Bower On Conrad.

The pending trial of former Telegraph owner Conrad Black is getting a fair amount of attention at the moment.
This is partly as a result of a book by the Tom Bower entitled "Dancing on the Edge" over which a libel action by the former tycoon is in the offing.

Black describes the book as :

"vindictive, high-handed, contemptuous, sadistic, pathologically mendacious and malicious".

The book according to theIndependent yesterday

" charts the rise and fall of the media tycoon. Based on interviews with over 150 of Black's friends and former colleagues, the book details his marriage to Barbara Amiel and the couple's life of "fabulous parties, jewellery, clothes, private jets and homes". It also catalogues the alleged incidents which led to a report being published in 2003 which accused Black of "outright fraud", "ethical corruption" and "corporate kleptocracy" - allegations that he will deny at his trial in Chicago next month."

This is not the former BBC journalist first foray into charactor assassination.Previous book have been written on Gordon Brown,Geoffrey Robinson and Robert Maxwell.

Intersting that the last media mogul that tried to sue ended up falling off his yacht.

The Trial of Black will allege that the former boss of Hollinger used shareholder money to fund an extravagent life style which included jetting off to the exclusive Bora Bora and lavish parties for his wife Amelia who was seen returning a consignement of designer dresses earlier in the month.
From modest beginning Black ended up buying the Telegraph group in 1985 and at his height owned more than 400 newspapers.
He faces spending the rest of his life in jail if found guilty of the charges.