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A Bazaar Life: The Autobiography of David Alliance by [David Alliance, Peter Mandelson]

A Bazaar Life: The Autobiography of David Alliance Kindle Edition

by David Alliance (Author), Peter Mandelson (Foreword) Format: Kindle Edition

4.4 93 ratings

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At the age of thirteen, David Alliance was taken out of school by his father and apprenticed into the Grand Bazaar in Tehran, where he learned the business skills that were to prove invaluable in one of the most successful business careers of modern times. In 1950, with just ?14 in his pocket, he arrived in Manchester in search of textile bargains, going hungry and sometimes forced to sleep on the street. Six years later, however, when he was still only twenty-four, he bought a loss-making textile mill, turned it around in six months and went on to build the biggest textile company in the Western world. At one stage his businesses, including his mail-order company, N Brown Group, employed more than 80,000 people. He did it through a mixture of incredibly hard work, creativity and nerve, and some of his takeovers, often of companies many times larger than his own, were breathtaking in their ingenuity. No obstacle was unscalable - his guiding principle all his life was that everything is achievable 'if you put your heart and soul into it'. Humble, charming and delightfully honest, Alliance's extraordinary rags-to-riches tale is not only that of a remarkable journey, but goes far beyond the world of business. Among many stories which have until now remained secret, Alliance tells of how he used the skills he learned in the bazaar to negotiate with the dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam to allow the Ethiopian Jews to be airlifted to Israel, his friendship with the Shah of Iran and the first-hand insight into the infamous Guinness affair. In A Bazaar Life, written with Ivan Fallon, he sets out the lessons he has learned in a long career, and the principles that have guided him. Young - and older - entrepreneurs can learn a lot from his story.

Print length

448 pages
Language

English
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On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

The Robson Press
Publication date

February 5, 2015
File size

5712 KB
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About the Author

David Alliance: Lord Alliance of Manchester CBE has been one of Britain’s foremost industrialists for more than fifty years. He was the founder and chairman of the online retailer N Brown Group and also of Coats Viyella, Europe’s foremost textile company. He was made a peer in 2004.

Ivan Fallon: Ivan Fallon was City Editor of the Sunday Telegraph and Deputy Editor and Business Editor of the Sunday Times. He is the author of six books, his first book, DeLorean (co-authored with James Srodes), was a Book of the Month choice in the U.S. He was CEO of Independent News & Media UK until 2010.

Peter Mandelson: Lord Mandelson served as a Secretary for Trade and Industry under Prime Minister Tony Blair and as Secretary for State for Business under Prime Minister Gordon Brown. He was also the British EU Commissioner for Trade from 2004 to 2008. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00S46ZFRU
Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Robson Press (February 5, 2015)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 5, 2015
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 5712 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 448 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #2,563,373 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #270 in Fashion & Textile Industry
- #370 in Manufacturing Industry (Kindle Store)
- #988 in Manufacturing Industry (Books)

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4.4 93 ratings

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Fred Bloggs

Inspiring!

Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2015

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Disclosure, I am Davoud's cousin. I will try to be as objective as possible.

This has to be one of the most amazing rags to riches stories ever. A Persian Jew who came to England when he was 18 with nothing. He couldn't speak English. He was homeless, living outdoors under cinema steps. He was even peed on by a drunk while he was sleeping. He suffered and still suffers from terrible clinical depression for which he had electric shock treatment. Now he sits in the House of Lords. He is a friend of kings, presidents, and prime ministers. Thoroughly inspiring. I would recommend this book for every aspiring and actual entrepreneur. It should be on every business school's must read list.

One more thing. In our very large extended family, when there's a problem, the first words that anyone says are "Call Davoud." Why? Because we know he can help and he does help. He is always helping people. He never says no. Thank you Davoud.

I recommend this book to everyone.

9 people found this helpful

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Yehuda Doron

Must read

Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2019

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Long. Book but worth the time
In business and in personal life
Great wisdom in all levels
God be with you David.

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Chris K Asadoorian

Great people, strong family bonds and great sense of ...

Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2016

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I'm from Iran and am familiar with many Jewish clothing merchants in bazar. Great people, strong family bonds and great sense of humor. It sounds very real story.
Handling of the order was excellent. Am very happy.
Thank you.

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Music Lover

excellent book. what a life and a must read ...

Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2017

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excellent book. what a life and a must read for anyone who drives to do great things from any background but certainly from a poor and traumatic upbringing.

