â<b>Roberts does a superb job </b>of bringing [Northcliffe's story] aliveâŚÂ <b>His pages fizz with character and colour</b>...but at their heart is Northcliffe himself: <b>charismatic, swashbuckling, admirable and appalling</b>. His book is littered with affairs, tantrums and tirades, all of which add considerably to its attractions⌠Some of the most memorable scenes come in the early 1920s, as Northcliffe succumbs to all-out megalomania.â
- Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times
'With an experienced historianâs use of contemporary documents, Roberts makes Northcliffeâs eventful life <b>a panoramic account</b> of his times... [a]Â restrained, <b>scholarly and very readable</b> book.'
- Andrew Lycett, Spectator
'Lord Northcliffe...was the daddy of all press barons...classless, dynamic and fearless. This <b>compelling biography</b>...leaves you exhausted by the sheer work that bred success. Northcliffe had his faults...but what an exciting man he must have been to work for.'
- Quentin Letts, The Times
'The way Roberts <b>persuasively</b> tells it, not only did Northcliffe establish the template for British journalism ever since, but he also did much to win the First World War. <b>You do finish <i>The Chief</i> utterly open-mouthed</b> at all that Northcliffe got done in his 57 years.
- James Walton, Daily Telegraph
âTowards the end of <i>The Chief</i>, his <b>keenly researched</b> biography of Lord Northcliffe, the <i>Daily Mail</i> founder and âBritainâs greatest press baronâ, the historian Andrew Roberts observes: âGreat men are seldom nice men.ââŚ<b>thereâs no question that Northcliffe was indeed an exceptional character</b>⌠His last months were spent in a state of delirium that manifested as extreme megalomania.â
- Andrew Anthony, Observer
'Long before Rupert Murdoch, there was Alfred Harmsworth. The original and probably the greatest UK press baron...the man who styled himself âthe Chiefâ set a tone and style for popular newspapers that still prevails today. Roberts is keen to dispel myths of megalomania, until Harmsworthâs final short illness destroys his mind... While mostly friendly, the author is critical at times and unsparing about Harmsworthâs zealous anti-Semitism. Itâs <b>a pacy and enjoyable read</b>.'
- Robert Shrimsley, Financial Times
'Reading this <b>energetic and hugely entertaining</b> biography, you are trapped on a carousel in an insane fairground, whizzing round and round inside the head of âthe Chiefâ. What hits you again and again is the absolute randomness of his inspired, sometimes loathsome, obsessions.'
- A.N.Wilson, Times Literary Supplement
'Lord Northcliffe - founder of the <i>Daily Mail</i>, inventor of tabloid journalism, the most significant media innovator of the early 20th century - ended up in Hell... This has long been the highbrow take on Northcliffe. Shovelling information and entertainment was Northcliffeâs business model. His conjurorâs trick was simple: give as many people as possible what they want. It is the megalomaniac perception of Northcliffe that Andrew Roberts seeks to rebut in a new and sympathetic biography. [Rupert Murdoch] took Northcliffeâs principles and dialled them up.'
- Nicholas Harris, UnHerd
'This <b>intriguing</b> biography...is sympathetic to its subject, Roberts does not gloss over the darker side of Harmsworthâs life and his foibles: his anti-Semitism, his quirky prejudices and his eventual descent into madness. Northcliffe died 100 years ago, and his legacy was the British popular press as we know it.'
- Kim Bielenberg, Irish Independent