Books like The Man Who Owns the News: Inside the Secret World of Rupert Murdoch

It's hard to rate this book because it's a compelling read yet the writing style is utterly infuriating. The book follows Murdoch's purchase of the Wall Street Journal and uses that as a structure to dip into the past to important moments in his life. The trouble is the author writes in the present tense, even in the past and then refers to things that will happen in the future tense but which are still in the past within the book's narrative, it gets torturous. And then every now and again, he slips into the past tense anyway but for no reason I can discern.HAVING SAID THAT - this is remarkable biography that creates a picture of a fascinating man. Equally fascinating is the story behind it. Murdoch gave full permission told all family and colleagues to co-operate fully with the writer and then when the first draft came it, he read it and refused to have anything more to do with it. The result is an unauthorised biography which has all the access to sources of an authorised one, making it uniquely authoritative. Why did he consent in the first place? Was it all a ploy for more publicity? I don't think this book will change anyone's mind as to whether Murdoch is the devil or not, but most readers will come away with a sneaking and grudging affection for the old bastard.Murdoch himself comes across as a bully, petulant, brilliant, ruthless, bitter and childlike - and yet likeable. He's a towering figure who cannot be explained. His business decisions which have earned billions taken on a whim. To some he has destroyed journalism but the one thing he clearly loves more than anything (and possibly anyone) is newspapers.The story of the purchase of the WSJ is remarkable, not just in Murdoch's determination against virtually all business logic to own it but for the portrait of the previous owners, the Bancroft family, a classic third plus generation of trust fund babies who have little to do with the paper.It is all ripe for film - even a stage musical.A fascinating read that surmounts it's tortured use of tenses.