The Fourth Estate [Large Print, Import] [Hardcover]

Jeffrey Archer (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 793 pages
• Publisher: BCA; Large Print e. edition (1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0745154026
• ISBN-13: 978-0745154022
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (74 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,599,188 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jeffrey Archer was educated at Oxford University. He has served five years in Britain's House of Commons, fourteen years in the House of Lords and two in Her majesty's prisons, which spawned three volumes of highly acclaimed Prison Diaries. All of his novels and short story collections--including Kane and Abel, Sons of Fortune, and False Impression--have been international bestsellers. Archer is married with two children and lives in London and Cambridge.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read, September 1, 2002

By 

Vijay Krishna (Chennai, TN, India) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fourth Estate (Mass Market Paperback)

To those who have read Kane & Abel, The Fourth Estate is a bit of deja vu. The plot is essentially the same. Two men - one a refugee from a war, the other an Ivy League-educated millionaire get pitted against each other and will not cease until the other man is driven out of business. The action is rivetting and makes the book a compelling page-turner.

The book is actually based on real-life characters, and a few real incidents too. Readers will find it tough not to see the similarity between Keith Townsend and Rupert Murdoch.

The way the story is woven is also reminiscent of Kane & Abel, however the book does not sag one wee bit in action. I assign five stars to this book because that's the maximum!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read, July 9, 2000

By 

"tluk" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fourth Estate (Mass Market Paperback)

Jeffrey Archer is one of those authors - the kind that people love to hate. He writes fiction that requires no real thinking to get through, just a great sense of wanting to be entertained.

In the Fourth Estate, Archer describes the lives of two ficticious (although clearly based on some well-known real life moguls) newspaper barons. He explains their differing beginnings (one humble, one rich) and intersperses this with the story of a battle to win a business empire.

The story is every part the cliche "page turner", especially towards the end, when the climactic chapters and the way they build up a great sense of suspense is testament to the enjoyable experience you have reading this book.

This was my first Jeffrey Archer novel that I'd read - if you're in the same position it's a great place to start.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read summer vacation book!, July 8, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Fourth Estate (Hardcover)

At last, Archer brings us back to the classic man-against-man novel, as in his successful "Kane and Abel". This is a must-read novel, full of wonderful character development, clever, yet manipulative story lines and riveting endings at each chapter.

From the opening chapter the reader is totally immersed in the two main characters -- Armstrong and Townsend, from two completely different backgrounds. Their lives seem lifelike, and not plastic and phony, like many authors characters. The reader becomes emotionally attached to one of the charcters, and cheers for their favorite one, right until the bitter end. The plot twists are so remarkable, and riveting, it is easy to read 200+ pages in one sitting!

One wonders how Archer continually comes up with such brilliant ideas. The only bad thing about this 750 page novel was reading the last chapter. If only all novels were this excellent