Sweet Revenge · the Intimate Life of Simon Cowell

**For this definitive biography, acclaimed journalist and bestselling author Tom Bower was granted unprecedented access to Simon Cowell and those around him—and the result is a fascinating multilayered portrait of one of the world’s most intriguing television personalities ever to dominate the music industry.**

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Simon Cowell has made an international name for himself as the no-holds-barred judge on the television phenomenon *American Idol*. He’s been called mean, arrogant, brash, and unapologetic, but his stinging barbs and smug personality have also earned him cheers from fans, as well as millions of dollars, a string of exotic beauties, and industry clout to develop his own projects. But Cowell’s true reward is *revenge*.

*Sweet Revenge* is the ultimate insider’s account of Simon Cowell’s rise to fame—even as others plotted his downfall—from his cheeky exploits as a British school lad to his failures as a frustrated young music exec in London to his explosive rivalry with Simon Fuller over the genesis of the *Idol* franchise to the PR disaster that nearly sunk his wildly successful show *The X Factor*. Conducting more than 150 interviews with industry power players, Cowell’s inner circle, and Cowell himself on a private jet, chartered yacht, at his L.A. home, and on the studio lot, Tom Bower pulls back the curtain on a man who is at once insecure, ambitious, easily bored, vain, needy, and driven, a man who will go to any limit to secure his success. Cowell is also revealed as a loyal friend and loving son. His father, to whom Cowell was particularly close, became his most trusted adviser and mentor.

Packed with juicy details, exclusive interviews, and never-before-revealed facts, *Sweet Revenge* presents a complete picture of Simon Cowell that few have ever seen.