Damaged Goods

Could have done with a very thorough edit. A mix of rash leaps of judgement / logic based on flimsy content and esoteric details and figures that didn’t add much. Characters were constantly being reintroduced in a confusing manner. Got better when describing the fall of BHS (the part of the story Shah knows most about, having reported extensively on it - he struggled when filling in backstory to flesh out a book).But ultimately the book fell down because of its slant. What should have been a well balanced read on a very interesting tale read like a badly written assassination piece on Green and the reader is left almost on Green’s side in protest despite Green being an objectively terrible person.

This book is great and very well written. It gives good insight to how these guys operated. I can’t help liking Philip Green though.

Read it over 4 days, what an exciting book with exceptional detail. I enjoyed it and I would recommend it to anyone.

Excellent story.

Interesting read I knew Philip Green he ruined the company i worked for and i heard stories of his shouting swearing bullying I used to talk to his chauffeur who was terrified of him but told me how much he looked after his mother. A lot of things explained what happened and was interesting to know the people he knew on his way up that also explained a lot. When he got BHs and Evans i knew he would ruin it and he has which is a great shame, he should never have got a knighthood he ruined retail and the high street

This is a bit of a hatchet job. The truth is that the last dividend paid from BHS to Philip Green was in 2004. The pension fund problems only emerged in 2008, and were caused by government policy to reduce interest rates to nearly 0, and hence ballooned pension scheme liabilities across the board.Nonetheless this is a fascinating book, and well researched, I couldn't put it down! It needs to be made into a film.

Very enjoyable reading, what an opportunity for the government to gain some house points from the public / voters by makingm an example of this greedy beast, take his knighthood away, and create a system / law / tax, on his earnings from vulnerable people.

I read this in a day. The last four decades of the British High St were sensational - this book romps through the period and it's intriguing cast of characters. The tale paints PG as retail's villain, the details resonate much wider for those slugging it out in the beleaguered high st. My favourite book this year and I hope Mr Shah will write another, soon.

An excellent read. The story of greed overcoming kindness and how treating people with disdain and contempt can glide you to the top.