To Be the Best [Mass Market Paperback]

Barbara Taylor Bradford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 4, 2005

New York Times bestselling author Barbara Taylor Bradford has captivated millions of readers with her sweeping saga of power, wealth, and family secrets. Now the legacy of matriarch Emma Harte lives in one woman’s inspiring challenge to be the best…

DRIVEN BY LOVE
Paula McGill O’Neill learned the lessons of success from the master—merchant princess Emma Harte, her grandmother, her teacher, her idol. Left to Paula, the legacy of Emma’s international empire still thrives as the strong-willed heiress wields control with hard-earned compassion—and well-earned suspicion of every secret threat.

INSPIRED BY SUCCESS
Blessed grandchild, super-wife, and loving mother, Paula has one desire—to keep her grandmother’s visionary dream alive, and through sacrifice and ambition carve out an empire of her own. But every move has been shadowed by two families whose fortunes are intertwined with hers—and by an unscrupulous blood enemy moving in for the kill…

CHALLENGED BY BETRAYAL
Once banished from the family fold, Paula’s cousin Jonathan has emerged from the darkness to wrest control of everything he wants—and destroy all that Paula has fought for. Now, sweeping across the world, and testing her most intimate fears and emotions, Paula’s struggle to safeguard her happiness and her family’s future becomes her ultimate challenge.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bradford's trilogy on "merchant prince" Emma Harte and her many heirs began with the runaway bestsellers A Woman of Substance and Hold the Dream. This final book picks up the story a decade after Emma's death, when the third generation has the thriving businesses she started well in hand. Heading up the family is Paula McGill O'Neill, who runs the luxurious department stores that anchor the Harte empire. Super-wife and mother Paula brings a whirlwind of energy to that exacting job; as a result of her near-perfect efficiency, the first half of the book seems rather saccharine. But Jonathan Ainsley, an unscrupulous cousin she had banished from the fold, is waiting to move in for the kill when Paula indulges her desire to carve out a fiefdom of her own, risking everything by overextending her resources. Although this lengthy battle for supremacy is the focal point, a host of dramatic subplots continues the amorous, sorrowful and shady doings of the O'Neills and the Kallinskis, two families whose fortunes are entwined with the Hartes. Despite constant jet-setting between glamorous watering places, these wealthy lifestyles are beginning to be awfully repetitious. Fans will welcome this new installment, but it's impossible not to agree with many of the characters who sigh about the drive and vigor lost along with that elegant pirate Emma Harte. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club dual main selections.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

With this third volume of the cycle begun in 1979 with A Woman of Substance , Bradford continues the saga of Emma Harte, her descendants, and the far-flung business empire she founded. Now, some 11 years after Harte's death, the story revolves around Paula Amory O'Neill, Emma's granddaughter and principal heir, and the ups and downs faced by her family and friends. Readers will happily re-acquaint themselves with the sprawling Harte clan and their friends and associates, the O'Neills, and Kallinskis. A more than satisfactory sequel to the previous segments of this generational tale, with an ending that promises still more to come. Literary Guild Main Selection.Judith A. Gifford, Salve Regina Coll. Lib., Newport, R.I.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (October 4, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312935617
• ISBN-13: 978-0312935610
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #206,821 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #32 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Women's Fiction > Domestic Life

More About the Author

BARBARA TAYLOR BRADFORD

Barbara Taylor Bradford, OBE is one of the world's best loved storytellers. Her 1979 debut novel, A Woman of Substance, ranks as one of the top-ten bestselling books of all-time, with more than 30 million copies in print. All 25 of her novels to date have been major worldwide bestsellers. Her 26th book, Playing The Game, will be published on October 12th by St. Martin's Press.

Bradford was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire (UK) as the only child of Freda and Winston Taylor. She grew up in the Leeds suburb of Armley and after Town Street Church of England School worked in the typing pool at the Yorkshire Evening Post before going into journalism. By the age of twenty she was the fashion editor of Woman's Own Magazine and an editor and columnist on Fleet Street for the London Evening News.

Bradford's books have sold more than eighty-two (82) million copies worldwide in more than ninety (90) countries and forty (40) languages. Ten (10) of her books have been made into miniseries and television movies, making her one of the best-selling authors over the last 30 years.

In April of 2003, Mrs. Bradford was inducted into the Writers Hall of Fame of America alongside Mark Twain, Langston Hughes and Dr. Seuss. She was awarded an OBE by Queen Elizabeth II in the Queen's 2007 Birthday Honours list for her contributions to literature. Her original manuscripts are archived at the Brotherton Library at Leeds University, alongside the works of the Bronte sisters. In 2009, Barbara's publishers began a worldwide 30th anniversary celebration of A Woman of Substance. The first annual Woman of Substance Awards took place on September 10th 2009 at the Dorchester Hotel in London. She lives in New York City with her husband, of 43 years, television producer Robert Bradford.

Her official website is: www.barbarataylorbradford.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great Harte family read, November 5, 2004

By 

K. Morgan (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: To Be the Best (Mass Market Paperback)

To Be The Best is the third book in the Emma Harte saga. This book focuses on the grandchildren of the late Emma Harte. The grandchildren are all grown up and trying to live their lives the best way possible to please the memory of their beloved grandmother Emma. This book dedicates time to each of the more prominent grandchildren: Paula, Phillip, Emily, Alexander, Anthony, and Jonathan. This book doesn't have much about Emma's children in it except for her daughter Daisy.

I found this book very interesting and was glad I didn't pass it by due to the other two reviews that were written about it. This book does jump from place to place but that is because Emma's grandchildren live in different places and travel because of their careers. Some of the past is relived but this is so someone who hasn't read the two previous books will understand a little bit better what is going on and why it is happening. There is sadness in this book but life isn't always happy and this book is written to reflect the lives in a most true (if somewhat exaggerated) sense.

This book was a wonderful read for anyone that has read the two previous books in the trilogy. It updates you on the lives of the Hartes, O'Neill's, and Kallinski's. I think this was an easy book to read and was well written. It has all the characters I had grown to like and some I'd grown to dislike from the earlier books and also some new characters to keep the book fresh and interesting.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has read A Woman of Substance and Hold the Dream. I would suggest that anyone wanting to read To Be The Best read the other books first to get a feeling for the characters and their lives. This is most definitely a five star read!

5.0 out of 5 stars To Be The Best by Barbara Taylor Bradford, October 17, 2011

By 

B. L. Patterson-Fritts (Payson, AZ) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: To Be the Best (Mass Market Paperback)

The book arrived in a timely manner, in good conditions and I got too busy to read it just yet. Barbara

5.0 out of 5 stars Great!!! Gives hope and courage!!!, April 15, 2010

By 

Elenizafiropoulou "Book worm" (Evia,Greece) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: To Be the Best (Mass Market Paperback)

I have read "Emma's stories" time and again and each time is equally enchanting. They always give me a renewed feeling of hope and courage!!!! I highly recommend them to all!!!! Well done!!!!