Gerald Ratner

In 1991 Gerald Ratner was booked to make what should have been an
everyday

speech at the Institute of Directors. Should have been. When the
words "total

crap" come out of his mouth in connection with a decanter and
glasses set sold by

his company, H. Samuel, it all turned out slightly different. The
Rise and Fall. . . And

Rise Again tells the full story, in Gerald Ratner's own words, of
what lead him to

that point at the IoD, the horror of what happened in the immediate
aftermath,

the fallout and the comeback. This is the fi rst time Gerald Ratner
has given his side

of the story. And what a story it is. You'll fi nd out:

* How he wiped £500m off the value of his own company
virtually overnight

* All the details about the initial gaffe and how he compounded it
by remarking

that some of the earrings were "cheaper than an M&S prawn
sandwich but

probably wouldn't last as long"

* How "doing a Ratner" has entered into the vocabulary of British
business

* The wilderness years sitting glued to the sofa in front of
Countdown

* How he has bounced back, rediscovering his entrepreneurial spark
by building

up a health club business and, more recently, the immensely
successful online

jewellery retailer Geraldonline. com

* The story's not over yet. . .