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  • Fall

  • The Mystery of Robert Maxwell
  • By: John Preston
  • Narrated by: Simon Bubb
  • Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (60 ratings)

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Fall

By: John Preston
Narrated by: Simon Bubb
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Publisher's Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

Winner of the Costa Biography Award 2021.

The Sunday Times best seller.

Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize 2021.

Shortlisted for the Costa Biography Award.

A Sunday Times and Telegraph Book of the Year. 

From the best-selling author of A Very English Scandal, the jaw-dropping life story of the notorious business tycoon Robert Maxwell. 

In February 1991, the media mogul and former MP Robert Maxwell made a triumphant entrance into Manhattan harbour aboard his yacht, the Lady Ghislaine, to complete his purchase of the ailing New York Daily News. Crowds lined the quayside to watch his arrival, taxi drivers stopped their cabs to shake his hand and children asked for his autograph. But just 10 months later, Maxwell disappeared from the same yacht off the Canary Islands, only to be found dead in the water soon afterward. 

Maxwell was the embodiment of Britain's postwar boom. Born an Orthodox Jew, he had escaped the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, fought in World War II and was decorated for his heroism with the Military Cross. He went on to become a Labour MP and an astonishingly successful businessman, owning a number of newspapers and publishing companies. But on his death, his empire fell apart, as long-hidden debts and unscrupulous dealings came to light. Within a few days, Maxwell was being reviled as the embodiment of greed and corruption. No one had ever fallen so far and so quickly. 

What went so wrong? How did a war hero and model of society become reduced to a bloated, amoral wreck? In this gripping book, John Preston delivers the definitive account of Maxwell's extraordinary rise and scandalous fall.

©2021 John Preston (P)2021 Penguin Audio

What listeners say about Fall

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Mind blowing, stranger than fiction

This was horrifying and fascinating, a disaster of a man - lots of detail and character here

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Terrible man, great book

Great book about an interesting yet awful man who terrorised those around him. I did not enjoy the narrator changing accents when he was speaking of the various characters especially Rupert Murdoch. but overall an interesting and well researched book.

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Excellent

An excellent listen. Well researched and written and very well performed.

I Highly recommend this title.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Background to Ghislaine Maxwell

A fair appraisal of a larger than life figure and a caution not to completely trust moguls regardless of their achievements

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Fascinating!

Great insight into a man who was clearly an egotistical megalomaniac, who ruined many lives in order to furnish his ego.

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A must read

I didn’t think this book would grab me like it has, I listened to it in one sitting. I guess the audible version of “couldn’t put it down”. Excellent understanding of the human side of the story. You can’t help but have at least a sliver of sympathy for the man.

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A remarkable story

This is a remarkable story. With detailed research, Fall describes how Robert Maxwell went from a poor Czech family to becoming a World War 2 hero, media mogul and public pariah. Excellently narrated, I just couldn’t stop listening. Can’t recommend enough!

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Crammed with personality and detail

Listened to this on 1.05 speed. Loved it, great story. Fully researched yet a personal story.

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