Rating: 
Summary: Don't confuse single-minded with ruthless
Review: A principle in speaking is that people remember stories much more than they remember concepts. This is a great story and there is much to be learned from it. It's also clear to me how easy it is confuse a person with the single-minded courage of his convictions with someone who is ruthless. I have known a few people similar to Mr. Redstone, who were similarly single-minded of purpose. When you look closely at these people, the look in their eye in much more about having a vision or goal and thinking intently, "How can I make IT happen?" than it is about "who can I hurt or run over?" If they do happen to run over people it is usually not done from malice, but because those people are merely in the line of whatever goal they are trying to achieve. This is not to say that these strong-willed people suffer fools gladly (which they don't) or are not capable of getting even (and then some) after someone else attacks them first. But they don't go out of their way to hurt people without having been hurt by them. Mr. Redstone also exemplifies how easy it is to become confused about aggression being bad. Tiger Woods is aggressive. Andre Agassi is aggressive. Aggression + Principle = Conviction. Aggression - Principle = Hostility. Aggression is actually admirable, but it needs to be wedded to principle. And Mr. Redstone is a good example of how to be aggressive in the right way. Read this book as a guide to taking the bull by the horns and taking charge of your life, instead of waiting for life to happen to you.
Rating: 
Summary: The House of Sumner
Review: A spirited view into the Man who has created one of the greatest media empires to date. A Passion to Win is a display of what one person can accomplish if they stick to what they believe in and love what they do. The book is the basis of what his business philosophy is, stemming from his up bringing and schooling at Boston Latin School. The book raised my respect for the man who amassed accomplishments upon accomplishments prior to his Viacom years. The only missing details are the lessons learned in his earlier failures or mistakes made prior to Blockbuster. Your given a sense that he did everything write until that point. The only early failure noted is a mistake he made in a spelling contest. I wish he would have humbled himself to the quote I once read from him, "Success is not built on success, but on failure, frustration and catastrophe". Outside of that, it was a great and highly recomended read.
Rating:
Summary: A Story of Great Achievement
Review: Although he maintains a much lower profile than Rupert Murdoch or Barry Diller, Sumner Redstone is just as powerful and interesting as his better-known peers. Sure, he's boldly promotional about his achievements and about those of his company, Viacom - but as someone who came from humble beginnings to create a tremendous empire through intelligence and hard work, he can afford to indulge a bit. He gives credit when credit is due and pulls few punches when it is not. What is perhaps most remarkable about his story is that the most exciting part did not begin until he was into his 60's. It is a good read, offering insights into corporate politics, negotiation, and the recent history of the entertainment business. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Sarah's Review
Review: As a highschool student, I found this book to be extremely inspiring. Anyone who has ever thought of entering the field of business should read this book. I did and it helped me channel my i nner ambition. Redstones inspiring stories (he survived a terrible fire) made me want to get out and conquer the world. At times, Redstone seems a bit full of himself, but anyone who can climb to the top usuallly is. This book is a great read to anyone wanting to find passion by reading from a passionate person.
Rating:
Summary: A Story of Great Achievement
Review: As one who has met him and heard him speak on many occasions, I can say that Sumner Redstone is truly one of the great characters in corporate America. Sure, he's boldly promotional about his achievements and about those of his company, Viacom - but the man can back it up. His is a great story of the American Dream, someone who came from humble beginnings to create a tremendous empire through intelligence and hard work. He gives credit where credit is due and pulls few punches where it is not. What is perhaps most remarkable and inspiring about his story is that the most exciting part did not begin until he was into his 60's. It is a good read, offering interesting insights into corporate politics, negotiation, and the recent history of the entertainment business. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: How Does an Innovative Business Genius Think?