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Mira

A fascinating and unbelieveable story

Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2015

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A small boy from Kashan, a small town in iran, finally reshape UK textile industry under his umbrella. It is my honour to know this and will tell to everyone.

One person found this helpful

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JT

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2016

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Great great book, very interesting, motivating and educational. What an amazing life he lived.

Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2015

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congratulations on a life filled with fantastic achievements. I now wish you peace and happiness in your life.

One person found this helpful

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Denise Shophet

a pleasure to read

Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2015

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Amazing autobiography. He makes us realize that with determination you can aim for the sky

2 people found this helpful

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nadia

A man of all worlds

Reviewed in Canada on November 29, 2015

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I do not generally read autobiographies, or biographies, as I believe that these genres are either self-promotions or sensationalizations of the challenging and intriguing journeys that we know as a "person's life". I would rather spend my time with either fiction or non-fiction where the boundaries are reasonably clearly delineated: fiction or fact/informed hypothesis. I saw an interview with Lord Alliance on the BBC, and decided that I should break with my usual habit of avoiding autobiographies: I am very glad that I did.

"A bazaar life" deals with the life journey of Lord David (Davoud) Alliance, beginning in a small town in Iran in 1930s and pausing in , UK, in 2015. The book, written by author Ivan Fallon, is a a pleasurable and "easy read" that evokes a sense for the reader of listening to the reminiscences of a wise and experienced elder. Mr.Fallon's writing actually succeeded in helping me to "hear" Lord Alliance as if we were in a cozy pub with a glass of Johnnie Walker in front of us. The writing is intimate and accessible even though the topics are highly specialized about financial ventures in the UK of 1950s to 2014. Potentially mind numbing information (for the financially illiterate) regarding mergers and acquisitions, under the pen of Mr. Fallon, become intriguing stories that must be read to the end before the book can be put to rest for the night.

Lord Alliance, I believe, is completely forthright about his perceptions of the financial and political world that he had to deal with for over five decades. For reasons that are potentially unfathomable, David Alliance made it from rags to riches in a highly hierarchical, structured society and industry and he immigrated into. This is no ordinary "rags to riches" story of a self-made person that is to be found in many Hollywood movies: this is the story of an amazingly motivated Jewish Iranian young-man who becomes a "mover and shaker" in the long-established British textile industry ; a great supporter for Israel and the Jews of Ethiopia; and a dedicated and loyal Iranian who had a close relationship with the late Shah of Iran. This is the story of a man who has very successfully, and with a great deal of apparent integrity, "knitted or woven" together a worthwhile life that encompasses three countries and cultures. Given the politics of today, I believe, Lord David Alliance succeeded in living a life well lived.

One person found this helpful

Sean Hamil

and frequent good humour. His obvious affection for his adopted country

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 22, 2015

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If you have any interest in the industrial and social history of Britain and the reasons why UK manufacturing went into spectacular decline in the post-war period you should read this book. Sir David Alliance tells the story of the consolidation of the UK textile industry with insight and empathy - there are many lessons to be learned by today's business decision-makers from his analysis and experience. In contrast to many business autobiographies, he also tells the story of his own personal journey, beginning as an immigrant from Iran to Britain in the 1950s to hugely successful businessman and public figure, with humility, honesty, and frequent good humour. His obvious affection for his adopted country, and in particular Manchester and Lancashire, shines through. A thought-provoking read.

2 people found this helpful

Roozbeh

A truly remarkable man

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 12, 2015

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This is the story of a truly remarkable man who gives a new dimension to the words: "Hard Work". A must read for all those who wish to find out how to become successful. I had the oppurtunity to meet this great man when I was reading Textiles at UMIST (now Manchester University), when I was only 19 and then had lunch with him together with the head of department. I was later on invited to meet him in his Savile Row office in London. I am honoured to have gotten to know him, and after reading this book, I have even more respect for him. Altogether a great read, highly recommended.

5 people found this helpful

Richard

A good read. Highly Recommend

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 16, 2015

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A fascinating history of David Alliance. A brilliant successful man who never stopped working. An easy read which made `Take-overs` simple. Despite his denials, it does come over that he was intent in making a fortune for himself.

2 people found this helpful

Oscar

success

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 2, 2015

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David Alliance was a hungry young man with the tenacity and imagination to succeed. A remarkable story which also highlights that in business "stand still and one goes backwards"as he saw in his industry. A fascinating read!

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