The book is subtitled: Inside the Secret World of Rupert Murdoch, and is the first major Murdoch biography to come out since the William Shawcross book which was published in 1992.

   Wolff is a well-known American media commentator, who recently became a Vanity Fair contributor and has long been obsessed by Murdoch, who plays a starring role in his previous book, Autumn of the Moguls.

   What intrigued me about the book was that Murdoch gave Wolff unfettered access to himself and to his family. Not since the Shawcross biography was written has Murdoch allowed a writer to get so close to him. Moreover, the Shawcross book was dedicated to the assumption that Murdoch's career was winding down. Instead, the old boy went on to re-invent himself as a global TV tycoon with a new young wife. So, Wolff's book captures the latest episode in the fascinating life of the most powerful media mogul of them all.

   So far at least, I have been somewhat disappointed by Wolff's focus on the Wall Street Journal battle. It is an interesting story but there's much more to Murdoch than the takeover of Dow Jones. But I have to say that Wolff does not seem overly complimentary about his subject.

   When Murdoch visited Delhi last year, he told me that his son James had been opposed to his cooperating with Wolff. "Every time I talk to the press or say anything," he said, "James threatens to kill me."

   I haven't finished the book yet but when I do, I will post a fuller review on the site.