Review: Being from the Boston area, I have long followed and been interested in the career of Sumner Redstone. This autobiography greatly added to my knowledge of the man by describing the thought processes behind the many successful innovations he has helped pioneer. The main drawback of the book is that you will find his personality unappealing at times. He savages those who do not meet his exceptionally high standards. If you do not know who Mr. Redstone is, let me fill you in a little. He is a self-made multibillionaire, who is the chairman and controlling shareholder of Viacom. This is the company that brings you the CBS television network, Paramount motion pictures, and many popular cable networks like MTV and Showtime. Mr. Redstone may well be the brightest owner of a major company in the world. He is certainly one of the best educated. But beyond that, he is undoubtedly one of the most competitive. The combination gives him the impact of a Mack truck when he decides to move. The book begins with the most famous story about Mr. Redstone, how he survived almost being burned to death in a fire in Boston's Copley Plaza at age 55. You will come away impressed with his determination from reading about this experience. If you are like me, you will come away even more impressed that this experience had little psychological impact on him. It was just one more challenge. The story then picks up with the horrible problems he had in turning around Blockbuster Video after purchasing it during Viacom's acquisition of Paramount. To succeed required recruiting two different top officers of the company (the first one was not successful) and renegotiating the fundamental way that motion picture studios were compensated for video rentals (substituting a revenue sharing arrangement for purchases of video tapes). Mr. Redstone always wins in business. It's that simple. In fact, in this autobiography, he can recount few occasions when he did not in any aspect of his life. He bitterly resents the injustices present from those few instances. One was when a professor of law gave him a D in constitutional law at Harvard Law school (when he had taken the course earlier at another law school, he had received an A+). While an appellate lawyer for the federal government, he won 18 appeals in a row. "I am hands on . . . but I also invite confrontation." Mr. Redstone acts as though each penny involved is potentially his own, and that the principle at stake is a life-and-death one. This gives his focus an intensity that no one I have ever met could match. His descriptions of bidding contests to buy businesses and efforts to win legal cases will provide fruitful examples of best practices for generations to come. If you want to win in business or law, think like Mr. Redstone. And get the best talent to help you . . . particularly if you are not a towering genius like Mr. Redstone. The title of the book is somewhat misleading. Mr. Redstone is equally devoted to being a committed person who acts with courage and good character. In other words, he wants to win for the right reasons and in the right way. It's the principle that counts. For example, he gave the money he won suing the hotel where he nearly died to the burn unit of the hospital that treated him. He was originally attracted to law because it was supposed to be about justice. He found that practicing law, however, was just a business rather than a way to do justice. Almost all of his major business victories were aided at least in part by legal actions that he masterminded. On the other hand, most people would not find the way he spends his time to be the ideal life. You'll have to decide for yourself how a single-minded pursuit of winning should be balanced by other interests and considerations. I do encourage you to be more understanding and accepting of lesser mortals than Mr. Redstone is in this book. There is, after all, only one Sumner Redstone.
Rating:
Summary: Learn from an experienced master of business
Review: Great stories about Sumners life in public service, law and business. Within the stories one learns critical advice on loyalty, competition, negotiating, M&A and doing business with executives.
Great book by a true leader.
Rating: 
Summary: an interesting autobiography for those in the business
Review: i agree with the EDITOR's review of this book as well. Often self-promoting, this book can often be too tedious in its descriptive of the deal makings. i enjoyed it more having worked for the firm for a while. i didnt agree with everything he said and his comments about some of the people he fired were too slanted in my opinion, but hell, thats what being the boss entitles you to. i would have liked a more candid description of the different chgannels rather that a listings of the shows which appeared to be just a listing provided by someone at each channel. toughness during deal-making is the message i got most from this book and is what will stick with me most. one last thing--i would have enjoyed more details on the work during wwll .
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I agree with the other reviewers Sumner is too much of a bragger to make this story enjoyable. Also, I thought he would have discussed more in detail his childhood and how he grew into the powerful man he is today. His story always is focused on his accomplishment yet never touched on a single set back or defeat. He bragged about his Harvard education, his power over Barry Diller at QVC, and he even bragged about how he changed the way Viacom was pronounced. Give me a break. He also bragged that he loved to sue companies to get his way. Nice.
Rating:
Summary: A Primer in Business [Success]!
Review: I listened to the audiobook. I believe it's more powerful when you hear it from THE MAN himself. What a career, and then at 63 years old he puts together Viacom!! What is particularly interesting to us business types is that he had a solid business plan and vision and knew what pieces to buy and when to do it to create the Viacom empire. What is scary is how the fingers of Viacom reach into our lives every minute of every day. From Nickelodeon to MTV to CBS to Paramount to Don Imus; you live with Viacom media from the time you get up (they own Shadow Traffic!) to the time you go to bed (Showtime). But Mr. Redstone is clearly the story here and his ego (if he has any) does not get in the way of a great business tale of success.
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