Not that interesting; never finished. Much like Kane and Able also by Archer ( )

Two protagonists are pitted against each other as they strive to become the first to create a global media empire and to become the most powerful man on earth. Great reading, and good descriptions of ambitions gone bad. Both men are prepared to risk everything to beat the other and they both lose.

The Fourth Estate follows the fortunes of two men who are both trying to build up the biggest newspaper empire in the world. One of them is a Jewish East European immigrant who comes to live in Britain, the other is the son of a rich Australian newspaper proprietor. In the course of their business dealings they become bitter enemies…

I hadn’t read all of a novel in quite some time, constantly starting books and not finishing them, something I don’t like doing, so I decided to read a Jeffrey Archer novel, as I always have found his books gripping page turners, something I needed. While I have read it all, and it may have started me back on the habit of reading, I have to admit I was very disappointed with this book. In many ways it is very similar to his earlier book ‘Kane and Abel’ but it is a poor copy indeed. Both feature two men, one an immigrant, one a man of rich, upper class upbringing, who become bitter enemies through the course of their business dealings. However I find The Fourth Estate is very limited by just sticking to newspaper businesses. Too often the characters seemed to get their own way by threatening to reveal important people’s secrets in national newspapers, very much a cliché and overused in the extreme. Also, the characters in this book are a lot more wooden, they have no personal motivations, no personal reasons for being bitter enemies. It all seems a bit wooden and shallow. Not highly recommended. ( )

A more developed version of the Kane & Abel type, where two people born in different situations are destined to meet and cross swords. A good read for the beach but nothing more. ( )