Inside Rupert's Brain

The life of the world's most famous media mogul is fodder for this third offering in a new series from Portfolio detailing the lives of modern brilliant business thinkers. La Monica, editor at large of CNNMoney.com, follows Rupert Murdoch's climb to News Corp. chairman and CEO, from his early newspaper career in his native Australia through his move to the U.S. and purchase of the New York Post , New York magazine, the Village Voice and Chicago Sun-Times to his creation of the Fox network—with such shows as Married... with Children , The Simpsons and Fox News—and his return to print with the Wall Street Journal . As the CEO of the only truly global media company, Murdoch is a fascinating subject, and the book makes much of his “maverick” nature, describing his ventures out of his comfort zone such as the purchase of the L.A. Dodgers and experiments with MySpace and Fox Interactive Media, and even his initial excitement and ultimate disappointment with HarperCollins and the sluggish book business. Unfortunately, the writing is poorly paced and as dust-dry as an organic chemistry textbook, turning this ambitious effort into a snooze. (Mar.)