffs mostly for the detriment of competitors like Kapal Mehra (Orkay Silk Mills) and Nusli Wadia (Bombay Dyeing). Reliance was the first to recognize the most important external environment- Government of India. Dhirubhai used the government to destroy Indian Express and Bombay Dyeing. Wadia, Mehra and the journalist Gurumurthy were arrested on fake charges. He is alleged to have tried to get Wadia assassinated through Kirti Ambani and contract killers. Reliance also resorted to envelope journalism and later buying out a newspaper to unfairly cast DMT as inferior to PTA. Dhirubhai is rightly called father of Indian equity cult as he patronized convertible debentures. One out of every four investors in India is a Reliance shareholder. The Ambanis used loopholes, shell investment companies/ tax havens in Isle of Man, duplicate shares, insider trading, and financial engineering tricks to ensure that Reliance was the largest zero-tax company and a pure cash flow operation. Though correctly described as ruthless and daring, Mr. McDonald overlooks that Dhirubhai was an innovative financier, brand builder (Only Vimal etc.), and an industrialist way ahead of his times (vertical integration, GDR etc.).



Summary: Must read for anyone looking to do business in India
Rating: 4

I bought this book directly from the publisher as it has been banned in India and after reading it is easy to understand why. Ambani's were the most visible business family from India in 80s. Everyone knows that powerful political connections are responsible for the meteoric rise of the ambani business empire. What the book talks about are many issues, which were kept under the carpet and never ever spoken in public. It is a very interesting reading.

Anyone who is interested to learn how business can be done in India, especially before the privatization, must read this book. The link between politics and business is very powerful and though it may have diminished a little in today's India, it is not completely gone.

I recommend this book to anyone who is trying to analyze the strengths of Indian business environment as an emerging country and wish to do business in India.



Summary: The Polyester Prince
Rating: 1

This book is over rated because of controversy. Look at at the price of the book its ridiculous. There are thousands of other books i would rather read. Dont waste your time here