''Losing My Virginity: The Autobiography'' is the

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

of the British businessman

Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is a British billionaire, entrepreneur, and business magnate. In the 1970s he founded the Virgin Group, which today controls more than 400 companies in various fields. Branson expressed ...

. Published in 1998, it was later followed by other biographical books by Branson, including ''Business Stripped Bare: Adventures of a Global Entrepreneur'' (2008) and ''The Virgin Way: How to Listen, Learn, Laugh and Lead'' (2014). A

paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) book ...

version () was released in 2002. An updated edition was released in 2005 in hardback and paperback expressing Branson's views on

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

and how it has affected his business, especially his airline

Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited, is a British airline with its head office in Crawley, England. The airline was established in 1984 as British Atlantic Airways, and w ...

. ''Losing My Virginity'' was positively reviewed by Tom Fawcett writing for

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

in 1999. Fawcett wrote that "...Branson offers a fascinating autobiography of a man who succeeded by taking huge risks, proving that the established way is not the only way." and that "The strength of ''Losing my Virginity'' is Branson's modesty and honesty. ...Often criticized by the media for being a showman, Branson reasons that he only used his personality to help gain exposure for Virgin. Surprisingly, Branson comes off as a lovable underdog battling the establishment, instead of a spoiled tycoon. In the introduction, Branson explains that "Losing My Virginity" is Volume One of his autobiography, which takes him up to his early 40s. How Branson will reinvent middle-age and retirement should make for a compelling sequel". The book was serialized in '' The Sun'' and ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

''. In October 2010 it was reported by ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' that ''Losing my Virginity'' was being adapted into a biopic by

David Mirkin David Mirkin (born ) is an American feature film and television director, writer and producer. Mirkin grew up in Philadelphia and intended to become an electrical engineer, but abandoned this career path in favor of studying film at Loyola Mar ...

, who would write, direct and co-produce the film with

Steven Paul Steven Paul (born May 16, 1959) is an American independent filmmaker, actor, and talent manager. He is the chairman, founder and CEO of Crystal Sky Pictures. Life and career Paul was born in New York City. His mother, Dorothy Koster Paul, was ...

Content

''Losing my Virginity'' is dedicated to "Alex Ritchie and his family" and a note before the prologue thanks Edward Whitley who helped Branson with the writing of the book. The prologue of the book recounts the start of a round-the-world balloon trip over the

Atlas Mountains The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. It separates the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range. It stretches around through Moroc ...

in Morocco, and is followed by 28 chapters in which Branson recounts the first 43 years of his life. The book ends in January 1993, in the wake of

's victory in their court case against

British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...

. An epilogue briefly details events since 1993 including the launch of

Virgin Cola Virgin Cola was a carbonated cola soft drink, launched in 1994. History Virgin Cola was set up during the early 1990s in conjunction with Cott, an American-Canadian company that specialises in bottling own-label drinks. Cott was looking for ...

, the financial services company Virgin Direct and Branson's charitable bid to run the United Kingdom's National Lottery.

References

*
Losing My Virginity
{dead link, date=January 2018 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes ", ''Virgin Books'', Retrieved on September 14, 2010. 1998 non-fiction books British autobiographies Business books Virgin Group